The 1937 Giro d'Italia was the 25th edition of the
Giro d'Italia
The Giro d'Italia (; ), also known simply as the Giro, is an annual stage race, multiple-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Italy, while also starting in, or passing through, other countries. The first race was organized in 19 ...
, organized and sponsored by the
newspaper
A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...
''
La Gazzetta dello Sport
(; English: "The Sports Gazette") is an Italian Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper dedicated to coverage of various sports. Founded in 1896, it is the most widely read daily newspaper of any type in Italy (in 2018).
History and profile
was fou ...
''. The race began on 8 May in
Milan
Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
with a stage that stretched to
Turin
Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...
, finishing back in Milan on 30 May after a split stage and a total distance covered of . The race was won by
Gino Bartali
Gino Bartali, (; 18 July 1914 – 5 May 2000), nicknamed Gino the Pious and (in Italy) Ginettaccio, was a champion road cyclist. He was the most renowned Italian cyclist before the Second World War, having won the Giro d'Italia twice, in ...
of the Legnano team, with fellow Italians
Giovanni Valetti
Giovanni Valetti (22 September 1913 – 28 May 1998) was an Italian professional road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist. The highlights of his career were his two overall wins in the 1938 Giro d'Italia, 1938 and 1939 Giro d'Italia, 1939 Giro d ...
and
Enrico Mollo coming in second and third respectively.
Participants
Of the 98 riders that began the Giro d'Italia on 8 May,
41 of them made it to the finish in
Milan
Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
on 30 May.
Riders were allowed to ride on their own or as a member of a team or group; 65riders competed as part of a team, while the remaining 33 competed independently.
The four teams that partook in the race were:
Bianchi, Fréjus, Ganna, and
Legnano
Legnano (; or ''Lignàn'') is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Milan, province of Milan, about from central Milan. With 60,259, it is the thirteenth-most populous township in Lombardy. Legnano is located in the ...
.
Each team was composed of seven riders.
There were also seven groups, made up of five riders each, that participated in the race.
Those groups were: Italiani All'Estero, Bertoldo, Il Littoriale, S S. Parioli, Belgi, Svizzeri, and Tedeschi.
The peloton was composed primarily of Italian riders.
The field featured four former Giro d'Italia winners with the
1931
Events
January
* January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics.
* January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa.
* January 22 – Sir I ...
race winner
Francesco Camusso,
1934
Events
January–February
* January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established.
* January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...
winner
Learco Guerra
Learco Guerra (14 October 1902 – 7 February 1963) was an Italian professional road racing cyclist. The highlight of his career was his overall win in the 1934 Giro d'Italia. He was born in San Nicolò Po, a ''frazione'' of Bagnolo San Vito in ...
,
Vasco Bergamaschi who won the race in
1935
Events
January
* January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims.
* January 12 – Amelia Earhart ...
, and returning champion
Gino Bartali
Gino Bartali, (; 18 July 1914 – 5 May 2000), nicknamed Gino the Pious and (in Italy) Ginettaccio, was a champion road cyclist. He was the most renowned Italian cyclist before the Second World War, having won the Giro d'Italia twice, in ...
.
Other notable Italian riders included
Olimpio Bizzi,
Giovanni Valetti
Giovanni Valetti (22 September 1913 – 28 May 1998) was an Italian professional road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist. The highlights of his career were his two overall wins in the 1938 Giro d'Italia, 1938 and 1939 Giro d'Italia, 1939 Giro d ...
, and
Giuseppe Olmo
Giuseppe Olmo (22 November 1911 – 5 March 1992) was an Italian road bicycle racer. He competed at the 1932 Olympics and won a gold medal in the team road race, placing fourth individually. In October 1935 he set a new hour record at 45.090 ...
.
Notable foreign entrants were the Belgian riders
Alfons Deloor
Alfons Deloor (his name is also given as "De Loor") (3 June 1910 - 23 March 1995) was a Belgian racing cyclist. He reached second place at the 1936 Vuelta a España behind his brother Gustaaf, and won the 1938 Liège–Bastogne–Liège.
Biogr ...
,
Alfons Schepers, and
Antoine Dignef, and also the Swiss rider
Leo Amberg who placed high at the
1936 Tour de France
The 1936 Tour de France was the 30th edition of the Tour de France, taking place from 7 July to 2 August. It was composed of 21 stages with a total length of . Because of health problems, Henri Desgrange stopped as Tour director, and was succeede ...
.
Route and stages
Classification leadership
The leader of the
general classification
The general classification (or the GC) in road bicycle racing is the category that tracks overall times for riders in multi-stage races. Each stage will have a stage winner, but the overall winner in the GC is the rider who has the fastest cumulati ...
– calculated by adding the stage finish times of each rider – wore a pink jersey. This classification is the most important of the race, and its winner is considered as the winner of the Giro.
The liberi classification, one similar to the general classification was calculated, using only independent riders and riders that came as members of groups.
In the mountains classification, the race organizers selected different mountains that the route crossed and awarded points to the riders who crossed them first.
The winner of the team classification was determined by adding the finish times of the best three cyclists per team together and the team with the lowest total time was the winner.
If a team had fewer than three riders finish, they were not eligible for the classification.
The group classification was decided in the same manner, but the classification was exclusive to the competing groups.
The rows in the following table correspond to the jerseys awarded after that stage was run.
Final standings
General classification
Liberi classification
Mountains classification
Team classification
Group classification
References
;Notes
;Citations
;Bibliography
*
*
{{Giro d'Italia general classification winners
1937
Events
January
* January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua.
* January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Feb ...
Giro d'Italia
The Giro d'Italia (; ), also known simply as the Giro, is an annual stage race, multiple-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Italy, while also starting in, or passing through, other countries. The first race was organized in 19 ...
Giro d'Italia
The Giro d'Italia (; ), also known simply as the Giro, is an annual stage race, multiple-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Italy, while also starting in, or passing through, other countries. The first race was organized in 19 ...
Giro d'Italia
The Giro d'Italia (; ), also known simply as the Giro, is an annual stage race, multiple-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Italy, while also starting in, or passing through, other countries. The first race was organized in 19 ...