1955 Giro D'Italia
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The 1955 Giro d'Italia was the 38th 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 ...
, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The Giro started off 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 14 May with a flat stage and concluded back in Milan with a relatively flat mass-start stage on 5 June. Fourteen teams entered the race, which was won by Italian
Fiorenzo Magni Fiorenzo Magni (; 7 December 1920 – 19 October 2012) was an Italian professional road racing cyclist. Biography Magni was born to Giuseppe Magni and Giulia Caciolli, and had an elder sister Fiorenza.#Bulbarelli, Bulbarelli, pp. 14–15 ...
of the Nivea-Fuchs team. Second and third respectively were Italian riders
Fausto Coppi Angelo Fausto Coppi (; 15 September 1919 – 2 January 1960) was an Italian cyclist, the dominant international cyclist of the years after the World War II, Second World War. His successes earned him the title ''Il Campionissimo'' ("Champio ...
and
Gastone Nencini Gastone Nencini (; 1 March 1930 – 1 February 1980) was an Italian road racing cyclist who won the 1960 Tour de France, 1960 Tour de France and the 1957 Giro d'Italia, 1957 Giro d'Italia. Nicknamed ''Il Leone del Mugello'', "The Lion of Mugel ...
. In the 20th stage, arriving in San Pellegrino Terme, Magni and Coppi attacked
Gastone Nencini Gastone Nencini (; 1 March 1930 – 1 February 1980) was an Italian road racing cyclist who won the 1960 Tour de France, 1960 Tour de France and the 1957 Giro d'Italia, 1957 Giro d'Italia. Nicknamed ''Il Leone del Mugello'', "The Lion of Mugel ...
(who was leading the general classification) taking advantage of a puncture he suffered in an unpaved road section. Coppi won the stage (his last victory in the Giro) and Magni took the lead in the general classification.


Teams

In December 1954 when the initial plans for the 1955 edition were announced, the organization announced they would invite ten Italian based teams and six foreign teams: France, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain and England whom by December had confirmed participation. Belgium, Spain, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and France, after missing the previous edition, sent teams to compete in the race. Fourteen teams were invited by the race organizers to participate in the 1955 edition of the Giro d'Italia. The Spanish team missed the pre-race ceremony because they missed their flight into Milan and had to take a train into the city. Each team sent a squad of seven riders, which meant that the race started with a peloton of 98 cyclists. From the riders that began the race, 72 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 ...
. The teams entering the race were: * * * Bianchi * Doniselli *Faema *France * * * *
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 ...
* * * *


Pre-race favorites

Five-time champion
Fausto Coppi Angelo Fausto Coppi (; 15 September 1919 – 2 January 1960) was an Italian cyclist, the dominant international cyclist of the years after the World War II, Second World War. His successes earned him the title ''Il Campionissimo'' ("Champio ...
(Bianchi) and Hugo Koblet (Faema) were named by most as the primary favorites to win the race overall. Coppi who was now 35 years old notably had won the Giro dell'Appennino and finished second at
Paris–Roubaix Paris–Roubaix is a one-day professional bicycle road race in northern France, starting north of Paris and finishing in Roubaix, at the border with Belgium. It is one of cycling's oldest races, and is one of the 'Cycling monument, Monuments' ...
. Serge Lang wrote that Coppi was the public's favorite to win, but most other riders did not him as much of an overall threat due his age. ''Novelliste Valaisan'' also named Pasquale Fornara () their favorites to win the race. Fornara's best finish came in
1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito ...
when he placed third overall, while Koblet won in
1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 ...
and had three other top ten finishes. 1948 winner
Fiorenzo Magni Fiorenzo Magni (; 7 December 1920 – 19 October 2012) was an Italian professional road racing cyclist. Biography Magni was born to Giuseppe Magni and Giulia Caciolli, and had an elder sister Fiorenza.#Bulbarelli, Bulbarelli, pp. 14–15 ...
() finished the
Vuelta a España The Vuelta a España (; ) is an annual stage race, multi-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Spain, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. Inspired by the success of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Ital ...
on 8 May and was viewed as contender for the general classification. It was believed reigning champion Carlo Clerici (Faema) would be marked heavily this race after the nature of his victory the previous year when he gained significant time through a breakaway. Clerici was thought to be in good form. Faema did not include Fritz Schär who had injured his knee. Despite being a favorite to some, Koblet was not seen as a favorite by Swiss writer Serge Lang who believed he does not like climb he did when he won the race in 1950. Young Italians including the likes of Mauro Gianneschi (Arbos), Nino Defilippis (Torpado), Giuseppe Minardi (Legnano), Agostino Coletto () were thought to be outside contenders for the general classification and were the team's leaders. Coletto was perceived by some to be the next great Italian general classification rider. Atala's best chances were seent with Giancarlo Astrua and Bruno Monti, the latter of which impressed at the
Tour de Romandie The Tour de Romandie is a stage race which is part of the UCI World Tour. It runs through the Romandie region, or French-speaking part of Switzerland. The competition began in 1947, to coincide with the 50-year anniversary of Swiss Cycling. It ...
. Astrua was perceived as a good climber and a rouler.
Gastone Nencini Gastone Nencini (; 1 March 1930 – 1 February 1980) was an Italian road racing cyclist who won the 1960 Tour de France, 1960 Tour de France and the 1957 Giro d'Italia, 1957 Giro d'Italia. Nicknamed ''Il Leone del Mugello'', "The Lion of Mugel ...
() was a younger rider whom many felt showed a lot of promise and was known for his descending prowess. A ''Nouvelliste Valaisan'' writer felt the Spanish team had riders that can climb very well, but lacked maturity and team comradery to obtain a high general classification ranking. The French team was believed to be very strong and in good shape prior to start. They were thought to have its best chances with Raphaël Géminiani and recent Vuelta a Espana winner Jean Dotto who both were in great form, but it was thought Géminiani could lose several minutes in the time trial stages. Doniselli, the Dutch team, was thought to have great riders who could animate the race like Wout Wagtmans, Hein Van Breenen, and Gerrit Voorting. Notably Thijs Roks, van Breenen, and Wagtmans composed the podium for the Dutch national road race championship. Doniselli sports director Kees Pellenaars stated that Wagtmans gave the best chance for the overall victory, but instead of surrounding the whole team with him throughout the race as other Italian teams do, he would allow two to three riders to attempt attacks. Expectations of the Belgian team by a ''Nouvelliste Valaisan'' writer were unknown as the writer cited a previous difficulty by Belgian riders in the Giro d'Italia. A notable omission from the team was
Rik van Steenbergen Hendrik Van Steenbergen (9 September 1924 – 15 May 2003) was a Belgium, Belgian racing cyclist, considered to be one of the best among the great number of successful Belgian cyclists. Early life Van Steenbergen was born in Arendonk into ...
. The teams' young riders Joseph Schils and Carl Borgmans were expected to have a good performance. In addition, the team brought a new flahute Rik Van Looy. Other notable riders that did not participate were Frenchman
Louison Bobet Louis "Louison" Bobet (; 12 March 1925 – 13 March 1983) was a French professional road racing cyclist. He was the first great French rider of the post-war period and the first rider to win the Tour de France in three successive years, from 195 ...
and Swiss rider
Ferdinand Kübler Ferdinand Kübler (; 24 July 1919 – 29 December 2016) was a Swiss cyclist with 71 professional victories, including the 1950 Tour de France and the 1951 UCI Road World Championships, 1951 World Road Race Championship. Biography Kübler was bo ...
. In addition, this was the first Giro d'Italia without two-time winner
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 ...
participating. Bartali retired following the previous season, but returned to the Giro d'Italia to provide commentary for several newspapers.


Route and stages

The route's general structure was announced on December 29, 1954 at the Palazzo Marino 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 ...
in front of local dignitaries. The finalized route was revealed on 9 March 1955. The route was designed in a counter-clockwise direction across twenty-one days of racing and two rest days,It contained two time trial events, one
individual An individual is one that exists as a distinct entity. Individuality (or self-hood) is the state or quality of living as an individual; particularly (in the case of humans) as a person unique from other people and possessing one's own needs or g ...
and one
team A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to in ...
event. The team time trial rode over the cobbled roads of
Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...
. This race featured the first stage finish and start in
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. The tenth stage utilized the route used in the 1955 UCI World Championships men's road race that were to be held in
Frascati Frascati () is a city and in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital in the Lazio region of central Italy. It is located south-east of Rome, on the Alban Hills close to the ancient city of Tusculum. Frascati is closely associated with science, ...
,
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
August that year in a loop that was traversed ten times. The highest climb was the Passo Pordoi. In total the route had roughly of elevation change of which five stages contained eight categorized climbs that awarded points for the mountains classification. The nineteenth stage was deemed the queen stage as it featured the climbs of the Falzarego Pass, the Col de Rolle, the Pordoi, and the Col de Brocon. Five stages ended in a velodrome. Due to complaints from the riders about the previous year's race, the organizers reduced the amount of kilometers in the race by approximately . Further, race organizers decided to reduce the length of the stages within the Giro d'Italia closer to , similar to the
Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...
at the time. The stages had become known as "Italian stages" for their extreme length in hundreds of kilometers, only to have the racing start in the final 10 km. Through the reduction in stage length, the organizers hoped to have more attacking done by riders. The intermediate sprints or "flying checks" as they were known were well received and thought to have helped animate the race, with several stage winners coming from those that won the sprints of the day. The amount of intermediate sprints has been reduced by 30 this race, leaving 30 to be taken. If you win the prize you must be within the first five positions of the general classification. A writer for ''Nouvelliste Valaisan'' felt a rouler could win the general classification if they could take advantage of the course before the race hits the
Dolomites The Dolomites ( ), also known as the Dolomite Mountains, Dolomite Alps or Dolomitic Alps, are a mountain range in northeastern Italy. They form part of the Southern Limestone Alps and extend from the River Adige in the west to the Piave Va ...
. The ''Gazette de Lausanne'' writer Serge Lang wrote that the route was the hardest since
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
and felt the general public and most newspapers felt the route was well designed.


Classification leadership

One jersey was worn during the 1955 Giro d'Italia. The leader of the general classification – 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 mountains classification leader. The climbs all awarded three points to the first rider and one point to the second rider to cross the summit. Although no jerseys were awarded, there was also two classification for the teams, in which the teams were awarded points for their rider's performance during the stages. One classification was for the teams based inside Italy and the other was for teams based outside of Italy.


Final standings


General classification


Foreign rider classification


Mountains classification


Intermediate sprints classification


Italian team classification


Foreign team classification


References


Citations


Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hiro D'Italia, 1955 1955 1955 in Italian sport 1955 in road cycling May 1955 sports events in Europe June 1955 sports events in Europe 1955 Challenge Desgrange-Colombo