1953 Giro d'Italia

1953 Giro d'Italia

Race details
Dates	12 May - 2 June 1953
Stages	21
Distance	4,035.5 km (2,508 mi)
Winning time	118h 37' 26"
Results
Winner   Fausto Coppi  (ITA) (Bianchi)   Second   Hugo Koblet  (SUI) (Cilo)   Third   Pasquale Fornara  (ITA) (Cilo)   Mountains   Pasquale Fornara  (ITA) (Cilo)   Team Ganna
←  1952 1954  →

The 1953 Giro d'Italia was the 36th edition of the Giro d'Italia. The Giro started off in Milan on 12 May with a 263 km (163.4 mi) flat stage and concluded back in Milan with a 220 km (136.7 mi) relatively flat mass-start stage on 2 June. Sixteen teams entered the race, which was won by Italian Fausto Coppi of the Bianchi team. Second and third respectively were Swiss rider Hugo Koblet and Italian Pasquale Fornara. ^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]}

Hugo Koblet held the pink jersey up until the penultimate stage, when Coppi attacked and left him behind on the climb up the Stelvio Pass (included in the Giro for the first time), taking the lead and securing the final victory. Since then the Stelvio Pas is par excellence the Cima Coppi of the competition.

Teams

The peloton riding through St. Peter's Square during the tenth stage of the race.

Sixteen teams were invited by the race organizers to participate in the 1953 edition of the Giro d'Italia. ^[6] Like the Tour de France the teams were nation based for the first time at the Giro, ^[7] with each national team being sponsored by an Italian brand. ^[8] Each team sent a squad of seven riders, which meant that the race started with a peloton of 112 cyclists. ^{[6] [9]} From the riders that began the race, 72 made it to the finish in Milan. ^[8] In total there were 35 foreign riders that started the race. ^[9]

The teams entering the race were: ^[6]

• Arbos
• Atala
• Bartali
• Bianchi
• Bottecchia
• Fiorelli
• Francia
• Fréjus
• Ganna
• Girardengo
• Guerra
• Legnano
• Levirere
• Locomotief
• Torpado–Ursus
• Welter

Pre-race favorites

The "Big Three" of Gino Bartali (Bartali), Fausto Coppi (Bianchi), and Fiorenzo Magni (Ganna) were expected to dominate the general classification. ^[9] A La Liberté writer felt that young riders Giancarlo Astrua (Atala), Nino Defilippis (Legnano), Pasquale Fornara (Bottecchia), and climber Bruno Monti (Arbos) would be exciting to watch throughout the race to see their potential. ^{[9] [7]} French rider and Swiss riders were thought to be very strong, while Spanish riders Bernardo Ruiz and Michel Gual were thought to be their country's best riders. ^{[9] [10]} Swiss rider and former Giro winner Hugo Koblet (Cilo) was regarded as being in sensational form entering the Giro, coming off a win at the Tour de Romandie. ^{[7] [8]} Taking that into account with his good health, the media felt Koblet could be the one to challenge Coppi best. ^{[7] [8] [10]}

A notable absence from the race was Bianchi rider Loretto Petrucci who had won the previous two Milan–San Remo, who was not brought to the race because of his young age according to his team; however, he had previously raced in 1951 and 1952. ^[7] A La Sentinelle writer believed that Petrucci's omission from the race was due to Petrucci's desire to race for victories and not for the team leader Coppi. ^[7]

Route and stages

On 26 March, the route was announced to be from 12 May to 28 May. ^[11] It was later rumored on 30 March, that the race may include the Olympic stadium. ^[12] The full route was later unveiled on 9 April 1953, with a changed finale on the 2 June. ^{[13] [14] [15] [16]} The race route featured 20 days of racing spread across 22 days as 20 May in Pisa and 27 May in San Pellegrino were set aside as rest days. ^[9]

Stage characteristics and results ^[8]

Stage	Date	Course	Distance	Type		Winner
1	12 May	Milan to Abano Terme	263 km (163 mi)		Plain stage	Wim Van Est  (NED)
2	13 May	Abano Terme to Rimini	278 km (173 mi)		Stage with mountain(s)	Pasquale Fornara  (ITA)
3	14 May	Rimini to San Benedetto del Tronto	182 km (113 mi)		Plain stage	Albino Crespi  (ITA)
4	15 May	San Benedetto del Tronto to Roccaraso	171 km (106 mi)		Stage with mountain(s)	Fausto Coppi  (ITA)
5	16 May	Roccaraso to Naples	149 km (93 mi)		Plain stage	Ettore Milano  (ITA)
6	17 May	Naples to Rome	285 km (177 mi)		Plain stage	Giuseppe Minardi  (ITA)
7	18 May	Rome to Grosseto	178 km (111 mi)		Plain stage	Giovanni Corrieri  (ITA)
8		Grosseto to Follonica	48 km (30 mi)		Individual time trial	Hugo Koblet  (SUI)
9	19 May	Follonica to Pisa	114 km (71 mi)		Plain stage	Rik Van Steenbergen  (BEL)
	20 May	Rest day
10	21 May	Pisa to Modena	189 km (117 mi)		Stage with mountain(s)	Fiorenzo Magni  (ITA)
11	22 May	Modena to Modena	30 km (19 mi)		Team time trial	Bianchi
12	23 May	Modena to Genoa	278 km (173 mi)		Plain stage	Giorgio Albani  (ITA)
13	24 May	Genoa to Bordighera	256 km (159 mi)		Stage with mountain(s)	Oreste Conte  (ITA)
14	25 May	Bordighera to Turin	242 km (150 mi)		Plain stage	Pietro Giudici  (ITA)
15	26 May	Turin to San Pellegrino Terme	232 km (144 mi)		Plain stage	Nino Assirelli  (ITA)
	27 May	Rest day
16	28 May	San Pellegrino Terme to Riva del Garda	279 km (173 mi)		Stage with mountain(s)	Fiorenzo Magni  (ITA)
17	29 May	Riva del Garda to Vicenza	166 km (103 mi)		Plain stage	Bruno Monti  (ITA)
18	30 May	Vicenza to Auronzo di Cadore	186 km (116 mi)		Plain stage	Bruno Monti  (ITA)
19	31 May	Auronzo di Cadore to Bolzano	164 km (102 mi)		Stage with mountain(s)	Fausto Coppi  (ITA)
20	1 June	Bolzano to Bormio	125 km (78 mi)		Stage with mountain(s)	Fausto Coppi  (ITA)
21	2 June	Bormio to Milan	220 km (137 mi)		Plain stage	Fiorenzo Magni  (ITA)
	Total		4,035.5 km (2,508 mi)

Race overview

The race started outside the Piazza del Duomo in Milan. ^[17] Ferdinand Kubler withdrew from the race early on due to disputes. ^[17]

Classification leadership

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. ^[18] Time bonuses were awarded to the stage winner and the first riders to summit categorized climbs. ^[9] Riders were allowed to have teammates and team cars help to following accidents and punctures. ^[9] "Strollers" in years past were punished with small fines, but in this edition of the race they were punished by time adjustments and repeat offenses may lead to disqualification from the race. ^[9] The winner of the race received 1 million lire, while the remainder of the podium received 450,000 lire each. ^[10]

Two additional jerseys were in use. The green jersey was given to the best foreign cyclist in the general classification; at the end of the Giro it was worn by Swiss Hugo Koblet. The white jersey was given to the best cyclist riding with a licence for independents; this was won by Angelo Conterno. ^[19] The winner of each classification earned 500,000 lire. ^[10]

The mountains classification leader was not identified by a special jersey. The climbs all awarded three points to the first rider and one point to the second rider to cross the summit. There was one category for mountains which awarded five points down to one point for the first riders to cross the summit. ^[20] The winner of the mountains classification was given 400,000 lire. ^[10] Although no jersey was awarded, there was also one classification for the teams, in which the stage finish times of the best three cyclists per team were added; the leading team was the one with the lowest total time. The team winning team received 2.5 million lire. ^[10]

Each day leading the general classification earned the rider and his team 100,000 lira, while the independent rider and foreign rider earned 25,000 lira each day for leading their respective classifications. ^{[10] [21]}

Classification leadership by stage

Stage	Winner	General classification	Best foreign rider	Best independent rider	Mountains classification	Team classification
1	Wim Van Est	Wim Van Est	Wim Van Est	Alfo Ferrari	not awarded	Locomotief
2	Pasquale Fornara	Guido De Santi	Hugo Koblet	Elio Brasola	Pasquale Fornara	Levriere
3	Albino Crespi
4	Fausto Coppi	Pasquale Fornara	Louison Bobet			Bianchi & Francia
5	Ettore Milano
6	Giuseppe Minardi	Guido De Santi	Hugo Koblet
7	Giovanni Corrieri	Giovanni Corrieri		Arrigo Padovan
8	Hugo Koblet	Hugo Koblet		Elio Brasola		Bartali
9	Rik Van Steenbergen
10	Fiorenzo Magni					Bianchi
11	Bianchi					Bartali
12	Giorgio Albani
13	Oreste Conte
14	Pietro Giudici			Angelo Conterno
15	Nino Assirelli					Bottecchia
16	Fiorenzo Magni					Ganna
17	Bruno Monti
18	Bruno Monti
19	Fausto Coppi
20	Fausto Coppi	Fausto Coppi
21	Fiorenzo Magni
Final		Fausto Coppi	Hugo Koblet	Angelo Conterno	Pasquale Fornara	Ganna

Final standings

Legend
	Denotes the winner of the General classification		Denotes the winner of the Independent rider
	Denotes the winner of the Foreign rider classification

General classification

Final general classification (1–10) ^{[8] [22]}

Rank	Name	Team	Time
1	Fausto Coppi  (ITA)	Bianchi	118h 37' 26"
2	Hugo Koblet  (SUI)	Guerra	+ 1' 26"
3	Pasquale Fornara  (ITA)	Bottecchia	+ 6' 55"
4	Gino Bartali  (ITA)	Bartali	+ 14' 08"
5	Angelo Conterno  (ITA)	Fréjus	+ 20' 51"
6	Stan Ockers  (BEL)	Girardengo	+ 24' 14"
7	Giovanni Roma  (ITA)	Bottecchia	+ 24' 35"
8	Guido De Santi  (ITA)	Benotto	+ 25' 06"
9	Fiorenzo Magni  (ITA)	Ganna	+ 25' 39"
10	Vincenzo Rossello  (ITA)	Ganna	+ 26' 21"

Independent rider classification

Final Independent rider classification (1–5) ^[23]

Rank	Name	Time
1	Angelo Conterno  (ITA)	118h 58' 17"
2	Giovanni Roma  (ITA)	+ 3 '44"
3	Pietro Giudici  (ITA)	+ 8' 11"
4	Donato Zampini  (ITA)	+ 11' 03"
5	Arrigo Padovan  (ITA)	+ 12' 32"

Foreign rider classification

Final Foreign rider classification (1–5) ^[23]

Rank	Name	Team	Time
1	Hugo Koblet  (SUI)	Guerra	118h 38' 55"
2	Stan Ockers  (BEL)	Girardengo	+ 22' 45"
3	Wim Van Est  (NED)	Holland	+ 28' 28"
4	Fritz Schaer  (SUI)	Guerra	+ 28' 57"
5	Roger Pontet  (FRA)	France	+ 52' 56"

Mountains classification

Final mountains classification (1–9) ^{[8] [22] [24]}

	Name	Team	Points
1	Pasquale Fornara  (ITA)	Bottecchia	33
2	Fausto Coppi  (ITA)	Bianchi	20
3	Gino Bartali  (ITA)	Bartali	16
4	Hugo Koblet  (SUI)	Guerra	15
5	Primo Volpi  (ITA)	Arbos	10
6	Andrea Carrea  (ITA)	Bianchi	8
7	Stan Ockers  (BEL)	Girardengo	5
8	Danilo Barozzi  (ITA)	Atala	4
9	Nino Defilippis  (ITA)	Legnano	3
	Giovanni Roma  (ITA)	Bottecchia

Team classification

Final team classification (1-10) ^[23]

	Team	Time
1	Ganna	357h 13' 20"
2	Bottecchia	+ 7' 21"
3	Bianchi	+ 10' 51"
4	Legnano	+ 37' 59"
5	Bartali	+ 39' 00"
6	Fréjus	+ 49' 47"
7	Svizzera-Guerra	+ 1h 01' 12"
8	Levrieri	+ 1h 05' 23"
9	Arbos	+ 1h 11' 58"
10	Atala	+ 1h 33' 11"

References

Citations

1. "Coppi, en la penúltima etapa se impuso, y ha ganado de nuevo la Vuelta Ciclista a Italia :: Koblet, segundo" [Coppi, Won the Penultimate Stage, and Won the Tour of Italy Again :: Koblet, Second] (in Spanish). El Mundo Deportivo. 3 June 1953. p. 1. Archived from the original on 27 February 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
2. "Coppi ha vinto il Giro d'Italia e Magni l'ultima volata a Milano" [Coppi won the Tour of Italy and Magni the last sprint in Milan](PDF). La Stampa (in Italian). Editrice La Stampa. 3 June 1953. p. 4. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
3. "Primi interrogativi per il Tour" [A Tour of mountains and countryside](PDF). La Stampa (in Italian). Editrice La Stampa. 3 June 1953. p. 5. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
4. "Al Vigorelli apoteosi di Fausto Coppi superbo vincitore del "Giro d'Italia"" [At Vigorelli apotheosis of Fausto Coppi proud winner of the "Tour of Italy"](PDF). l'Unità (in Italian). PCI. 3 June 1953. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 May 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
5. Paul Maunder (19 May 2018). "Part 5: Staring at the Ceiling". Soigneur. Archived from the original on 1 October 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
6. "16 squadre 112 atleti" [16 teams 112 athletes]. Corriere dello Sport (in Italian). 12 May 1953. p. 1. Archived from the original on 23 December 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
7. "Le depart du Tour d'Italie sera donne aujourd'hui a Milan" [The start of the Tour of Italy will be given today in Milan](PDF). La Sentinelle (in French). 12 May 1953. p. 3. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 October 2019 – via RERO.
8. Bill and Carol McGann. "1953 Giro d'Italia". Bike Race Info. Dog Ear Publishing. Retrieved 2012-07-10.
9. "Aujourd'hui, départ du 36 Tour de Italie" [Today, the 36th Tour of Italy departs](PDF). La Liberté (in French). 12 May 1953. p. 7. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 October 2019 – via RERO.
10. Attilio Camoriano (12 May 1953). "Koblet: una spina nel cuore di Coppi" [Koblet: A thorn in the heart of Coppi](PDF). l'Unità (in Italian). PCI. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 July 2021. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
11. "Il Giro d'Italia del 12 al 28 Maggio" [The Tour of Italy from May 12 to 28]. Corriere dello Sport (in Italian). 27 March 1953. p. 1 &. Archived from the original on 3 May 2019. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
12. "Il Giro d'Italia allo Stadio Olimpiconel giorno di Italia-Ungheria" [The Giro d'Italia at the Stadio Olimpiconel day of Italy-Hungary]. Corriere dello Sport (in Italian). 1 April 1953. p. 1 & 6. Archived from the original on 3 May 2019. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
13. "Il Giro d'Italia in venti tappe e due giornate di riposo dal 12 maggio al 2 giugno" [The Giro d'Italia in twenty stages and two days of rest from 12 May to 2 June]. Corriere dello Sport (in Italian). 10 April 1953. p. 1 & 6. Archived from the original on 4 May 2019. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
14. Ennio Mantella (11 April 1953). "Il Giro d'Italia il percorso e la formula" [The Giro d'Italia the route and the formula]. Corriere dello Sport (in Italian). p. 1 & 5. Archived from the original on 4 May 2019. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
15. "Fissate le 20 tappe del "Giro d'Italia"" [Set the 20 stages of the "Giro d'Italia"](PDF). l'Unità (in Italian). PCI. 10 April 1953. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 May 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
16. "Ecco il "Giro"!" [Here is the "Giro"!](PDF). l'Unità (in Italian). PCI. 11 April 1953. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 May 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
17. "Abandons de Kubler and Graf" [Kubler and Graf abandon](PDF). La Sentinelle (in French). 13 May 1953. p. 4. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 October 2019 – via RERO.
18. Laura Weislo (13 May 2008). "Giro d'Italia classifications demystified". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Archived from the original on 8 May 2013. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
19. "Classifica indipendenti; Classifica stranieri" (in Italian). Corriere dello Sport. 11 June 1951. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
20. "Classifica del G. P. della Montagna dopo il traguardo di San Marino" [Ranking of Mountain GP after the finish of San Marino]. Corriere dello Sport (in Italian). 14 May 1953. p. 6. Archived from the original on 4 April 2015. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
21. "Taccuino del "Giro"" ["Giro" Notebook]. Corriere dello Sport (in Italian). 25 May 1953. p. 11. Archived from the original on 30 April 2019. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
22. "Coppi en la penúltima" [Coppi in the penultimate](PDF) (in Spanish). El Mundo Deportivo. 3 June 1953. p. 3. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 March 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
23. "Classifica per squadre" [Standings for Teams]. Corriere dello Sport (in Italian). 3 June 1953. p. 7. Archived from the original on 22 December 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
24. "Fausto Coppi stacca tutti sullo Stelvio è primo a Bormio e conquista la maglia rosa" [Fausto Coppi all off on the Stelvio in Bormio is first and won the pink jersey](PDF). La Stampa (in Italian). Editrice La Stampa. 2 June 1953. p. 4. Retrieved 27 May 2012.