1937_Giro_d'Italia
1937 Giro d'Italia
Cycling race
The 1937 Giro d'Italia was the 25th edition of the Giro d'Italia, organized and sponsored by the newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport. The race began on 8 May in Milan with a stage that stretched 165 km (103 mi) to Turin, finishing back in Milan on 30 May after a split stage and a total distance covered of 3,840 km (2,386 mi). The race was won by Gino Bartali of the Legnano team, with fellow Italians Giovanni Valetti and Enrico Mollo coming in second and third respectively.
| Race details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dates | 8–30 May 1937 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stages | 19, including four split stages | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Distance | 3,840 km (2,386 mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Winning time | 112h 49' 28" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Of the 98 riders that began the Giro d'Italia on 8 May,[1] 41 of them made it to the finish in Milan on 30 May.[2] 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.[1] The four teams that partook in the race were: Bianchi, Fréjus, Ganna, and Legnano.[1][2] Each team was composed of seven riders.[1] There were also seven groups, made up of five riders each, that participated in the race.[1] Those groups were: Italiani All'Estero, Bertoldo, Il Littoriale, S S. Parioli, Belgi, Svizzeri, and Tedeschi.[1]
The peloton was composed primarily of Italian riders.[2] The field featured four former Giro d'Italia winners with the 1931 race winner Francesco Camusso, 1934 winner Learco Guerra, Vasco Bergamaschi who won the race in 1935, and returning champion Gino Bartali.[1][2] Other notable Italian riders included Olimpio Bizzi, Giovanni Valetti, and Giuseppe Olmo.[1][2] Notable foreign entrants were the Belgian riders Alfons Deloor, Alfons Schepers, and Antoine Dignef, and also the Swiss rider Leo Amberg who placed high at the 1936 Tour de France.[1][2]
| Stage | Date | Course | Distance | Type[Notes 1] | Winner | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 May | Milan to Turin | 165 km (103 mi) |  |
Plain stage |  Nello Troggi (ITA) | |
| 2 | 9 May | Torino to Acqui Terme | 148 km (92 mi) | |
Plain stage | Quirico Bernacchi (ITA) | |
| 3 | 10 May | Acqui Terme to Genoa | 158 km (98 mi) | |
Plain stage | Giovanni Valetti (ITA) | |
| 4 | 11 May | Genoa to Viareggio | 186 km (116 mi) |  |
Stage with mountain(s) | Olimpio Bizzi (ITA) | |
| 5a | 12 May | Viareggio to Marina di Massa | 60 km (37 mi) |  |
Team time trial | Legnano | |
| 5b | Marina di Massa to Livorno | 114 km (71 mi) | |
Plain stage | Olimpio Bizzi (ITA) | ||
| 13 May | Rest day | ||||||
| 6 | 14 May | Livorno to Arezzo | 190 km (118 mi) | |
Plain stage | Giuseppe Olmo (ITA) | |
| 7 | 15 May | Arezzo to Rieti | 206 km (128 mi) | |
Plain stage | Marco Cimatti (ITA) | |
| 8a | 16 May | Rieti to Monte Terminillo | 20 km (12 mi) | |
Individual time trial | Gino Bartali (ITA) | |
| 8b | Rieti to Rome | 152 km (94 mi) | |
Stage with mountain(s) | Raffaele Di Paco (ITA) | ||
| 9 | 17 May | Rome to Naples | 250 km (155 mi) | |
Plain stage | Learco Guerra (ITA) | |
| 18 May | Rest day | ||||||
| 10 | 19 May | Naples to Foggia | 166 km (103 mi) | |
Stage with mountain(s) | Gino Bartali (ITA) | |
| 11a | 20 May | Foggia to San Severo | 186 km (116 mi) | |
Stage with mountain(s) | Walter Generati (ITA) | |
| 11b | San Severo to Campobasso | 105 km (65 mi) | |
Plain stage | Cesare Del Cancia (ITA) | ||
| 12 | 21 May | Campobasso to Pescara | 258 km (160 mi) | |
Stage with mountain(s) | Marco Cimatti (ITA) | |
| 13 | 22 May | Pescara to Ancona | 194 km (121 mi) | |
Plain stage | Aldo Bini (ITA) | |
| 14 | 23 May | Ancona to Forlì | 178 km (111 mi) | |
Plain stage | Aldo Bini (ITA) | |
| 24 May | Rest day | ||||||
| 15 | 25 May | Forlì to Vittorio Veneto | 266 km (165 mi) | |
Plain stage | Glauco Servadei (ITA) | |
| 16 | 26 May | Vittorio Veneto to Merano | 227 km (141 mi) | |
Stage with mountain(s) | Gino Bartali (ITA) | |
| 17 | 27 May | Merano to Gardone Riviera | 190 km (118 mi) | |
Stage with mountain(s) | Gino Bartali (ITA) | |
| 28 May | Rest day | ||||||
| 18 | 29 May | Gardone Riviera to San Pellegrino Terme | 129 km (80 mi) | |
Plain stage | Glauco Servadei (ITA) | |
| 19a | 30 May | San Pellegrino Terme to Como | 151 km (94 mi) | |
Plain stage | Marco Cimatti (ITA) | |
| 19b | Como to Milan | 141 km (88 mi) | |
Stage with mountain(s) | Aldo Bini (ITA) | ||
| Total | 3,840 km (2,386 mi) | ||||||
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.[3]
The liberi classification, one similar to the general classification was calculated, using only independent riders and riders that came as members of groups.[4]
In the mountains classification, the race organizers selected different mountains that the route crossed and awarded points to the riders who crossed them first.[3]
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.[2][4] If a team had fewer than three riders finish, they were not eligible for the classification.[4] The group classification was decided in the same manner, but the classification was exclusive to the competing groups.[4]
The rows in the following table correspond to the jerseys awarded after that stage was run.
General classification
| Rank | Name | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gino Bartali (ITA)  |
Legnano | 122h 25' 40" |
| 2 | Giovanni Valetti (ITA) |
Fréjus | + 8' 18" |
| 3 | Enrico Mollo (ITA) |
Fréjus | + 17' 38" |
| 4 | Severino Canavesi (ITA) |
Ganna | + 21' 38" |
| 5 | Cesare Del Cancia (ITA) |
Ganna | + 23' 18" |
| 6 | Walter Generati (ITA) |
Fréjus | + 27' 28" |
| 7 | Edoardo Molinar (ITA) |
— | + 30' 31" |
| 8 | Bernardo Rogora (ITA) |
— | + 32' 07" |
| 9 | Ambrogio Morelli (ITA) |
Italiani all'Estero | + 48' 22" |
| 10 | Adriano Vignoli (ITA) |
— | + 55' 19" |
Liberi classification
| Rank | Name | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Edoardo Molinar (ITA) |
— | 122h 59' 41" |
| 2 | Bernardo Rogora (ITA) |
— | + 5' 07" |
| 3 | Ambrogio Morelli (ITA) |
Italiani all'Estero | + 14' 21" |
| 4 | Adriano Vignoli (ITA) |
— | + 21' 18" |
| 5 | Fausto Montesi (ITA) |
— | + 27' 04" |
| 6 |  Leo Amberg (SUI) |
— | + 30' 14" |
| 7 | Luigi Barral (ITA) |
Bertoldo | + 39' 49" |
| 8 | Settimo Simonini (ITA) |
Il Littoriale | + 42' 44" |
| 9 | Zoarino Guidi (ITA) |
Il Littoriale | + 54' 59" |
| 10 | Francesco Patti (ITA) |
— | + 1h 10' 09" |
Mountains classification
| Rank | Name | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gino Bartali (ITA) |
Legnano | 37 |
| 2 | Enrico Mollo (ITA) |
Fréjus | 35 |
| 3 | Luigi Barral (ITA) |
Bertoldo | 22 |
| 4 | Ezio Checchi (ITA) |
— | 9 |
| 5 | Adalino Mealli (ITA) |
Legnano | 8 |
| 6 | Walter Generati (ITA) |
Fréjus | 6 |
| Giovanni Valetti (ITA) |
Fréjus | ||
| 8 | Marco Cimatti (ITA) |
Italiani all'Estero | 5 |
| 9 | Cesare Del Gancia (ITA) |
Ganna | 3 |
| Edoardo Molinar (ITA) |
— |
Team classification
Group classification
| Rank | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Il Littoriale | 370h 58' 04" |
| 2 | Italiani all'estero | + 21' 27" |
| 3 | Bertoldo | + 1h 05' 37" |
| 4 | Stranieri | + 4h 10' 09" |
- Notes
- In 1937, there was no distinction in the rules between plain stages and mountain stages; the icons shown here indicate that the stages 4, 8b, 10, 11a, 12, 16, 17, and 19b included major mountains. The stage 8a individual time trial also contained a summit finish.
- Citations
- "L'elenco dei concorrenti" [The list of competitors]. Il Littoriale (in Italian). 8 May 1937. p. 4. Archived from the original on 21 December 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
- Bill and Carol McGann. "1937 Giro d'Italia". Bike Race Info. Dog Ear Publishing. Archived from the original on 2014-02-27. Retrieved 2012-07-10.
- 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.
- "Il XXV Giro d'Italia si è chiuso con eccellente successo" [The 25th Giro d'Italia Ended With Great Success]. Il Littoriale (in Italian). Milan, Italy. 31 May 1937. p. 4. Archived from the original on 11 July 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
- Bibliography
- Emanuelli, Enrico (12 May 1937), Angelo Ghezzi (ed.), "La Scatola A Sorpresa del Giro d'Italia si e'Aperta" [The Surprise Box of the Giro d'Italia opened up], Lo Sport Illustrato (in Italian), vol. 1, no. 19, S. A. Editrice La Gazetta dello Sport, pp. 2–6, archived from the original on 16 October 2019, retrieved 7 July 2013
- Emanuelli, Enrico (19 May 1937), Angelo Ghezzi (ed.), "Gino Bartali Porta a Roma" [Gino Bartali Door to Rome], Lo Sport Illustrato (in Italian), vol. 1, no. 20, S. A. Editrice La Gazetta dello Sport, pp. 2–6, archived from the original on 16 October 2019, retrieved 7 July 2013