Happy Anniversary!

by gavia on Aug 22, 2008 10:45 AM EDT in News Comment 14 comments

One hundred years ago today, Gazzetta announced the first running of the Giro d'Italia. The first edition of the race took place the following May, in 1909.

In August 1908, the directors of Gazzetta dello Sport decided they wanted to promote a race like the Tour de France, which by then had run since 1903. They envisioned a bicycle tour that would cover as much as possible of Italian territory. This was, after all, an era of mass nationalism. Together with the Touring Club of Italy and the first bicycle manufacturer in Italy, Bianchi, the directors of Gazzetta decided to begin their project on 5 August 1908 at a meeting in Venezia.

At the time of its public announcement, the race had as yet no funding. Always, there was the risk that it would not actually occur. The first race had 8 stages and covered 3000 kilometers. It included the city of Napoli in the South and Milano in the North. Of the 127 starters on the 13 May, only 49 made it to the finish in Milano on 30 May. The winner, Luigi Ganna of Varese, took home 3000 lire for his effort. The entire budget for that first race totalled 25,000 lire.

This year's Giro will depart on 9 May, and will mark the 100th anniversary of its origin. It is, however, only the 92nd running, as two World Wars erupted to interrupt the festivities.

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3,000 Lire?

That’s like what, €1.55?

pounding along in three ratios like a sonata
like a Ritter with pommelled scrotum atra cura on the step
Botticelli from the fork down pestling the transmission
tires bleeding voiding zeep the highway

by fmk on Aug 22, 2008 11:38 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Buon compleanno, Giro d'Italia!

I can’t wait to see what RCS comes up with for the centennial route.

Interesting that a Varesino was the first winner, since another Varesino — Basso — will likely be the favorite for the centennial race.

by Tifosa on Aug 22, 2008 2:17 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

ah, me likes the Varese link

Nice catch :-)

And yes, I’m totally looking forward to what they come up with for the centennial. Could be a cool presentation this year, too.

So, um, where’s my plane ticket? ;-)

by gavia on Aug 22, 2008 4:05 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Talk to Chris

"I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass... and I'm all out of bubblegum."

by Drew... on Aug 22, 2008 4:11 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

waiting for Grillo to send it

by lyne on Aug 22, 2008 5:05 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Grillo

better get you two those tickets soon, if you’re going to get his look up to speed by the time of the presentation. You’ve only got until December!

by Tifosa on Aug 22, 2008 6:10 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

absolutely

I give you exhibits one and two … we have our work cut out for us

by lyne on Aug 22, 2008 6:45 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Is that like a porcupine do?

"The most wasted day is that in which we have not laughed."

by nikki on Aug 22, 2008 7:02 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Cool. Thanks, gavia.

Cycling history is just cool. The personalities, the photos, the kits, the stories. And the simultaneous tour of 20th world history that accompanies you when you dig into cycling lore shines light on cycling history, and vice versa. Makes you laugh, makes you cry.

I love the book by Dino Buzzati, The Giro d’Italia: Coppi vs. Bartali in the 1949 Tour of Italy.
It’s a wonderful moment in the Giro’s story, captured by a smart cultured man who was out of his element as a reporter.

Since Giro 2009 is a long way off, there’s time to read it, some cold winter nights…

by Steno on Aug 22, 2008 8:21 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Thanks for the title, I’m going to try to find a cheap copy of that book. By the way the Wikipedia entry for Coppi is quite interesting, not only is there a fantastic photo of him – fantastic in every way, because it is grainy, because his expression is inexhaustibly rich, because he’s drop-dead gorgeous and seems to be wearing the world champion’s jersey, oh and what’s up with his nose? – and not only because it mentions a film that was made about him (Il Grande Fausto, 1993 – anyone seen it?), but also because there is a very detailed account of “the Coppi-Merckx debate,” which definitely looks like it was written by an Italian (nothing wrong with that; the account is probably more interesting for being partisan).

Someone once gave me a large format book called “The Bicycle Book,” which I can no longer find, I think it was from the 70s. In it there is a fantastic full-page photo of Coppi doing what looks to be a kind of “victory lap” (perhaps after winning the Giro?). It is amazing because right in the middle of the photo there is the larger-than-life Coppi, with an expression on his face not unlike the one in the Wikipedia photo…and all around him, there is a crowd of very elegantly dressed Italians, both men and women, who in very different ways are awed just to be in Coppi’s presence. There is a guy running behind him with a beaming smile, there are men looking at him literally in wonder or awe, there are men looking at other men looking at him, or looking, enviously, at women looking at him – and there is a woman who is slightly off-balance because Coppi has passed very close to her, she is bracing herself but at the same time smiling, it is a smile that is at once joyful and discreet. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more perfect photo in my life, or wanted more to be – not Coppi, that’s too much to ask, but simply one of the people in the crowd.

by plinytheelder on Aug 23, 2008 5:43 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

try abebooks

great read. also, if you search the cafe, i think chris once wrote a review of it. a fave for sure!

by gavia on Aug 23, 2008 6:29 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

How I’d love to see that photo, pliny.

Something the Giro has over the Tour for me is the draw of Italy itself. A magnetic attraction? A physical attraction, or both? Hard to put into words. Thinking about this forum thread makes me ache to be there.

by Steno on Aug 23, 2008 9:52 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs