Story · 1914
At the 1914 Giro, 81 riders started and eight reached Milan
Eight stages averaging 395 km, nails on the road, a rider found in a barn and a winner confirmed in court: Alfonso Calzolari won by almost…
From the archive, with sources
Stories
Cycling as it was, measured: races, riders and facts that sound made up, with the sources.
Story · 1956
On the Bondone, in the snow of 1956, Gaul made up a quarter of an hour and took the pink jersey
Merano-Monte Bondone, 242 km and five climbs through rain and snow: about half the field finished, and Charly Gaul made up the 16-17 minutes that separated…
Story · 1904
The 1904 Tour disqualified its top four, and the win went to Cornet, nineteen when he reached Paris
Fans stopping the bunch, nails on the road, lifts in trains and cars: four months after the finish the French cycling union removed the top four…
Story · 1910
At the 1910 Milan-San Remo, four riders out of sixty-three were classified
Rain, hail, then snow on the Turchino: Eugène Christophe won in 12 hours and 24 minutes, more than an hour ahead of the second-placed rider, and…
Story · 1924
Alfonsina Strada rode the 1924 Giro: out of time in Perugia, she still reached Milan
The only woman ever to ride the men’s Giro d’Italia started with number 72 and, after L’Aquila-Perugia, was taken out of the classification but allowed to…
Story · 1905
Gerbi won the first Lombardia at twenty, forty minutes clear of the next man
On 12 November 1905 Giovanni Gerbi won the first edition alone, after two hundred kilometres off the front in the mud, and his record as the…