Cleto Maule’s Great Sprint
The 49th edition of the Giro di Lombardia was held on October 23, 1955.
The starter’s flag dropped at 10:00 a.m. and the race departured Milan on a pleasant autumn day. The peloton stayed together through the early kms.
Race Status:
On the Brinzio climb (56 km / 222 km), Michele Gismondi (Bianchi) stretched the group and passed first at the summit with a two-hundred meters lead.
At the control station in Como (102 km / 222 km), Flamino Giusti (Arbos), Angelo Conterno (Torpado), Albert De Bruyne (Mercier), Jean Bobet (L. Bobet), Danilo Barozzi (Atala), and Luciano Maggini (Atala) caught the four leaders while the peloton trailed by 1'25".
In Valbrona (120 km / 222 km), attackers from the chasing peloton caught the leaders. The breakaway swells to 23-riders.
On the early slopes of the Madonna di Ghisallo (142 km / 222 km), the lead group contained only Conterno, Pasquale Fornara (Leo), René Privat (Mercier), De Bruyne and Giuseppe Minardi (Legnano) remained in the lead. Fausto Coppi (Bianchi) and J. Bobet led the chasers.
Conterno is the first to reach the summit with an 18" gap over Privat, Fornara and De Bruyne at 33".
Cleto Maule (Torpado) and Angelo Conterno (Torpado) broke away in Segrino (167 km / 222 km).
In Giussano (177 km / 222 km), the breakaway held a 55" lead on Barozzi, Serena, Uliana, Bartalini, and Aureggi while the peloton was at 1'50".
A nine-rider breakaway group entered the velodrome for the final sprint.
Barozzi entered the velodrome first, but the sprint remained uncertain. No one wanted to lead out the sprint. Cleto Maule entered the final straight first, sprinted hard and overtook everyone. De Bruyne tried to respond but is unable to pass Maule. The Italian gained three bike lengths and gained the most important victory of his career.
Controversy presented itself at the entrance of the velodrome, when a large chase group arrived a minute after the breakaway entered. The group had to be neutralized by race officials and riders were stopped at the gate to avoid disrupting the lead group’s sprint.
SPECIAL NOTE: Louison Bobet in this second group, lodged a heated protest, which was rejected. As a protest, he did not sign the “arrival booklet” at the finish line control. He was disqualified from the 1955 Giro di Lombardia.
Defending champion Fausto Coppi (Bianchi) finished in the peloton over a minute behind.
GdL October 23, 1955 |
222 Km, Milan-Milan (Vigorelli Velodrome) |
1.
Cleto MAULE (Ita) 5h44'27" |
2.
Alfred De Bruyne (Bel) |
3.
Angelo Conterno (Ita) |
Starters: 116 / Finishers: 91 Average Speed: 38.670 km/h |
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Lomb 1954 Lomb 1956
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