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By Barry Boyce CyclingRevealed Historian
GdI May 25-June 12, 1921 |
3,101 Km |
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Finishers: 27 |
Average Speed: 25.592 km/h |
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Brunero is the Strongest
The 1921 Giro d'Italia was the 9th edition of Italy’s Grand Tour.
1919 Giro champion Constante Girardengo was the main favorite for the victory.
SPECIAL NOTE: As the Giro’s racing action has grown in importance. Daily filming of the stages was later shown in movie theaters all over Italy.
Teams:
There were 3 Professional teams competing in the race, along with 2 Independent teams and 39 Isolati/Independent riders:
Sponsored Pro Teams
- Bianchi-Dunlop
- Legnano-Pirelli
- Stucchi-Pirelli
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Independent Pro Teams
- Cicli Bordin (I)
- Ancora (I)
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Race Summary:
Stage 1 to 4: If anyone doubted Constante Girardengo’s excellent racing form, those doubts were dashed in the first four stages. He scored four straight stage wins.
| Stg 1 Mountains May 25 |
Stg 2 Flat stage May 27 |
Stg 3 Mountains May 29 |
Stg 4 Mountains May 31 |
- The first stage into Merano featured the tough climb of the Colle San Eusebio. Girardengo led a 22-man group into Merano and easily won the sprint.
- He continued to win sprints for stages 2, 3 and 4. Girardengo dominated the race, but the GC was extremely close with the top five riders all within 9 seconds.
Stage 5: (Mountains, Thursday, June 2, 1921) The fifth stage covered the difficult and hilly Apennine roads that were to be unkind to the race leader. He collided with another rider and crashed heavily. Like last year, Belloni’s team took the opportunity to attack. Girardengo gave a desperate chase for sixty kilometers but eventually decided that further pursuit was pointless. He dismounted his bike and knelt in the unpaved road, drew a cross in the dirt and said "Girardengo si ferma qui" (Girardengo stops here). Gaetano Belloni was the new race leader.
Stage 7: (Flat stage, Monday, June 6, 1921) The race began to turn when Giovanni Brunero powered away from Belloni and soloed into Livorno for the stage win. He finished 2’01” ahead of Belloni and gained the race lead.
Stage 9: (Flat stage, Friday, June 10, 1921) Belloni won the stage, gaining 11 seconds and cut Brunero’s lead to 41 seconds with one stage to go.
SPECIAL NOTE: The famous climb of the Madonna del Ghisallo was the major point of stage 10.
Stage 10: (Mountains, Sunday, June 12, 1921) This was the final stage and took the peloton into Milan. Belloni won the stage, but the race leader was close behind. He tried but could not erase his entire time deficit. The final GC deficit was 41”, making it the closest Giro to date.
SPECIAL NOTE: Gaetano Belloni went back to being “Italy’s Eternal Second.”
Stage and Distance |
Stage Winner |
Race Leader |
Stage 1 Milan-Merano, 333 km |
Constante Girardengo (Ita) |
Constante Girardengo (Ita) |
Stage 2 Merano-Bologna, 348 km |
Constante Girardengo (Ita) |
Constante Girardengo (Ita) |
Stage 3 Bologna-Perugia, 321 km |
Constante Girardengo (Ita) |
Constante Girardengo (Ita) |
Stage 4 Perugia-Chieti, 328 km |
Constante Girardengo (Ita) |
Constante Girardengo (Ita) |
Stage 5 Chieti-Napoli, 264 km |
Gaetano Belloni (Ita) |
Gaetano Belloni (Ita) |
Stage 6 Napoli-Rome, 299 km |
Luigi Annoni (Ita) |
Gaetano Belloni (Ita) |
Stage 7 Rome-Livorno, 341 km |
Giovanni Brunero (Ita) |
Giovanni Brunero (Ita) |
Stage 8 Livorno-Parma, 242 km |
Luigi Annoni (Ita) |
Giovanni Brunero (Ita) |
Stage 9 Parma-Torino, 320 km |
Gaetano Belloni (Ita) |
Giovanni Brunero (Ita) |
Stage 10 Torino-Milan, 305 km |
Gaetano Belloni (Ita) |
Giovanni Brunero (Ita) |
General Classification:
Final General Classification |
Rank |
Rider |
Team |
Points |
1 |
Giovanni BRUNERO (Ita) |
Legnano-Pirelli |
120h 24' 39" |
2 |
Gaetano Belloni (Ita) |
Bianchi-Dunlop |
+ 41" |
3 |
Bartolomeo Aymo (Ita) |
Legnano-Pirelli |
+ 19' 47" |
4 |
Lucien Buysse (Bel) |
Bianchi-Dunlop |
+ 39' 00" |
5 |
Angelo Gremo (Ita) |
Bianchi-Dunlop |
+ 47' 28" |
6 |
Federico Gay (Ita) |
Bianchi-Dunlop |
+ 59' 33" |
7 |
Alfredo Sivocci (Ita) |
Legnano-Pirelli |
+ 1h 24' 27" |
8 |
Clemente Canepari (Ita) |
Legnano-Pirelli |
+ 2h 24' 08" |
9 |
Giovanni Rossignoli (Ita) |
Bianchi-Dunlop |
+ 2h 24' 25" |
10 |
Luigi Annoni (Ita) |
Stucchi-Pirelli |
+ 2h 36' 57" |
11 |
Alfredo Cominetti (Ita) |
#1 Isolati/Ind. Category |
+ 3h 31' 24" |
12 |
Giovanni Scaioni (Ita) |
Isolati/Independent |
+ 3h 39' 44" |
13 |
Nicola di Biase (Ita) |
Isolati/Independent |
+ 4h 16' 49" |
14 |
Michele Gordini (Ita) |
Isolati/Independent |
+ 5h 34' 50" |
15 |
Giuseppe Santhia (Ita) |
Bianchi-Dunlop |
+ 6h 08' 49" |
16 |
Lauro Bordin (Ita) |
Cicli Bordin (I) |
+ 6h 35' 26" |
17 |
Enrico Sala (Ita) |
Ancora (I) |
+ 6h 46' 54" |
18 |
Angelo Erba (Ita) |
Isolati/Independent |
+ 6h 56' 04" |
19 |
Louis Luguet (Fra) |
Bianchi-Dunlop |
+ 8h 39' 02" |
20 |
Ugo Bianchi (Ita) |
Isolati/Independent |
+ 10h 14' 16" |
21 |
Mario Spinelli (Ita) |
Isolati/Independent |
+ 10h 14' 21" |
22 |
Angelo Guidi (Ita) |
Isolati/Independent |
+ 11h 35' 01" |
23 |
Antonio Tecchio (Ita) |
Isolati/Independent |
+ 11h 51' 37" |
24 |
Damiano Solitario (Ita) |
Isolati/Independent |
+ 13h 32' 29" |
25 |
Lorenzo Sinchetto (Ita) |
Isolati/Independent |
+ 13h 58' 27" |
26 |
Francesco di Gaetano (Ita) |
Isolati/Independent |
+ 14h 17' 30" |
27 |
Andrea Cazzaniga (Ita) |
Isolati/Independent |
+ 1d 2h 40' 01" |
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Return to the Race Snippets ToC |
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