| 1948 Giro d'Italia | |
| Date: | 15 May - 6 June 1948 |
| Stages: | 19 |
| Distance: | 4164 |
| Unit: | km |
| Time: | 124h 51' 52" |
| Speed: | 33.116 |
| First: | Fiorenzo Magni |
| First Nat: | ITA |
| First Team: | Wilier Triestina |
| First Color: | pink |
| Second: | Ezio Cecchi |
| Second Nat: | ITA |
| Second Team: | Cimatti |
| Third: | Giordano Cottur |
| Third Nat: | ITA |
| Third Team: | Wilier Triestina |
| Mountains: | Fausto Coppi |
| Mountains Nat: | ITA |
| Mountains Team: | Bianchi |
| Team: | Wilier Triestina |
| Previous: | 1947 |
| Next: | 1949 |
The 1948 Giro d'Italia was the 31st edition of the Giro d'Italia, organized and sponsored by the newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport. The race began on 15 May in Milan with a stage that stretched 190km (120miles) to Turin, finishing back in Milan on 6 June after a 231km (144miles) stage and a total distance covered of 4164km (2,587miles). The race was won by the Italian rider Fiorenzo Magni of the Wilier Triestina team, with fellow Italians Ezio Cecchi and Giordano Cottur coming in second and third respectively.[1] [2] [3] [4]
See main article: List of teams and cyclists in the 1948 Giro d'Italia. A total of eleven teams entered the 1948 Giro d'Italia.[5] Each team sent a squad of seven riders, so the Giro began with a peloton of 77 cyclists.[5] Out of the 77 riders that started this edition of the Giro d'Italia, a total of 44 riders made it to the finish in Milan.[6]
The teams entering the race were:[5]
Race organizer and newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport released the preliminary route for the Giro d'Italia on 27 October 1947.[7] [8] The race was originally planned to start on 22 May and finish on 13 June, while covering 3715km (2,308miles) over nineteen stages.[7] [8]
| Stage | Date | Course | Distance | Type | Winner | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15 May | Milan to Turin | 190km (120miles) | Plain stage | |||
| 2 | 16 May | Turin to Genoa | 226km (140miles) | Plain stage | |||
| 3 | 17 May | Genoa to Parma | 243km (151miles) | Stage with mountain(s) | |||
| 4 | 18 May | Parma to Viareggio | 266km (165miles) | Plain stage | |||
| 19 May | Rest day | ||||||
| 5 | 20 May | Viareggio to Siena | 165km (103miles) | Plain stage | |||
| 6 | 21 May | Siena to Rome | 256km (159miles) | Plain stage | |||
| 7 | 22 May | Rome to Pescara | 230km (140miles) | Stage with mountain(s) | |||
| 8 | 23 May | Pescara to Bari | 347km (216miles) | Plain stage | |||
| 24 May | Rest day | ||||||
| 9 | 25 May | Bari to Naples | 306km (190miles) | Stage with mountain(s) | |||
| 10 | 26 May | Naples to Fiuggi | 184km (114miles) | Plain stage | |||
| 11 | 27 May | Fiuggi to Perugia | 265km (165miles) | Plain stage | |||
| 28 May | Rest day | ||||||
| 12 | 29 May | Perugia to Florence | 169km (105miles) | Plain stage | |||
| 13 | 30 May | Florence to Bologna | 194km (121miles) | Stage with mountain(s) | |||
| 14 | 31 May | Bologna to Udine | 278km (173miles) | Plain stage | |||
| 15 | 1 June | Udine to Auronzo di Cadore | 125km (78miles) | Stage with mountain(s) | |||
| 2 June | Rest day | ||||||
| 16 | 3 June | Auronzo di Cadore to Cortina d'Ampezzo | 90km (60miles) | Stage with mountain(s) | |||
| 17 | 4 June | Cortina d'Ampezzo to Trento | 160km (100miles) | Stage with mountain(s) | |||
| 18 | 5 June | Trento to Brescia | 239km (149miles) | Plain stage | |||
| 19 | 6 June | Brescia to Milan | 231km (144miles) | Plain stage | |||
| Total | 4164km (2,587miles) | ||||||
During stage 9 from Bari to Naples, Magni –who was down nine minutes at the time– joined the day's breakaway.
During the Giro, the French and Belgian teams left the race because they thought it was made impossible for foreign riders to ride the Giro. When the leader Magni was punished with only two minutes after being pushed up a mountain, Fausto Coppi and his Bianchi team also left the race out of protest. As a result, only forty riders finished the Giro.[9] Stage seventeen featured several climbs including the Pordoi Pass. Coppi won the stage, but Magni–who had a reputation for struggling on big climbs–finished in time to retain the lead. It was discovered that Magni had been helped up the Pordoi, while some state he was pushed by spectators others say he was pulled by a car. Coppi and Bianchi requested Magni to be thrown out. As there were no photos, the race jury had to go based on testimonies. It was officially declared that the pushing Magni received was planned. The punishment was a two-minute penalty in the general classification, which still allowed him to remain in the lead. Coppi and his team decided to withdraw after that decision.
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.[10]
In the mountains classification, the race organizers selected different mountains that the route crossed and awarded points to the riders who crossed them first.[10] 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.[6] [11] If a team had fewer than three riders finish, they were not eligible for the classification.[6] [11]
There was a black jersey (maglia nera) awarded to the rider placed last in the general classification. The classification was calculated in the same manner as the general classification.
The prize money for the winner of the race was one million lire.[12] The prize money increased to one million this year because Totip, a horse race betting company, sponsored the race.[12]
The rows in the following table correspond to the jerseys awarded after that stage was run.
| Stage | Winner | General classification | Mountains classification | Last in General classification | Team classification | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Giordano Cottur | Giordano Cottur | not awarded | ? | ? | |
| 2 | Mario Ricci | Antonio Covolo | ||||
| 3 | Luciano Maggini | Ezio Cecchi | Enzo Bellini | Wilier-Triestina | ||
| 4 | Luigi Casola | Antonio Covolo | ||||
| 5 | Adolfo Leoni | |||||
| 6 | Luigi Casola | |||||
| 7 | Antonio Bevilacqua | Fausto Coppi | ? | |||
| 8 | Adolfo Leoni | |||||
| 9 | Nedo Logli | Vito Ortelli | Ezio Cecchi | Aldo Bini | ||
| 10 | Italo De Zan | Arbos | ||||
| 11 | Désiré Keteleer | Valeriano Zanazzi | ||||
| 12 | Oreste Conte | |||||
| 13 | Bruno Pasquini | Ezio Cecchi & Fausto Coppi | Prosper Depredomme | |||
| 14 | Oreste Conte | Fiorenzo Magni | ? | |||
| 15 | Vincenzo Rossello | Ezio Cecchi | ||||
| 16 | Fausto Coppi | |||||
| 17 | Fausto Coppi | Fiorenzo Magni | Fausto Coppi | Aldo Bini | Wilier-Triestina | |
| 18 | Elio Bertocchi | |||||
| 19 | Fiorenzo Magni | |||||
| Final | Fiorenzo Magni | Fausto Coppi | Aldo Bini | Wilier Triestina | ||
| Rank | Name | Team | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wilier Triestina | |||
| 2 | Cimatti | + 11" | ||
| 3 | Wilier Triestina | + 2' 37" | ||
| 4 | Atala | s.t. | ||
| 5 | Arbos | + 8' 24" | ||
| 6 | Arbos | + 9' 14" | ||
| 7 | Wilier Triestina | + 9' 17" | ||
| 8 | Legnano | + 11' 52" | ||
| 9 | Viani Cral Imperia | + 15' 05" | ||
| 10 | Wilier Triestina | + 18' 22" |
| Name | Team | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bianchi | 25 | |
| 2 | Cimatti | 16 | |
| 3 | Legnano | 14 | |
| 4 | Atala | 12 | |
| 5 | Wilier-Triestina | 9 | |
| 6 | Viani-C.R.A.L. Imperia | 8 | |
| 7 | Arbos | 6 | |
| 8 | Legnano | 5 | |
| 9 | Viscontea | 4 | |
| Cimatti | |||
| Wilier-Triestina |
| Team | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wilier Triestina | ||
| 2 | Arbos | + 28' 30" | |
| 3 | Legnano | + 1h 40' 07" | |
| 4 | Viani-C.R.A.L. Imperia | + 2h 04' 25" | |
| 5 | Benotto | + 2h 56' 36" | |
| 6 | Atala | + 3h 02' 43" | |
| 7 | Viscontea | + 4h 40' 14" | |
| 8 | Cimatti | + 5h 40' 45" |
The Italian cycling federation gave Coppi a suspension of one month because he refused to finish the Giro.[9] After being caught cheating, Magni was the subject of the tifosi's animosity, he was frequently booed and writing on the road included the phrase Abbasso Magni (English: Down with Magni). After winning the final stage into Milan's Vignorelli Velodrome, the crowd's behavior (whistles, boos, and anti–Magni banners) reduced him to tears. The Communist Mayor of Prato sent Magni a telegram congratulating him on the victory, stating that his victory brought "honor to [their] city." Later in his life, Magni said that the telegram pleased him greatly.