| 1952 Giro d'Italia | |
| Date: | 17 May - 8 June 1952 |
| Stages: | 20 |
| Distance: | 3964 |
| Unit: | km |
| Time: | 114h 36' 43" |
| Speed: | 34.560 |
| First: | Fausto Coppi |
| First Nat: | ITA |
| First Team: | Bianchi |
| First Color: | pink |
| Second: | Fiorenzo Magni |
| Second Nat: | ITA |
| Second Team: | Ganna |
| Third: | Ferdinand Kübler |
| Third Nat: | SUI |
| Third Team: | Fiorelli |
| Mountains: | Raphaël Géminiani |
| Mountains Nat: | FRA |
| Mountains Team: | Bianchi |
| Team: | Bianchi |
| Previous: | 1951 |
| Next: | 1953 |
The 1952 Giro d'Italia was the 35th edition of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The Giro started off in Milan on 17 May with a 217km (135miles) flat stage and concluded back in Milan with a 147km (91miles) relatively flat mass-start stage on 8 June. Sixteen teams entered the race, which was won by Italian Fausto Coppi of the Bianchi team. Second and third respectively were Italian Fiorenzo Magni and Swiss rider Ferdinand Kübler.[1] [2] [3]
Nineteen teams were invited by the race organizers to participate in the 1952 edition of the Giro d'Italia,[4] but only seventeen accepted the invitation.[5] [6] The Paglianti team, assigned bib numbers 71 to 77, did not start, so the Giro started with sixteen teams.[7] Each team sent a squad of seven riders, which meant that the race started with a peloton of 112 cyclists.[7] [8] From the riders that began the race, 98 made it to the finish in Milan.[9]
The teams entering the race were:[7]
The "Big Three" of Italian cycling started the race and were all seen as strong favorites to win the race.[8] Reigning champion Fiorenzo Magni (Ganna) started the race with hopes of winning the race a third time (He also won in 1948).[6] Three-time champion (1940, 1947, & 1949) Fausto Coppi (Bianchi).[6] Gino Bartali (Bartali) made his twelfth start at the race, with a history of winning the race three times (1936, 1937, & 1946) and four second-place finishes.[6]
Due to the participation of several strong riders at the time, including many non-Italian riders, at the race was thought to be very competitive and the event growing into a more international event.[9] Current Swiss road race champion and world road race champion Ferdinand Kübler (Fiorelli) started the race.[6] Kübler entered the race after having won two of the three races comprising the Ardennes classics that took place in early May (Liège–Bastogne–Liège and La Flèche Wallonne).[6] [8] He was seen as a strong favorite to contend for the general classification,[6] [8] along with having a strong team in support.[8] Hugo Koblet (Guerra), who won the 1950 Giro d'Italia, started the race.[6] Attilio Camoriano of l'Unità wrote that Koblet could be a threat in the race if he was not using it as preparation for the upcoming Tour de France.[10] The previous year's runner-up Rik Van Steenbergen and teammate Stan Ockers (Girardengo) were seen as the best Belgian entrants with general classification chances.[6] [8] Milan–San Remo winner Loretto Petrucci (Bianchi) was known to ride for Coppi, but there were thoughts that he would be able to attack after the Dolomites.[6]
The Nilux team featured three Australian riders,[9] [7] who may have been the first Australian riders to participate in the race. The Torpado team featured famed Spanish riders Bernardo Ruiz and Jesús Loroño.[9] [7] It was noted that top French riders at the time were lacking from the race's start list, although Raphaël Géminiani (Bianchi) did participate as a support for Coppi.[8] [9] Géminiani had finished second at the 1951 Tour de France and had the reputation of a climber.[9] Tour de Romandie winner Wout Wagtmans (Garin) was set to ride the Giro, but withdrew at the last moment.[8] It was speculated to be a battle between Swiss and Italian riders.[8]
The route was revealed on 29 February 1952.[11] [12] [13] [14] [15] The race route contained twenty stages, of which two were individual time trials, as well as three rest days.[6] There were twelve categorized climbs that awarded points for the mountains classification across seven stages.[16]
The route was thought to give chances of success to all types of riders as there were several flat stages, "mixed" stages, time trials, and mountainous stages.[6] The first time trial was flat, while the second had a final 7km (04miles) that was downhill.[6] The eleventh and nineteenth stages were seen as the most important.[6] The eleventh leg featured three climbs as the race traveled from Venice to Bolzano and climbed the Falzarego, Pordoi Pass, and Passo Sella.[6] Stage 19 stretched from Saint-Vincent to Verbania and featured the climbs of Great St Bernard Pass, which was the highest pass of the race at 2473m (8,114feet), and Simplon Pass.[6] [16] Camoriano wrote when the route was announced that the route was open and good for those that are "capable and complete."[11]
| Stage | Date | Course | Distance | Type | Winner | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 May | Milan to Bologna | 217km (135miles) | Plain stage | |||
| 2 | 18 May | Bologna to Montecatini Terme | 197km (122miles) | Stage with mountain(s) | |||
| 3 | 19 May | Montecatini Terme to Siena | 205km (127miles) | Plain stage | |||
| 4 | 20 May | Siena to Rome | 250km (160miles) | Stage with mountain(s) | |||
| 21 May | Rest day | ||||||
| 5 | 22 May | Rome to Rocca di Papa | 35km (22miles) | Individual time trial | |||
| 6 | 23 May | Rome to Naples | 23km (14miles) | Plain stage | |||
| 7 | 24 May | Naples to Roccaraso | 140km (90miles) | Stage with mountain(s) | |||
| 8 | 25 May | Roccaraso to Ancona | 224km (139miles) | Plain stage | |||
| 9 | 26 May | Ancona to Riccione | 250km (160miles) | Plain stage | |||
| 10 | 27 May | Riccione to Venezia | 285km (177miles) | Plain stage | |||
| 28 May | Rest day | ||||||
| 11 | 29 May | Venezia to Bolzano | 276km (171miles) | Stage with mountain(s) | |||
| 12 | 30 May | Bolzano to Bergamo | 226km (140miles) | Plain stage | |||
| 13 | 31 May | Bergamo to Como | 143km (89miles) | Plain stage | |||
| 14 | 1 June | Erba to Como | 65km (40miles) | Individual time trial | |||
| 15 | 2 June | Como to Genoa | 247km (153miles) | Plain stage | |||
| 16 | 3 June | Genoa to Sanremo | 141km (88miles) | Plain stage | |||
| 4 June | Rest day | ||||||
| 17 | 5 June | Sanremo to Cuneo | 190km (120miles) | Stage with mountain(s) | |||
| 18 | 6 June | Cuneo to Saint-Vincent | 190km (120miles) | Plain stage | |||
| 19 | 7 June | Saint-Vincent to Verbania | 298km (185miles) | Stage with mountain(s) | |||
| 20 | 8 June | Verbania to Milan | 147km (91miles) | Plain stage | |||
| Total | 3964km (2,463miles) | ||||||
One jersey was worn during the 1953 Giro d'Italia. 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.[17]
Additionally, the highest ranked cyclist riding with a licence for independents was identified by the white jersey; at the end of the Giro this was Donato Zampini.[18] Another classification was calculated in the same method, but was exclusive to foreign riders and awarded a green jersey.[19] The mountains classification leader wore no leader's jersey. There was one category for mountains which awarded 6, 4, 3, 2, and 1 point to the first riders to cross.[16] Although no jersey was awarded, there was also one classification for the teams, in which the stage finish times of the best three cyclists per team were added; the leading team was the one with the lowest total time.
| Stage | Winner | General classification | Best foreign rider | Best independent rider | Mountains classification | Team classification | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Giorgio Albani | Giorgio Albani | Rik Van Steenbergen | ? | not awarded | ? | |
| 2 | Angelo Conterno | Angelo Conterno | Raphaël Géminiani & Alex Close | Raphaël Géminiani | |||
| 3 | Antonio Bevilacqua | Nino Defilippis | |||||
| 4 | Donato Zampini & Giacomo Zampieri | ||||||
| 5 | Fausto Coppi | Giancarlo Astrua | Raphaël Géminiani | Donato Zampini | |||
| 6 | Rik Van Steenbergen | Giacomo Zampieri | Bianchi | ||||
| 7 | Giorgio Albani | ? | |||||
| 8 | Rino Benedetti | ||||||
| 9 | Rik Van Steenbergen | ||||||
| 10 | Rik Van Steenbergen | Fausto Coppi | Ferdinand Kübler | ||||
| 11 | Fausto Coppi | Donato Zampini | Fausto Coppi | ||||
| 12 | Oreste Conte | ||||||
| 13 | Alfredo Pasotti | ||||||
| 14 | Fausto Coppi | ||||||
| 15 | Giuseppe Minardi | ||||||
| 16 | Annibale Brasola | ||||||
| 17 | Nino Defilippis | Fausto Coppi & Raphaël Géminiani | |||||
| 18 | Pasquale Fornara | ||||||
| 19 | Fritz Schär | Raphaël Géminiani | |||||
| 20 | Antonio Bevilacqua | Bianchi | |||||
| Final | Fausto Coppi | Ferdinand Kübler | Donato Zampini | Raphaël Géminiani | Bianchi | ||
| Rank | Name | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bianchi | ||
| 2 | Ganna | + 9' 18" | |
| 3 | Fiorelli | + 9' 24" | |
| 4 | Benotto | + 10' 29" | |
| 5 | Bartali | + 10' 33" | |
| 6 | Girardengo | + 10'58" | |
| 7 | Atala | + 14' 30" | |
| 8 | Guerra | + 14' 38" | |
| 9 | Bianchi | + 16' 44" | |
| 10 | Legnano | + 18' 14" | |
| Rank | Name | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ||
| 2 | + 8' 23" | |
| 3 | + 13' 28" | |
| 4 | + 14' 00" | |
| 5 | + 15' 28" | |
| 6 | + 17' 33" | |
| 7 | + 22' 08" | |
| 8 | + 25' 00" | |
| Name | Team | Points | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bianchi | 31 | ||
| 2 | Bianchi | 28 | ||
| 3 | Bartali | 23 | ||
| 4 | Atala | 16 |
| Team | Time | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bianchi | |
| 2 | Bottecchia | + 4' 25" |
| 3 | Legnano | + 11' 24" |
Kubler was the highest ranked non-Italian rider.[23]