1923 Giro d'Italia

1923 Giro d'Italia
	Route of the 11th Giro d'Italia,; run anti-clockwise from Milan to Milan
Race details
Dates	23 May - 10 June 1923
Stages	10
Distance	3,202.7 km (1,990 mi)
Winning time	143h 43' 37"
Results
	Winner
	Second
	Third
	Team
	← 1922 1924 →

The 1923 Giro d'Italia was the 11th edition of the Giro d'Italia, a Grand Tour organized and sponsored by the newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport. The race began on 23 May in Milan with a stage that stretched 328 km (204 mi) to Turin, finishing back in Milan on 10 June after a 341.3 km (212 mi) stage and a total distance covered of 3,202.7 km (1,990 mi). The race was won by the Italian rider Costante Girardengo of the Maino team. Second and third respectively were the Italian riders Giovanni Brunero and Bartolomeo Aymo.

This year saw the debutant Ottavio Bottecchia finish in 5th place overall, and the leading 'isolate' (rider without a team). Bottecchia caught the attention of French rider Henri Pélissier, who instigated his glorious Tour de France career.

Participants

Of the 96 or 97 riders that began the Giro d'Italia on 23 May, 38 of them made it to the finish in Milan on 10 June.^[1] Riders were allowed to ride on their own or as a member of a team. There were three teams that competed in the race: Atala, Legnano, and Maino.^[1]

The peloton was completely composed of Italians.^[1] The field featured two former Giro d'Italia champions in the 1919 Giro d'Italia winner Costante Girardengo and returning champion Giovanni Brunero.^[1] Other notable Italian riders that started the race included Bartolomeo Aymo, Ottavio Bottecchia, Angelo Gremo, and Giovanni Rossignoli.^[1]

In 1923, the best amateurs could ride as guests in a professional team, these riders were called 'fuoriclassi amatoriali'. ^[2]

Race summary

In the first stage, a group of eight riders with all the favourites distanced themselves 11 minutes from all other riders. Girardengo won the sprint, and became the first leader.^[1]

The second stage was won by Aymo, almost a minute ahead of his rivals. Aymo became the new leader.

In the third stage, Linotti and Girardengo crossed the finish line very close to each other, and the jury could not determine who had won; both were declared winner.^[3] Two days later, the Italian Cycling Federation declared Girardengo to be the winner of the stage.^[1]

Girardengo also won the fourth and fifth stages, both ending in a bunch sprint. Because Aymo finished in the bunch both times, he remained leader.^[1]

In the sixth stage, Girardengo escpaed with Brunero, and won the sprint. Aymo finished multiple minutes behind, and lost his lead; Girardengo became leader again.^[1]

In the following stages, Girardengo was dominant, winning all of them except the ninth stage where he was narrowly beaten by Sivocci in a sprint. Girardengo thus became the clear winner of the Giro, winning eight of ten stages.^[1]

Final standings

Stage results

Stage results^[1]
Stage	Date	Course	Distance		Winner	Race Leader
1	23 May	Milan to Turin	328 km (204 mi)	Stage with mountain(s)	Costante Girardengo (ITA)	Costante Girardengo (ITA)
2	25 May	Turin to Genoa	312.9 km (194 mi)	Stage with mountain(s)	Bartolomeo Aymo (ITA)	Bartolomeo Aymo (ITA)
3	27 May	Genoa to Florence	265 km (165 mi)	Stage with mountain(s)	Costante Girardengo (ITA)	Bartolomeo Aymo (ITA)
4	29 May	Florence to Rome	288.7 km (179 mi)	Stage with mountain(s)	Costante Girardengo (ITA)	Bartolomeo Aymo (ITA)
5	31 May	Rome to Naples	281.5 km (175 mi)	Plain stage	Costante Girardengo (ITA)	Bartolomeo Aymo (ITA)
6	2 June	Naples to Chieti	283.1 km (176 mi)	Stage with mountain(s)	Costante Girardengo (ITA)	Costante Girardengo (ITA)
7	4 June	Chieti to Bologna	383 km (238 mi)	Plain stage	Costante Girardengo (ITA)	Costante Girardengo (ITA)
8	6 June	Bologna to Trieste	362.2 km (225 mi)	Plain stage	Costante Girardengo (ITA)	Costante Girardengo (ITA)
9	8 June	Trieste to Mantua	357 km (222 mi)	Plain stage	Alfredo Sivocci (ITA)	Costante Girardengo (ITA)
10	10 June	Mantua to Milan	341.3 km (212 mi)	Stage with mountain(s)	Costante Girardengo (ITA)	Costante Girardengo (ITA)
	Total		3,202.7 km (1,990 mi)

General classification

A man looking at a camera while posing. — Costante Girardengo won the Giro and also won eight of the ten stages.

There were 38 cyclists who had completed all ten stages. For these cyclists, the times they had needed in each stage was added up for the general classification. The cyclist with the least accumulated time was the winner. Ottavio Bottecchia won the prize for best ranked independent rider in the general classification.^[4]

Final general classification (1–10)^[1]
Rank	Name	Team	Time
1	Costante Girardengo (ITA)	Maino	122h 28' 17"
2	Giovanni Brunero (ITA)	Legnano-Pirelli	+ 37"
3	Bartolomeo Aymo (ITA)	Atala	+ 10' 25"
4	Federico Gay (ITA)	Atala	+ 41' 25"
5	Ottavio Bottecchia (ITA)	—	+ 45' 49"
6	Giuseppe Enrici (ITA)	Legnano-Pirelli	+ 49' 30"
7	Michele Gordini (ITA)	Ganna	+ 52' 15"
8	Emilio Petiva (ITA)	Maino	+ 55' 17"
9	Giovanni Trentarossi (ITA)	Berrettini	+ 1h 00' 29"
10	Angelo Gremo (ITA)	Maino	+ 1h 12' 06"

Final general classification (11–38)^[1]
Rank	Name	Team	Time
11	Alfredo Sivocci (ITA)	Legnano	+ 1h 16' 33"
12	Pierino Bestetti (ITA)	Berettini	+ 1h 20' 58"
13	Secondo Martinetto (ITA)	—	+ 1h 21' 54"
14	Giovanni Tragella (ITA)	—	+ 1h 41' 51"
15	Guido Messeri (ITA)	—	+ 1h 52' 42"
16	Ottavio Pratesi (ITA)	Lygie	+ 1h 53' 39"
17	Saverio Dartardi (ITA)	—	+ 1h 58' 38"
18	Giovanni Rossignoli (ITA)	—	+ 2h 21' 44"
19	Pietro Fasoli (ITA)	—	+ 2h 58' 57"
20	Angiolo Marchi (ITA)	—	+ 3h 11' 00"
21	Alessandro Tonani (ITA)	Maino	+ 3h 17' 22"
22	Angelo Veneis (ITA)	—	+ 3h 28' 29"
23	Pasquale Di Pietro (ITA)	—	+ 3h 59' 51"
24	Gianbattista Gilli (ITA)	—	+ 4h 08' 49"
25	Luigi Lucotti (ITA)	—	+ 4h 28' 36"
26	Ugo Ruggeri (ITA)	—	+ 4h 36' 23"
27	Domenico Schierano (ITA)	—	+ 4h 37' 00"
28	Otello Massaro (ITA)	—	+ 5h 31' 51"
29	Enrico Sala (ITA)	—	+ 5h 45' 00"
30	Giuseppe Ruffoni (ITA)	—	+ 6h 10' 56"
31	Menotti Vaccari (ITA)	—	+ 6h 13' 13"
32	Romolo Lazzaretti (ITA)	—	+ 6h 35' 25"
33	Arturo Ferrario (ITA)	—	+ 7h 58' 21"
34	Antonio Buelli (ITA)	—	+ 9h 28' 07"
35	Clemente Canepari (ITA)	—	+ 8h 59' 38"
36	Telesforo Benaglia (ITA)	—	+ 10h 46' 52"
37	Giuseppe Borghi (ITA)	—	+ 11h 09' 48"
38	Giusto Scherl (ITA)	—	+ 11h 51' 19"

Notes

^ In 1923, there was no distinction in the rules between plain stages and mountain stages; the icons shown here indicate that the first, second, third, fourth, sixth, and tenth stages included major mountains.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m Bill and Carol McGann. "1923 Giro d'Italia". Bike Race Info. Dog Ear Publishing. Archived from the original on 2014-02-23. Retrieved 2012-07-10.
^ van den Akker 2023, p. 49.
^ van den Akker 2023, p. 32.
^ "I vincitori delle categorie speciali" [The winners of the special categories]. Corriere dello Sport (in Italian). 14 June 1950. p. 6. Archived from the original on 22 December 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2013.

Bibliography

van den Akker, Pieter (2023). Giro d'Italia, Rules and Statistics. ISBN 979-8863173719.

[4] In 1923, there was no distinction in the rules between plain stages and mountain stages; the icons shown here indicate that the first, second, third, fourth, sixth, and tenth stages included major mountains.

[BRI_1923-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m Bill and Carol McGann. "1923 Giro d'Italia". Bike Race Info. Dog Ear Publishing. Archived from the original on 2014-02-23. Retrieved 2012-07-10.

[FOOTNOTEvan_den_Akker202349-2] van den Akker 2023, p. 49.

[FOOTNOTEvan_den_Akker202332-3] van den Akker 2023, p. 32.

[CDS_Special_Category-5] "I vincitori delle categorie speciali" [The winners of the special categories]. Corriere dello Sport (in Italian). 14 June 1950. p. 6. Archived from the original on 22 December 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2013.

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