:1920 Giro d'Italia

{{Infobox cycling race report

| name = 1920 Giro d'Italia

| image = Giro Italia 1920-map.png

| image_caption = Race Route

| date = 23 May – 6 June 1920

| stages = 8

| distance = 2632

| unit = km

| time = 102h 44' 33"

| speed = 25.64

| first = Gaetano Belloni

| first_nat = ITA

| first_natvar = 1861

| first_team = Bianchi

| second = Angelo Gremo

| second_nat = ITA

| second_natvar = 1861

| second_team = Bianchi

| third = Jean Alavoine

| third_nat = FRA

| third_team = Bianchi

| team = Bianchi

| previous = 1919

|next = 1921

}}

The 1920 Giro d'Italia was the eighth 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 {{convert|348|km|0|abbr=on}} to Turin, finishing back in Milan on 6 June after a {{convert|421|km|0|abbr=on}} stage and a total distance covered of {{convert|2632|km|0|abbr=on}}. The race was won by the Italian rider Gaetano Belloni of the Bianchi team. Second and third respectively were Italian Angelo Gremo and Frenchman Jean Alavoine.

Of the 49 riders who started the race only 10 crossed the finish line in Milan.

Participants

Of the 49 riders that began the Giro d'Italia on 23 May, ten of them made it to the finish in Milan on 6 June.{{cite web|url=http://bikeraceinfo.com/giro/giro1920.html |title=1920 Giro d'Italia |work=Bike Race Info |author= Bill and Carol McGann |publisher=Dog Ear Publishing|access-date=2012-07-10}} Riders were allowed to ride on their own or as a member of a team. There were three teams that competed in the race: Bianchi-Pirelli, Legnano-Pirelli, and Stucchi-Pirelli .

The peloton was almost completely composed of Italians. The field featured two former Giro d'Italia champions in the three-time winner Carlo Galetti and returning champion Costante Girardengo. Other notable Italian riders that started the race included Angelo Gremo, Giovanni Gerbi, and Giovanni Rossignoli. Frenchman Jean Alavoine who had some high placings in the Tour de France, along with the successful Belgian cyclist Marcel Buysse started the race.

Events

The first stage was won by Giuseppe Oliveri, who beat his two team mate Gremo and Belloni in a sprint, having distanced the rest of the field by more than ten minutes. In that stage, the defending champion Costante Girardengo had an accident, which made him lose time.{{cite news|url=http://www.archiviolastampa.it/component/option,com_lastampa/task,search/mod,libera/action,viewer/Itemid,3/page,4/articleid,1175_01_1920_0122A_0004_24859664/|title=Lo "sprinter" Oliveri vince la 1a tappa del Giro d'Italia|date=24 May 1920|language=Italian|work=La Stampa}}

In the second stage, Oliveri and Girardengo both abandoned.{{cite news|url=http://www.archiviolastampa.it/component/option,com_lastampa/task,search/mod,libera/action,viewer/Itemid,3/page,2/articleid,1175_01_1920_0124_0002_24859707/|title=La 2a tappa del Giro d'Italia - Girardengo e Oliveri si ritirano|date=26 May 1920|language=Italian|work=La Stampa}}

Belloni won the second stage, and became the new leader in the race. Belloni also won the third stage; Girardengo's team had left the race at that point.

In the fourth stage, Alavoine attacked, and won by more than half an hour.

In the fifth stage, Alavoine sprinted to the victory, but second-placed Torricelli complained to the jury. The jury accepted Torricelli's complaints, and Torricelli became the winner of the stage.{{cite news|url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k4631777b/f2.item.zoom|title=Le VIIIe Tour d'Italie - Alavoine distancė|date=2 June 1920|language=French|work=L'Auto}} The Legnano team did not think that this penalty was sufficient, and left the race. This meant that only the Bianchi-Pirelli team was left in the race, together with some isolated riders. Commenters said that this Giro had been sick since the second stage, but that it was dead after the fifth stage.{{cite news|url=http://www.archiviolastampa.it/component/option,com_lastampa/task,search/mod,libera/action,viewer/Itemid,3/page,2/articleid,1175_01_1920_0131_0002_24319559/anews,true|title=Il Giro d'Italia e morto|language=Italian|date=3 June 1920|work=La Stampa}} In that fifth stage, Belloni lost time, and Gremo became the new leader.

The seventh stage was the deciding stage: Belloni won much time on his competitors.

In the last stage, there were only ten riders left. They stayed together for most of the stage. Near the end, Schierano was left behind, and the nine other riders rode to the finish together, in the hippodrome Trotter in Via Padova, Turin. When they reached the hippodrome, they were sent to the wrong entrance. Schierano, coming slightly later, used the correct entrance, and he reached the finish first. Initially, the jury said that Schierano won the stage, and that all other riders were ex aequo in second place, but later the jury decided to nullify the results. Times taken at the entrance of the velodrome were used for the general classification, and stage prizes were shared among all riders.{{cite news|url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k4631782n/f2.item.zoom|title=Le VIIIe Tour d'Italie|work=L'Auto|language=French|date=7 June 1920}}{{cite news|url=http://www.archiviolastampa.it/component/option,com_lastampa/task,search/mod,libera/action,viewer/Itemid,3/page,4/articleid,1175_01_1920_0134A_0004_24858784/|title=La fine disastrosa del Giro d'Italia - Disorganizzazione enorme a Milano, Schierano taglia primo il traguardo?|date=7 June 1920|work=La Stampa|language=Italian}}

Final standings

=Stage results=

class="wikitable" \|+ Stage results
style="background:#efefef;" !Stage !Date !Course !Distance !colspan="2"\|Type{{refn\|name=Mtns\|group=N\|In 1920, there was no distinction in the rules between plain stages and mountain stages; the icons shown here indicate that the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth stages included major mountains.}} !Winner !Race Leader
style="text-align:center"\|1 \| 23 May \| Milan to Turin \|style="text-align:center"\| {{convert\|348\|km\|0\|abbr=on}} \| style="text-align:center;"\| Image:Mountainstage.svg \|Stage with mountain(s) \| {{flagathlete\|Giuseppe Olivieri\|ITA\|1861}} \| {{flagathlete\|Giuseppe Olivieri\|ITA\|1861}}
style="text-align:center"\|2 \| 25 May \| Turin to Lucca \|style="text-align:center"\| {{convert\|378\|km\|0\|abbr=on}} \| style="text-align:center;"\| Image:Mountainstage.svg \|Stage with mountain(s) \| {{flagathlete\|Gaetano Belloni\|ITA\|1861}} \| {{flagathlete\|Gaetano Belloni\|ITA\|1861}}
style="text-align:center"\|3 \| 27 May \| Lucca to Rome \|style="text-align:center"\| {{convert\|386\|km\|0\|abbr=on}} \| style="text-align:center;"\| Image:Mountainstage.svg \|Stage with mountain(s) \| {{flagathlete\|Gaetano Belloni\|ITA\|1861}} \| {{flagathlete\|Gaetano Belloni\|ITA\|1861}}
style="text-align:center"\|4 \| 29 May \| Rome to Chieti \|style="text-align:center"\| {{convert\|234\|km\|0\|abbr=on}} \| style="text-align:center;"\| Image:Mountainstage.svg \|Stage with mountain(s) \| {{flagathlete\|Jean Alavoine\|FRA}} \| {{flagathlete\|Gaetano Belloni\|ITA\|1861}}
style="text-align:center"\|5 \| 31 May \| Chieti to Macerata \|style="text-align:center"\| {{convert\|236\|km\|0\|abbr=on}} \| style="text-align:center;"\| Image:Mountainstage.svg \|Stage with mountain(s) \| {{flagathlete\|Leopoldo Torricelli\|ITA\|1861}} \| {{flagathlete\|Angelo Gremo\|ITA\|1861}}
style="text-align:center"\|6 \| 2 June \| Macerata to Bologna \|style="text-align:center"\| {{convert\|282\|km\|0\|abbr=on}} \| style="text-align:center;"\| Image:Plainstage.svg \|Plain stage \| {{flagathlete\|Jean Alavoine\|FRA}} \| {{flagathlete\|Angelo Gremo\|ITA\|1861}}
style="text-align:center"\|7 \| 4 June \| Bologna to Trieste \|style="text-align:center"\| {{convert\|349\|km\|0\|abbr=on}} \| style="text-align:center;"\| Image:Plainstage.svg \|Plain stage \| {{flagathlete\|Gaetano Belloni\|ITA\|1861}} \| {{flagathlete\|Gaetano Belloni\|ITA\|1861}}
style="text-align:center"\|8 \| 6 June \| Trieste to Milan \|style="text-align:center"\| {{convert\|421\|km\|0\|abbr=on}} \| style="text-align:center;"\| Image:Plainstage.svg \|Plain stage \| 9 riders tied{{refn\|name=Tie\|group=N\|In stage 8, the sprint was disrupted when a horse got on the track, and all nine cyclists in the first group were declared winner. These nine cyclists were, in alphabetical order: Ugo Agostoni, Jean Alavoine, Gaetano Belloni, Marcel Buysse, Nicola Di Biase, Angelo Gremo, Emilio Petiva, Giovanni Rossignoli, & Enrico Sala.}} \| {{flagathlete\|Gaetano Belloni\|ITA\|1861}}
\| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"\| Total \| colspan="5" style="text-align:center;"\| {{convert\|2632\|km\|0\|abbr=on}}

class="wikitable"

|+ Stage results

style="background:#efefef;"

!Stage

!Date

!Course

!Distance

!colspan="2"|Type{{refn|name=Mtns|group=N|In 1920, there was no distinction in the rules between plain stages and mountain stages; the icons shown here indicate that the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth stages included major mountains.}}

!Winner

!Race Leader

style="text-align:center"|1

| 23 May

| Milan to Turin

|style="text-align:center"| {{convert|348|km|0|abbr=on}}

| style="text-align:center;"| Image:Mountainstage.svg

|Stage with mountain(s)

| {{flagathlete|Giuseppe Olivieri|ITA|1861}}

style="text-align:center"|2

| 25 May

| Turin to Lucca

|style="text-align:center"| {{convert|378|km|0|abbr=on}}

| style="text-align:center;"| Image:Mountainstage.svg

|Stage with mountain(s)

| {{flagathlete|Gaetano Belloni|ITA|1861}}

style="text-align:center"|3

| 27 May

| Lucca to Rome

|style="text-align:center"| {{convert|386|km|0|abbr=on}}

| style="text-align:center;"| Image:Mountainstage.svg

|Stage with mountain(s)

| {{flagathlete|Gaetano Belloni|ITA|1861}}

style="text-align:center"|4

| 29 May

| Rome to Chieti

|style="text-align:center"| {{convert|234|km|0|abbr=on}}

| style="text-align:center;"| Image:Mountainstage.svg

|Stage with mountain(s)

| {{flagathlete|Jean Alavoine|FRA}}

| {{flagathlete|Gaetano Belloni|ITA|1861}}

style="text-align:center"|5

| 31 May

| Chieti to Macerata

|style="text-align:center"| {{convert|236|km|0|abbr=on}}

| style="text-align:center;"| Image:Mountainstage.svg

|Stage with mountain(s)

| {{flagathlete|Leopoldo Torricelli|ITA|1861}}

| {{flagathlete|Angelo Gremo|ITA|1861}}

style="text-align:center"|6

| 2 June

| Macerata to Bologna

|style="text-align:center"| {{convert|282|km|0|abbr=on}}

| style="text-align:center;"| Image:Plainstage.svg

|Plain stage

| {{flagathlete|Jean Alavoine|FRA}}

| {{flagathlete|Angelo Gremo|ITA|1861}}

style="text-align:center"|7

| 4 June

| Bologna to Trieste

|style="text-align:center"| {{convert|349|km|0|abbr=on}}

| style="text-align:center;"| Image:Plainstage.svg

|Plain stage

| {{flagathlete|Gaetano Belloni|ITA|1861}}

style="text-align:center"|8

| 6 June

| Trieste to Milan

|style="text-align:center"| {{convert|421|km|0|abbr=on}}

| style="text-align:center;"| Image:Plainstage.svg

|Plain stage

| 9 riders tied{{refn|name=Tie|group=N|In stage 8, the sprint was disrupted when a horse got on the track, and all nine cyclists in the first group were declared winner. These nine cyclists were, in alphabetical order: Ugo Agostoni, Jean Alavoine, Gaetano Belloni, Marcel Buysse, Nicola Di Biase, Angelo Gremo, Emilio Petiva, Giovanni Rossignoli, & Enrico Sala.}}

| {{flagathlete|Gaetano Belloni|ITA|1861}}

| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| Total

| colspan="5" style="text-align:center;"| {{convert|2632|km|0|abbr=on}}

=General classification=

There were ten 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. Emilio Petiva won the prize for best ranked independent rider in the general classification.{{cite web|url=http://dlib.coninet.it/bookreader.php?&c=1&f=7924&p=5#page/5/mode/2up|title=I vincitori delle categorie speciali|work=Corriere dello Sport|date=14 June 1950|page=6|access-date=7 July 2013|language=it|trans-title=The winners of the special categories|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141222201219/http://dlib.coninet.it/bookreader.php?&c=1&f=7924&p=5|archive-date=22 December 2014|url-status=live}}

class="wikitable" style="width:45em;margin-bottom:0;" \|+ Final general classification (1–10){{cite news\|url=http://www.archiviolastampa.it/component/option,com_lastampa/task,search/mod,libera/action,viewer/Itemid,3/page,4/articleid,1175_01_1920_0134A_0004_24858784/\|title=La fine disastrosa del Giro d'Italia\|language=it\|date=7 June 1920\|page=4\|newspaper=La Stampa\|publisher=Editrice La Stampa\|access-date=27 May 2012\|trans-title=The disastrous end of the Giro d'Italia}}
Rank !Name !Team !Time
style="text-align:center"\| 1 \| {{flagathlete\|Gaetano Belloni\|ITA\|1861}} \| Bianchi \|align="right"\| {{nowrap\|102h 44' 33"}}
style="text-align:center"\| 2 \| {{flagathlete\|Angelo Gremo\|ITA\|1861}} \| Bianchi \|align="right"\| + 32' 24"
style="text-align:center"\| 3 \| {{flagathlete\|Jean Alavoine\|FRA}} \| Bianchi \|align="right"\| + 1h 01' 14"
style="text-align:center"\| 4 \| {{flagathlete\|Emilio Petiva\|ITA\|1861}} \| — \|align="right"\| + 3h 02' 44"
style="text-align:center"\| 5 \| {{flagathlete\|Domenico Schierano\|ITA\|1861}} \| — \|align="right"\| + 3h 36' 20"
style="text-align:center"\| 6 \| {{flagathlete\|Marcel Buysse\|BEL}} \| Bianchi \|align="right"\| + 3h 52' 49"
style="text-align:center"\| 7 \| {{flagathlete\|Ugo Agostoni\|ITA\|1861}} \| Bianchi \|align="right"\| + 4h 17' 35"
style="text-align:center"\| 8 \| {{flagathlete\|Enrico Sala\|ITA\|1861}} \| — \|align="right"\| + 4h 43' 28"
style="text-align:center"\| 9 \| {{flagathlete\|Giovanni Rossignoli\|ITA\|1861}} \| — \|align="right"\| + 5h 54' 47"
style="text-align:center"\| 10 \| {{flagathlete\|Nicola Di Biase\|ITA\|1861}} \| — \|align="right"\| + 6h 03' 16"

class="wikitable" style="width:45em;margin-bottom:0;"

|+ Final general classification (1–10){{cite news|url=http://www.archiviolastampa.it/component/option,com_lastampa/task,search/mod,libera/action,viewer/Itemid,3/page,4/articleid,1175_01_1920_0134A_0004_24858784/|title=La fine disastrosa del Giro d'Italia|language=it|date=7 June 1920|page=4|newspaper=La Stampa|publisher=Editrice La Stampa|access-date=27 May 2012|trans-title=The disastrous end of the Giro d'Italia}}

Rank

!Name

!Team

!Time

style="text-align:center"| 1

| {{flagathlete|Gaetano Belloni|ITA|1861}}

| Bianchi

|align="right"| {{nowrap|102h 44' 33"}}

style="text-align:center"| 2

| {{flagathlete|Angelo Gremo|ITA|1861}}

| Bianchi

|align="right"| + 32' 24"

style="text-align:center"| 3

| {{flagathlete|Jean Alavoine|FRA}}

| Bianchi

|align="right"| + 1h 01' 14"

style="text-align:center"| 4

| {{flagathlete|Emilio Petiva|ITA|1861}}

| —

|align="right"| + 3h 02' 44"

style="text-align:center"| 5

| {{flagathlete|Domenico Schierano|ITA|1861}}

| —

|align="right"| + 3h 36' 20"

style="text-align:center"| 6

| {{flagathlete|Marcel Buysse|BEL}}

| Bianchi

|align="right"| + 3h 52' 49"

style="text-align:center"| 7

| {{flagathlete|Ugo Agostoni|ITA|1861}}

| Bianchi

|align="right"| + 4h 17' 35"

style="text-align:center"| 8

| {{flagathlete|Enrico Sala|ITA|1861}}

| —

|align="right"| + 4h 43' 28"

style="text-align:center"| 9

| {{flagathlete|Giovanni Rossignoli|ITA|1861}}

| —

|align="right"| + 5h 54' 47"

style="text-align:center"| 10

| {{flagathlete|Nicola Di Biase|ITA|1861}}

| —

|align="right"| + 6h 03' 16"

References

=Footnotes=

=Citations=

Category:Giro d'Italia by year

Giro d'Italia, 1920

Giro d'Italia