1954 Giro d'Italia

Template:Short description The 1954 Giro d'Italia was the 37th edition of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The Giro started off in Palermo on 21 May with a team time trial and concluded in Milan with a relatively flat mass-start stage on 13 June. Fifteen teams entered the race, which was won by Swiss Carlo Clerici of the Welter team. Second and third respectively were Swiss rider Hugo Koblet and Italian Nino Assirelli.

File:Tour of Italy 1954 - Giro d'Italia promotional postcard.jpg

1954 Giro d'Italia promotional postcard

Teams

Fifteen teams were invited by the race organizers to participate in the 1954 edition of the Giro d'Italia. The organizers invited neighboring countries to gather a squad of riders to send to compete in the race. Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland all entered a team, while France was offered a spot in the race and accepted, but could not form a team in time. Each team sent a squad of seven riders, which meant that the race started with a peloton of 105 cyclists. From the riders that began the race, 67 made it to the finish in Milan.

The teams entering the race were:

• Template:Cycling data Arbos
• Template:Cycling data Atala
• Template:Cycling data Bartali
• Bianchi
• Template:Cycling data Bottecchia
• Clement
• Doniselli-Lansetina
• Template:Cycling data Frejus
• Template:Cycling data Girardengo
• Guerra
• Ideor
• Template:Cycling data Ignis
• Template:Cycling data Legnano
• Template:Cycling data Locomotief
• Nivea
• Template:Cycling data Torpado

Pre-race favorites

Fausto Coppi (Bianchi) was seen as the clear–cut favorite, because of the strength of his supporting team. Coppi's greatest challenger was thought to be Hugo Koblet (Cilo). Koblet entered the race in what was regarded as not great form, but if he were to gain his form in the race, then his chances of victory would be large. A La Sentinelle writer felt that Koblet's presence made the competition interesting as it felt no other rider could challenge Coppi. Koblet was thought to have a better support from his team relative to the past couple of years and was expected to contend for the general classification.

Outside candidates included Fiorenzo Magni (Nivea) who would normally be considered a more legitimate contender; however, he was recovering from a fall in the one–day race Roma–Napoli–Roma. Roma-Napoli-Roma winner Bruno Monti (Arbos) and Pasquale Fornara (Bottecchia) were seen as other challengers. "Old" three–time champion Gino Bartali (Bartali) lined up to race while being supported by his usual domestiques Corrieri and Bresci.

While noting that the Giro had been primarily won by Italian riders, Feuille d'Avis Valaisan felt the teams with Belgians, Spanish, and Swiss teams would have a good chance to rival the Italian squads. Nouvelliste Valasain writer even commented that a coalition of some sort exists between Italian riders against the foreign riders. Girardengo-Eldorado riders Stan Ockers and Rik Van Steenbergen were seen as the best Belgian entrants. Their Raymond Impanis was seen a potential threat, but due to disputes with their team director, his participation was questionable. Heinz Müller was the German Clement team's best chance. The Dutch team Locomotief was thought to be filled with good climbers and rouleurs with the likes of Wim Van Est, Wout Wagtmans, and the Voorting brothers Adrie and Gerrit. The team was expected to do well in the opening team time trial. Spanish Climber Jesus Loroño (Ideor) was seen as a contender in the mountains after his performance at the 1953 Tour de France, where he won as a stage and the Mountains classification. Bernard Ruiz and Francisco Masip were two other Spanish riders to watch. Fritz Schär (Guerra) was seen as a rider who would favor the intermediate sprints classification despite his recent poor performance at the Tour de Romandie. Carlo Clerici (Welter) was thought to have "class and will."

Notable absences included Ferdinand Kübler (Fiorelli) who had an ongoing dispute with the race organizers following his abandonment of the Giro the year before. Louison Bobet (Mercier) was seen as a rider who could pose a threat to Coppi, but due to previous incidents of giving him up, he was not seen as a strong contender.

Route and stages

The route's first fourteen stages were revealed on 25 February 1954, amid speculation that Rome was not going to be included. The rest was revealed on 6 May 1954. The route included two time trials, one team and one individual, and was the longest Giro as of 2023. The inclusion of the team time trial was criticized as it was thought to give too much of an advantage to the wealthier teams. In addition, the team time trial that year was held midway through the race and several teams were down men through disease or abandonment, which only further hindered teams. To assuage this complaint of the teams, the team time trial stage was made first. Critics felt that the route would be similar to year's past, where all the action would be in the closing days, citing the 20th and 21st stages as being the most difficult. The press felt that the increased number of intermediate sprints would lead to more attacks throughout the stage ad help animate the race. The race started in Palermo for the first time since 1949.

Stage characteristics and results

Stage	Date	Course	Distance	Type		Winner
1	21 May	Palermo		File:Time Trial.svg	Team time trial	Bianchi
2	22 May	Palermo to Taormina		File:Mountainstage.svg	Stage with mountain(s)	Template:Flagathlete
3	23 May	Reggio Calabria to Catanzaro		File:Plainstage.svg	Plain stage	Template:Flagathlete
4	24 May	Catanzaro to Bari		File:Plainstage.svg	Plain stage	Template:Flagathlete
	25 May	Rest day
5	26 May	Bari to Naples		File:Plainstage.svg	Plain stage	Template:Flagathlete
6	27 May	Naples to L'Aquila		File:Plainstage.svg	Plain stage	Template:Flagathlete
7	28 May	L'Aquila to Rome		File:Plainstage.svg	Plain stage	Template:Flagathlete
8	29 May	Rome to Chianciano Terme		File:Plainstage.svg	Plain stage	Template:Flagathlete
9	30 May	Chianciano Terme to Florence		File:Plainstage.svg	Plain stage	Template:Flagathlete
10	31 May	Florence to Cesenatico		File:Mountainstage.svg	Stage with mountain(s)	Template:Flagathlete
11	1 June	Cesenatico to Abetone		File:Mountainstage.svg	Stage with mountain(s)	Template:Flagathlete
12	2 June	Abetone to Genoa		File:Plainstage.svg	Plain stage	Template:Flagathlete
13	3 June	Genoa to Turin		File:Plainstage.svg	Plain stage	Template:Flagathlete
14	4 June	Turin to Brescia		File:Plainstage.svg	Plain stage	Template:Flagathlete
	5 June	Rest day
15	6 June	Gardone Riviera to Riva del Garda		File:Time Trial.svg	Individual time trial	Template:Flagathlete
16	7 June	Riva del Garda to Abano Terme		File:Plainstage.svg	Plain stage	Template:Flagathlete
17	8 June	Abano Terme to Padua		File:Plainstage.svg	Plain stage	Template:Flagathlete
18	9 June	Padua to Grado		File:Plainstage.svg	Plain stage	Template:Flagathlete
19	10 June	Grado to San Martino di Castrozza		File:Plainstage.svg	Plain stage	Template:Flagathlete
20	11 June	San Martino di Castrozza to Bolzano		File:Mountainstage.svg	Stage with mountain(s)	Template:Flagathlete
21	12 June	Bolzano to Saint Moritz (Switzerland)		File:Mountainstage.svg	Stage with mountain(s)	Template:Flagathlete
22	13 June	Saint Moritz (Switzerland) to Milan		File:Plainstage.svg	Plain stage	Template:Flagathlete
	Total

Race overview

In the sixth stage, Carlo Clerici escaped and took the lead with a big margin.

In the twentieth stage, Fausto Coppi won and took some time back. His fans were hoping that he would show more action on the twenty-first stage which included the Bernina Pass, but cyclists rode slowly as a form of protest against the racing conditions, taking almost ten hours to cover the 222 km stage; this event became known as the Bernina strike. When the race ended in Milan the next day, angry supporters whistled at the cyclists. For his leading role in the strike, Coppi was given a two-month suspension, although this was later revoked.

Classification leadership

One jersey was worn during the 1954 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. The winner of the general classification received 72,000 francs. In total 32,555,000 lire (then roughly 227,000 Swiss francs) was awarded. Each day a rider wore the pink jersey, he would win 15,000 francs. Each stage winner received 49,000 francs. A green jersey was awarded to the best ranked foreign rider in the general classification, who also received a sum of money each day the jersey was awarded.

The mountains classification awarded all awarded three points to the first rider and one point to the second rider to cross the summit of a categorized climb. There was no leader's jersey awarded for this classification. The winner received 10,000 francs. Although no jersey was awarded, there was also a classification for the teams, in which the teams were awarded points for their rider's performance during the stages in the intermediate sprints.

In the gran premio traguardi volanti or intermediate sprint classification points were awarded at designated sprint locations throughout each stage's route and at the stage finishes. In total there were 64 designated sprint points throughout the race. Points were awarded to the first three riders to pass through the assigned point: first received five points, second received three points, and third received one point. The winner of each sprint will receive 650 francs, while the overall classification winner received 81,000 francs. The leader of this classification wore a white jersey.

Classification leadership by stage

Stage	Winner	General classification A pink jersey	Mountains classification	Team classification
1	Bianchi	Fausto Coppi	not awarded	Bianchi
2	Giuseppe Minardi	Giuseppe Minardi	Giuseppe Minardi	Legnano
3	Nino Defilippis			Guerra
4	Angelo Conterno			Girardengo
5	Rik Van Steenbergen	Gerrit Voorting
6	Carlo Clerici	Carlo Clerici
7	Giorgio Albani
8	Giovanni Pettinati
9	Giovanni Corrieri
10	Pietro Giudici		Giuseppe Minardi & Primo Volpi
11	Mauro Gianneschi		Mauro Gianneschi, Giuseppe Minardi & Primo Volpi
12	Hilaire Couvreur
13	Wout Wagtmans
14	Annibale Brasola
15	Hugo Koblet
16	Rik Van Steenbergen
17	Rik Van Steenbergen
18	Adolfo Grosso
19	Wout Wagtmans
20	Fausto Coppi		Fausto Coppi
21	Hugo Koblet
22	Rik Van Steenbergen
Final		Carlo Clerici	Fausto Coppi	Girardengo

Final standings

Legend
Pink jersey	Denotes the winner of the General classification

General classification

Final general classification (1–10)

Rank	Name	Team	Time
1	Template:Flagathlete Pink jersey	Guerra	129h 13' 7"
2	Template:Flagathlete	Guerra	+ 24' 16"
3	Template:Flagathlete	Arbos	+ 26' 28"
4	Template:Flagathlete	Bianchi	+ 31' 17"
5	Template:Flagathlete	Atala	+ 33' 09"
6	Template:Flagathlete	Nivea	+ 34' 01"
7	Template:Flagathlete	Locomotief	+ 35' 05"
8	Template:Flagathlete	Bottecchia	+ 36' 21"
9	Template:Flagathlete	Guerra	+ 40' 51"
10	Template:Flagathlete	Fréjus	+ 41' 07"

Mountains classification

Final mountains classification (1–8)

	Name	Team	Points
1	Template:Flagathlete	Bianchi	6
2	Template:Flagathlete	Atala	5
3	Template:Flagathlete	Arbos	3
	Template:Flagathlete	Arbos
	Template:Flagathlete	Nivea
	Template:Flagathlete	Fréjus
7	Template:Flagathlete	Bottecchia	2
8	Template:Flagathlete	Locomotief	1
	Template:Flagathlete	Atala
	Template:Flagathlete	Torpado
	Template:Flagathlete	Ideor

Intermediate sprints classification

Final intermediate sprints classification (1–8)

	Name	Team	Points
1	Template:Flagathlete	Girardengo	113
2	Template:Flagathlete	Legnano	45
3	Template:Flagathlete	Legnano	42
4	Template:Flagathlete	Bottecchia	29
5	Template:Flagathlete	Atala	25
6	Template:Flagathlete	Torpado	20
7	Template:Flagathlete	Bartali	19
8	Template:Flagathlete	Doniselli	18
	Template:Flagathlete	Girardengo
	Template:Flagathlete	Arbos

Team classification

Final team classification (1–10)

	Team	Points
1	Girardengo	152
2	Legnano	101
3	Bottecchia	71
4	Arbos	61
5	Torpado	47
6	Bianchi	45
7	Atala	43
8	Locomotif	40
9	Doniselli-Lansetina	34
10	Nivea-Fuchs	30

Aftermath

Following the race, a Nouvelliste Valaisan writer described how non-Italian riders dominated the race by winning 11 of the 22 stage, while having 35 foreigners riding to 75 Italians starting the race. The writer acknowledged that some critics felt Italian cycling was beginning to decline as the "Big Three" Bartali, Coppi, and Magni would be soon exiting the sport; however, the writer noted that Giancarlo Astrua, Nino Defilippis, Pasquale Fornara, among others would help maintain Italian cycling's presence. In particular, the writer felt the younger riders attacked more and forced the older riders out of their reserves quicker than expected. The writer concluded that the Swiss riders have earned respect from their peers and become favorites entering races now, while stating that the Swiss riders that will contest the upcoming Tour de France will have a lengthy time off to rest before its start because of the 1954 FIFA World Cup. A Nouvelliste Valaisan writer wrote that large attacks were expected on the 21st stage which featured the Bernina pass; however, the attacks did not come, which at the time they speculated it was due to fatigue of the riders. Due to the low effort by the riders and slow stage speed, race organizers cut the prize money on the stage by half. Later this inaction by the peloton on the 21st stage became known as the "Bernina strike." Another Nouvelliste Valaisan writer described the collective performance by the Swiss riders as the best in the nation's history at the Giro, as three finished in the top 12 of the general classification.