# 1939 Giro d'Italia

The 1939 Giro d'Italia was the 27th edition of the Giro d'Italia, organized and sponsored by the newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport. The race began on 28 April in Milan with a stage that stretched 182 km (113 mi) to Turin, finishing back in Milan on 18 May after a split stage and a total distance covered of 3,011.4 km (1,871 mi). The race was won by the Italian rider Giovanni Valetti of the Fréjus team, with fellow Italians Gino Bartali and Mario Vicini coming in second and third respectively.
Valetti had the lead halfway the race. Bartali then took over the lead in the mountains, but Valetti took it back in the penultimate stage. Bartali attacked on the last stage, but Valetti stayed in his wake and won the race.

## Participants

Of the 89 riders that began the Giro d'Italia on 28 April, 54 of them made it to the finish in Milan on 18 May. Riders were allowed to ride as a member of a team or group; 56 riders competed as part of a team, while the remaining 33 competed as a part of a group. The eight teams that partook in the race were: Bianchi, Fréjus, Ganna, Gloria, Legnano, Lygie, Olympia, and Belgium. The teams ranged from six to eight riders each. There were also seven groups, made up of three to five riders each, that participated in the race. Those groups were: U.S. Azzini, Dopolavoro Di Novi, S.S. Genova 1913, Il Littoriale, La Voce Di Mantova, U.C. Modenese, and S.C. Vigor.
The peloton was composed primarily of Italian riders. The field featured three former Giro d'Italia winners with two-time winner Gino Bartali, Vasco Bergamaschi who won the 1935 edition, and reigning champion Giovanni Valetti. Other notable Italian riders included Olimpio Bizzi, Ezio Cecchi, and Cino Cinelli.

## Route and stages

Stage characteristics and winners :
| Stage | Date | Course | Distance | Type | Type | Winner |
| 1 | 28 April | Milan to Turin | 180 km (112 mi) | | Plain stage | Vasco Bergamaschi (ITA) |
| 2 | 29 April | Turin to Genoa | 226.7 km (141 mi) | | Plain stage | Gino Bartali (ITA) |
| 3 | 30 April | Genoa to Pisa | 187 km (116 mi) | | Plain stage | Cino Cinelli (ITA) |
| 4 | 1 May | Pisa to Grosseto | 154 km (96 mi) | | Plain stage | Carmine Saponetti (ITA) |
| 5 | 2 May | Grosseto to Rome | 222 km (138 mi) | | Plain stage | Olimpio Bizzi (ITA) |
| | 3 May | Rest day | Rest day | Rest day | Rest day | Rest day |
| 6a | 4 May | Rome to Rieti | 85.7 km (53 mi) | | Plain stage | Carmine Saponetti (ITA) |
| 6b | 4 May | Rieti to Monte Terminillo | 14 km (9 mi) | | Individual time trial | Giovanni Valetti (ITA) |
| 7 | 5 May | Rieti to Pescara | 191.3 km (119 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Adolfo Leoni (ITA) |
| 8 | 6 May | Pescara to Senigallia | 177 km (110 mi) | | Plain stage | Diego Marabelli (ITA) |
| 9a | 7 May | Senigallia to Forlì | 116.5 km (72 mi) | | Plain stage | Glauco Servadei (ITA) |
| 9b | 7 May | Forlì to Florence | 106.6 km (66 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Gino Bartali (ITA) |
| | 8 May | Rest day | Rest day | Rest day | Rest day | Rest day |
| 10 | 9 May | Florence to Bologna | 120 km (75 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Olimpio Bizzi (ITA) |
| 11 | 10 May | Bologna to Venezia | 231.8 km (144 mi) | | Plain stage | Pietro Chiappini (ITA) |
| 12 | 11 May | Venezia to Trieste | 173.8 km (108 mi) | | Plain stage | Giordano Cottur (ITA) |
| | 12 May | Rest day | Rest day | Rest day | Rest day | Rest day |
| 13 | 13 May | Trieste to Gorizia | 39.8 km (25 mi) | | Individual time trial | Giovanni Valetti (ITA) |
| 14 | 14 May | Gorizia to Cortina d'Ampezzo | 195 km (121 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Secondo Magni (ITA) |
| 15 | 15 May | Cortina d'Ampezzo to Trento | 256.2 km (159 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Gino Bartali (ITA) |
| | 16 May | Rest day | Rest day | Rest day | Rest day | Rest day |
| 16 | 17 May | Trento to Sondrio | 166 km (103 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Giovanni Valetti (ITA) |
| 17 | 18 May | Sondrio to Milan | 168 km (104 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Gino Bartali (ITA) |
| | Total | Total | 3,011.4 km (1,871 mi) | 3,011.4 km (1,871 mi) | 3,011.4 km (1,871 mi) | 3,011.4 km (1,871 mi) | 3,011.4 km (1,871 mi) |

## Classification leadership

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.
In the mountains classification, the race organizers selected different mountains that the route crossed and awarded points to the riders who crossed them first.
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. If a team had fewer than three riders finish, they were not eligible for the classification. The group classification was decided in the same manner, but the classification was exclusive to the competing groups.
The rows in the following table correspond to the jerseys awarded after that stage was run.
| Stage | Winner | General classification | Mountains classification | Team classification | Group classification |
| 1 | Vasco Bergamaschi | Vasco Bergamaschi | not awarded | ? | S.C. Vigor |
| 2 | Gino Bartali | Gino Bartali | not awarded | Legnano | S.C. Vigor |
| 3 | Cino Cinelli | Cino Cinelli | not awarded | ? | ? |
| 4 | Carmine Saponetti | Cino Cinelli | not awarded | Fréjus | La Voce di Mantova |
| 5 | Olimpio Bizzi | Cino Cinelli | not awarded | Fréjus | La Voce di Mantova |
| 6a | Carmine Saponetti | Cino Cinelli | not awarded | Fréjus | La Voce di Mantova |
| 6b | Giovanni Valetti | Cino Cinelli | Giovanni Valetti | Fréjus | La Voce di Mantova |
| 7 | Adolfo Leoni | Cino Cinelli | Giovanni Valetti & Gino Bartali | Fréjus | S.C. Vigor |
| 8 | Diego Marabelli | Cino Cinelli | Giovanni Valetti & Gino Bartali | Fréjus | S.C. Vigor |
| 9a | Glauco Servadei | Secondo Magni | Giovanni Valetti & Gino Bartali | Fréjus | S.C. Vigor |
| 9b | Gino Bartali | Giovanni Valetti | Enrico Mollo | Fréjus | S.C. Vigor |
| 10 | Olimpio Bizzi | Giovanni Valetti | Enrico Mollo & Michele Benente | Fréjus | S.C. Vigor |
| 11 | Pietro Chiappini | Giovanni Valetti | Enrico Mollo & Michele Benente | Fréjus | S.C. Vigor |
| 12 | Giordano Cottur | Giovanni Valetti | Enrico Mollo & Michele Benente | Fréjus | S.C. Vigor |
| 13 | Giovanni Valetti | Giovanni Valetti | Enrico Mollo & Michele Benente | Fréjus | S.C. Vigor |
| 14 | Secondo Magni | Giovanni Valetti | Gino Bartali | Fréjus | S.C. Vigor |
| 15 | Gino Bartali | Gino Bartali | Gino Bartali | Fréjus | S.C. Vigor |
| 16 | Giovanni Valetti | Giovanni Valetti | Gino Bartali | Fréjus | S.C. Vigor |
| 17 | Gino Bartali | Giovanni Valetti | Gino Bartali | Fréjus | S.C. Vigor |
| Final | Final | Giovanni Valetti | Gino Bartali | Fréjus | S.C. Vigor |

## Final standings

Legend :
* Denotes the winner of the General classification

### General classification

Final general classification (1–10) :
| Rank | Name | Team | Time |
| 1 | Giovanni Valetti (ITA) | Fréjus | 88h 02' 00" |
| 2 | Gino Bartali (ITA) | Legnano | + 2' 59" |
| 3 | Mario Vicini (ITA) | Lygie | + 5' 07" |
| 4 | Severino Canavesi (ITA) | Gloria | + 7' 55" |
| 5 | Settimo Simonini (ITA) | Il Littoriale | + 16' 40" |
| 6 | Salvatore Crippa (ITA) | Ganna | + 17' 52" |
| 7 | Giordano Cottur (ITA) | Lygie | + 18' 40" |
| 8 | Cesare Del Cancia (ITA) | Ganna | + 24' 34" |
| 9 | Cino Cinelli (ITA) | Fréjus | + 26' 10" |
| 10 | Bernardo Rogora (ITA) | Gloria | + 27' 40" |

### Group rider classification

Final group rider classification (1–10) :
| Rank | Name | Team | Time |
| 1 | Settimo Simonini (ITA) | Il Littoriale | 88h 18' 40" |
| 2 | Aladino Mealli (ITA) | S.C. Vigor | + 51' 32" |
| 3 | Bruno Pasquini (ITA) | La Voce Di Mantova | + 1h 09' 31" |
| 4 | Spirito Godio (ITA) | S.C. Vigor | + 1h 15' 39" |
| 5 | Primo Zuccotti (ITA) | Dopolavoro Di Novi | + 2h 02' 49" |
| 6 | Lino Marini (ITA) | S.S. Genova 1913 | + 2h 16' 20" |
| 7 | Guerrino Amadori (ITA) | La Voce Di Mantova | + 2h 23' 45" |
| 8 | Renzo Silvestri (ITA) | U.C. Modenese | + 2h 35' 45" |
| 9 | Gino Malavasi (ITA) | La Voce Di Mantova | + 2h 41' 12" |
| 10 | Amilcare Amilsano (ITA) | S.C. Vigor | + 2h 43' 41" |

### Mountains classification

Final mountains classification (1–9) :
| | Name | Team | Points |
| 1 | Gino Bartali (ITA) | Legnano | 22 |
| 2 | Giovanni Valetti (ITA) | Fréjus | 19 |
| 3 | Michele Benente (ITA) | Olympia | 14 |
| 4 | Enrico Mollo (ITA) | Olympia | 10 |
| 4 | Settimo Simonini (ITA) | Il Littoriale | 10 |
| 6 | Olimpio Bizzi (ITA) | Fréjus | 6 |
| 6 | Giordano Cottur (ITA) | Lygie | 6 |
| 6 | Secondo Magni (ITA) | Fréjus | 6 |
| 9 | Adolfo Leoni (ITA) | Bianchi | 5 |
| 9 | Aladino Mealli (ITA) | S.C Vigor | 5 |

### Team classification

Final team classification (1–8) :
| | Team | Time |
| 1 | Fréjus | 265h 00' 13" |
| 2 | Ganna | + 27' 53" |
| 3 | Gloria | + 29' 52" |
| 4 | Lygie | + 57' 35" |
| 5 | Legnano | + 1h 03' 55" |
| 6 | Bianchi | + 3h 03' 19" |
| 7 | Olympia | + 5h 55' 57" |
| 8 | Belgio | + 9h 11' 50" |

### Group classification

Final group classification (1–3) :
| | Team | Time |
| 1 | S.C. Vigor | 269h 46' 52" |
| 2 | La Voce di Mantova | + 1h 23' 36" |
| 3 | Il Littoriale | + 4h 20' 42" |