# 1919 Giro d'Italia

The 1919 Giro d'Italia was the seventh edition of the Giro d'Italia, a Grand Tour organized and sponsored by the newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport. The race began on 21 May in Milan with a stage that stretched 302.8 km (188 mi) to Trento, finishing back in Milan on 8 June after a 277 km (172 mi) stage and a total distance covered of 2,984 km (1,854 mi). The race was won by the Italian rider Costante Girardengo of the Stucchi team. Second and third respectively were Italian Gaetano Belloni and Belgian Marcel Buysse.
Of 66 riders starting the race, only 15 completed it. The Giro (the first one after the Great War) had the first two stages arriving in the "unredeemed" cities of Trento and Trieste, and was dominated by Girardengo, who won seven stages. The '"eternal second" Gaetano Belloni won his first stage in the Giro.
This edition of the race was also characterised by the first stage victory by a Swiss rider and by the first non-Italian cyclist on the final podium: the Belgian Marcel Buysse.

## Participants

Of the 63 riders that began the Giro d'Italia on 21 May, fifteen of them made it to the finish in Milan on 8 June. Riders were allowed to ride on their own or as a member of a team. There were four teams that competed in the race: Bianchi Pirelli, Legnano-Pirelli, Peugeot-Tedeschi, and Stucchi-Dunlop. The isolati riders that participated in the race were primarily war veterans. Organizers promised all isolati riders at least 180 lire if they reached Milan. The Milan Army Corps carried participants luggage for the race with a Fiat 18 BL lorry that remained after the war.
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 Eberardo Pavesi who was a member of the 1912 Atala winning team. Other notable Italian riders that started the race included Costante Girardengo, Angelo Gremo, Ezio Corlaita, and Giuseppe Santhià. Girardengo was current Italian men's road race champion and was recovering from the Spanish flu.

## Final standings
### Stage results

Stage results :
| Stage | Date | Course | Distance | Type | Type | Winner | Race Leader |
| 1 | 21 May | Milan to Trento | 302.8 km (188 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Costante Girardengo (ITA) | Costante Girardengo (ITA) |
| 2 | 23 May | Trento to Trieste | 334.3 km (208 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Costante Girardengo (ITA) | Costante Girardengo (ITA) |
| 3 | 25 May | Trieste to Ferrara | 282 km (175 mi) | | Plain stage | Oscar Egg (SUI) | Costante Girardengo (ITA) |
| 4 | 27 May | Ferrara to Pescara | 411.2 km (256 mi) | | Plain stage | Ezio Corlaita (ITA) | Costante Girardengo (ITA) |
| 5 | 29 May | Pescara to Naples | 312.5 km (194 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Gaetano Belloni (ITA) | Costante Girardengo (ITA) |
| 6 | 31 May | Naples to Rome | 203.8 km (127 mi) | | Plain stage | Costante Girardengo (ITA) | Costante Girardengo (ITA) |
| 7 | 2 June | Rome to Florence | 350.8 km (218 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Costante Girardengo (ITA) | Costante Girardengo (ITA) |
| 8 | 4 June | Florence to Genoa | 261.8 km (163 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Costante Girardengo (ITA) | Costante Girardengo (ITA) |
| 9 | 6 June | Genoa to Turin | 248 km (154 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Costante Girardengo (ITA) | Costante Girardengo (ITA) |
| 10 | 8 June | Turin to Milan | 277 km (172 mi) | | Plain stage | Costante Girardengo (ITA) | Costante Girardengo (ITA) |
| | Total | Total | 2,984 km (1,854 mi) | 2,984 km (1,854 mi) | 2,984 km (1,854 mi) | 2,984 km (1,854 mi) | 2,984 km (1,854 mi) |

### General classification

There were fifteen 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. Giosuè Lombardi won the prize for best ranked independent rider in the general classification.
Final general classification (1–10) :
| Rank | Name | Team | Time |
| 1 | Costante Girardengo (ITA) | Stucchi-Dunlop | 112h 51' 29" |
| 2 | Gaetano Belloni (ITA) | Bianchi | + 51' 56" |
| 3 | Marcel Buysse (BEL) | Bianchi | + 1h 05' 31" |
| 4 | Clemente Canepari (ITA) | Stucchi-Dunlop | + 1h 34' 35" |
| 5 | Ugo Agostoni (ITA) | Bianchi | + 1h 39' 39" |
| 6 | Angelo Gremo (ITA) | Stucchi-Dunlop | + 2h 20' 01" |
| 7 | Ezio Corlaita (ITA) | Stucchi-Dunlop | + 4h 12' 07" |
| 8 | Lauro Bordin (ITA) | Maino | + 4h 16' 32" |
| 9 | Giosuè Lombardi (ITA) | — | + 4h 28' 33" |
| 10 | Ugo Ruggeri (ITA) | — | + 6h 03' 51" |
Final general classification (11–15) :
| Rank | Name | Team | Time |
| 11 | Marcel Godivier (FRA) | Bianchi | + 6h 52' 54" |
| 12 | Costante Costa (ITA) | Verdi | + 6h 53' 31" |
| 13 | Enrico Sala (ITA) | — | + 7h 15' 17" |
| 14 | Ottavio Pratesi (ITA) | — | + 7h 57' 40" |
| 15 | Francesco Marchese (ITA) | Verdi | + 9h 20' 59" |

### Points classification

There was a points based classification for the race.
Final points classification (1–10) :
| Rank | Name | Team | Points |
| 1 | Costante Girardengo (ITA) | Stucchi-Dunlop | 21 |
| 2 | Gaetano Belloni (ITA) | Bianchi | 46 |
| 3 | Marcel Buysse (BEL) | Bianchi | 62 |
| 4 | Clemente Canepari (ITA) | Stucchi-Dunlop | 73 |
| 5 | Angelo Gremo (ITA) | Stucchi-Dunlop | 78 |
| 6 | Ugo Agostoni (ITA) | Bianchi | 88 |
| 7 | Ezio Corlaita (ITA) | Stucchi-Dunlop | 9? |
| 8 | Marcel Godivier (ITA) | Bianchi | 99 |
| 9 | Giosuè Lombardi (ITA) | — | 119 |
| 9 | Lauro Bordin (ITA) | Maino | 119 |