1914 Giro d'Italia
Race Route
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| Race details | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Dates | 24 May – 7 June | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Stages | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Distance | 3,162 km (1,965 mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Winning time | 135h 17' 56" | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Results | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Winner |
 Alfonso Calzolari (ITA)
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(Stucchi) | |
| Second |
Pierino Albini (ITA)
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(Globo-Dunlop) | |
| Third |
Luigi Lucotti (ITA)
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(Maino) | |
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| Team | Stucchi - Dunlop | ||
The 1914 Giro d'Italia was the 6th Giro d'Italia cycling race; it was organised and sponsored by the newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport. The race began on 24 May in Milan with a stage that stretched 420 km (261 mi) to Cuneo, finishing back in Milan on 6 June after a 420.3 km (261 mi) stage and a total distance covered of 3,162 km (1,965 mi). The race was won by the Italian rider Alfonso Calzolari of the Stucchi team. Second and third respectively were the Italian riders Pierino Albini and Luigi Lucotti.
It was the last Giro before the Great War and the first one with a final classification based on time rather than points.
It is remembered as the hardest Giro of the heroic period of bicycle racing. Besides five stages of over 400 km (and the longest ever average stage length), it included the longest stage ever in the history of the Giro: the Lucca-Rome stage won by Costante Girardengo. This edition of the Giro was run at the lowest average speed (23.374 km/h); marked the highest gap between the first and the second (1 hour, 55 minutes and 26 seconds); saw the longest ever stage by time taken (the Bari-L'Aquila). Only 8 riders (of 81 participants) finished the race.
The sixth stage (Bari-L'Aquila) is remembered as the hardest stage in the history of the Giro, with a lot of riders forced to retire, including the first of the general classification Giuseppe Azzini, who was found the next day resting in a country house.
The Giro organisation declared Calzolari winner after the race, but a legal battle started between the Giro organisation and the Italian Cycling Union, who thought Calzolari should have been removed from the race for taking help from a car, making Albini the winner. After 14 months in court, the final decision was in favor of the Giro organisation, thus making Calzolari the definitive winner.
Before the race started, 98 cyclists had entered themselves in the race, of which 35 were professional cyclists in a team, 41 were professional cyclists without a team, and 22 were amateurs (Italian: aspiranti). Favourites for the race were Lucien Petit-Breton from France, and Ganna, Galetti, Girardengo, Giuseppe Santhià and Azzini from Italy.
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Wikipedia