The 18th edition of Giro d’Italia between the 17th May and 8th June 1930 has an interesting place in the history of the race.
This was the edition, when Alfredo Binda wasn’t allowed to race, due to the concern of the race organizers, that his dominance might be bad for the business.
Alfredo Binda, the second Campionissimo in the history of Italian road races, has won the Giro already 4 times (1925, 1927,1928 1929). The organizers were willing to pay him the money equal to the prize of the Giro-victory and the prize for six stage wins additionally. Binda accepted the 22 500 lire offer and did not take part at the Giro d’Italia that year. Instead, he rode Tour de France for the first and last time (and won two stages).
The 18th Giro was won by Luigi Marchisio, a young rider of Binda’s team Legnano. He was in the lead since the third stage of the race. On the day he won the Giro, he was 21 years 1 month and 13 days old which makes him the second youngest Giro d’Italia winner ever (Fausto Coppi is the youngest, he was 20 years 8 months and 18 days old, whe he won in 1940).
The top 10 of the race:
Luigi Marchisio (Legnano): 11hr 11min 55sec
Luigi Giacobbe (Maino) 52sec
Allegro Grandi (Bianchi) 1min 49sec
Ambrogio Morelli (Gloria) 11min 12sec
Antonio Pesenti (Dei-Pirelli) 16min 1sec
Antonio Negrini (Maino) 17min 48sec
Felice Gremo (Legnano) 22min 28sec
Aristide Cavallini (Dei-Pirelli) 23min 58sec
Learco Guerra (Maino) 26min 10sec
Amerigo Cacioni (independent) 37min 11sec
Do you like the good old stories from the history of road racing?
Read another one:
Tour de France 1937
The 31st Tour de France was held between 30 June and 25 July in 1937. The route was 4415 km long, divided into 20 stages (many of them had a and b parts).
5 iconic vintage Tour de France images showing cycling was different in the 1920s
The one and a half century long history of road cycling races witnessed plenty of changes in material circumstances and lifestyle. Being a sport event organized at the places of the everday life, road cycling has also a unique connection to the world outside the competitions. The smoking cyclists Smoking is unhealthy and uncool, right? … Read more
Gustaaf van Slembrouck (Faces from the peloton)
Everybody knows the famous image of the “smoking cyclists” from 1927. One of them was Gustaaf Van Slembrouck. The Belgian cyclist Gustaaf Van Slembrouck (1902-1968) was a professional rider between 1926 and 1932. The first year of his professional career was the most successful: he wore the yellow jersey for 6 days at the Tour … Read more
The years of La Sportive consortium (1919- 1921)
Although Henri Desgrange was always keen to preserve Tour de France as a competition for individuals1, cyclists who were sponsored by the same bicycle manufacture naturally worked as a team. Alcyon for example, delivered four overall victories (François Faber, 1909; Octave Lapize,1910 ; Gustave Garrigou, 1911; Odyle Defraye, 1912) before 1914 and dominated most of … Read more
Cycling Who’s Who: Edmond Jacquelin
Edmond Jacquelin, one of the first stars in the history of cycling races was born on the 15th March 1875 in Santenay, France. He started his professional career in 1893. This was the time period when cycling races were predominantly track events. Jacquelin won the Grand Prix Turin in 1898, the Grand Prix de Paris … Read more
Tour de France winners: Louis Trousselier (1905)
There is a story about Louis Trousselier (1881-1939), the winner of Tour de France in 1905, that’s makes him one of those very characteristic protagonists of the early days of road cycling races: he lost all his prize money earned during the Tour de France by playing dice with friends on the night of his … Read more
Faces from the peloton: Victor Fontan (1892-1982)
A cyclist running while carrying his bike on his shoulder. Surely, you’ve seen this vintage cycling image several times. Now it’s time to learn a bit more about the protagonist of the picture. Victor Fontan (1892-1982) in the Faces from the peloton series of PelotonTales blog. A local rider World War I (as did World … Read more
Mini Cycling Who’s Who: Antonin Magne
Antonin Magne, the two-time winner of the Tour de France was born on the 15th of February 1904 in Ytrac, France. He attended the Tour de France first in 1927. In 1931 André Leducq, the defending champion was the team leader of the French squad, but he was out of shape, so Magne became the … Read more
First time Tour de France started outside Paris (1926)
Since the first ever edition of Tour de France in 1903, the race always started in Paris. In 1926, Evian, the famous high-market holiday resort and spa town on the shores of Lake Geneva, hosted the start of the first stage. It was 373 km long, finished in Mulhouse. Jules Buysse was the winner of … Read more
Faces from the peloton: Gustaaf Van Slembrouck
Learn a bit more about the protagonists of vintage cycling images — that’s the purpose of the category Faces from the peloton. The Belgian cyclist Gustaaf Van Slembrouck (1902-1968) was a professional rider between 1926 and 1932. The first year of his professional career was the most successful: he wore the yellow jersey for 6 … Read more