When the “Giro” discovered Wolkenstein

The stage in 1984 in particular was a purely South Tyrolean stage, as it started on June 7th of that year in Meran. We would like to take a closer look at this stage in our short historical review.

As I said, the “love” between Wolkenstein and the Giro began in 1983. The stage on June 2nd came after a rest day in Vicenza, and some observers claimed to have spotted the sports greats of the time during an advance inspection on the Gardena valley road. However, after a long journey over the Vezzena Pass in Trentino and the leisurely roll through the lowlands and the Isarco Valley, things only really started from Waidbruck when the road became steeper and the wheat was separated from the chaff. Mario Beccia, the small and wiry climbing specialist from Apulia, pushed his front wheel in front of that of the Basque Lejarreta at the finish line and choked the Spanish reporter's scream of “Marino!” in his throat.

But Marino Lejarreta would once again push himself into the spotlight the following year. And how!

From the start, the 1984 Giro was characterized by the duel between Francesco Moser from Palù di Giovo in Trentino and the Frenchman Laurent Fignon. After the Frenchman initially wore the pink jersey of the overall leader for four days, Moser managed to change the guard on the climb to Block Haus in Abruzzo. The man from Trento skillfully fended off all of Fignon's attacks, also aided by a drivers' strike in the direction of Marconia di Pisticci (in Basilicata), and arrived in Merano as the overall leader. Despite the Tonale and Gampenpass, relatively little happened between Pontida in Lombardy and the spa town on the Passer. Bruno Leali arrived in Meran first with a narrow lead.

But now we were eagerly awaiting the fourth-to-last stage on June 7, 1984. Only 74 kilometers had to be covered between Meran and Wolkenstein, but here Moser's leading position was to be attacked once again. So the entourage (there were very few failures in this Giro) rolled at high speed through Burgstall, Gargazon, Terlan and then across Bolzano.

We negotiated the Eisack Gorge at a good pace, then turned into Waidbruck over the time-honored concrete bridge, rumbled through the railway crossing and moved past the pretty parish church into the cool valley. Fignon and Moser watched each other like watchdogs, the water carriers set a high pace, but someone else made the decision: after a few hundred meters, Marino Lejarreta (yes, the runner-up from last year) said goodbye to the pack and won meter by meter. His arrival left everyone speechless, it was the most incredible “pedal ride” on the Val Gardena state road that anyone had ever seen. When the Basque had already gained over a minute's lead in Pontives, where the road becomes flatter, the numerous fans on the side of the road knew that no one would be able to catch up with this unleashed athlete.

In fact: Lejarreta practically flew through Ortisei (the administrators there had made it possible to drive through the center of the town despite the new bypass road), through St. Christina and, as a great triumph, headed for the finish line in Wolkenstein, which was then on the Main street was at the level of the Esso gas station. One minute and eight seconds later, Laurent Fignon crossed the finish line in second place, which allowed him to earn time credit. The little glasses wearer from France had made up valuable seconds on Moser, but the Italian still kept the pink jersey. Only for one day, because the next day, on the “murderous stage” to Arabba (first back to the Isarco Valley, then across the Pustertal to Corvara and practicing the Campolongo to Arabba before going around the Sella Group again), Fignon took the day's victory and leader jersey…

How it ended is written in the sports annals. Two days after his triumph in the Dolomites, Laurent Fignon had to admit defeat in an individual time trial from Soave to Verona Moser, when (probably) the TV helicopters also played a significant role in the triumph of the man from the Cembra Valley. But this is another story…

In 1985 the Giro came to Wolkenstein again, in the first stages. And organizers from other finishes were also on site to see how such a major event can be carried off well. The legendary Giro boss Vincenzo Torriani obviously held the Val Gardena town close to his heart.

Later, the professional cyclists' tour of Italy also stopped in Selva in 1991, 1998 and 2000. The last finish in the “Valley of the Herrgottsschnitzer” (as the sports press used to call Val Gardena) dates back to 2005, when Ortisei was able to host the Giro for the second time since 1940. But that's almost current...

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When the “Giro” discovered Wolkenstein

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