The “Around Italy” cycling race is celebrating its anniversary in South Tyrol

After the First World War, the Milanese Journal of Sport already organized the new edition of the Italian cycle tour in 1919. The first stage from Milan to Trento was intended to demonstrate to the public the shifting of the new state border towards the north. With the stage destination Meran on May 25, 1921, South Tyrolean soil was included for the first time.

(function (d) { var js, id = "genially-embed-js", ref = d.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) { return; } js = d.createElement("script"); js.id = id; js.async = true; js.src = "https://view.genial.ly/static/embed/embed.js"; ref.parentNode.insertBefore(js, ref); }(document)); The starting signal for the 68 participants for the 9th edition of the Italian cycling tour took place at 4.30 a.m. in Milan. At around 8 a.m. the first cyclists passed Brescia and continued via Riva towards Trento. Due to a strong thunderstorm with storms and rain, the management was about to cancel the race. The top favorite Costante Girardengo was able to catch up with the twenty-man leading group after a wheel defect at Auer. After the fastest riders had passed Bolzano around 16:30 p.m., they reached the stage finish in Merano after around 45 minutes. The “grand finale” in Meran The Burgrave reported on the last kilometer to be covered on the Meran sports field: “22 men arrive at the upper end of the sports field: in perfect condition, loudly greeted by the audience, two more laps on the sports field, which should decide the final spurt. As if the riders had just put their foot on the pedals, the fight for the first stage victory (after a journey of 320 kilometers) began. The drivers Azzini, Beloni and Girardengo fight for the palm tree. The fight in the last 50 meters captivated the audience in breathless excitement. Girardengo won by a bike length, crossing the finish line at 5:49 minutes 22 seconds. The audience, which consisted largely of Italians, knew no bounds in their enthusiasm and pushed into the racetrack to greet the winners, to see them up close and to take photos. Girardengo is carried on the shoulders! The nationalistic note was not missing: Tricolor, Eja.”

<a data-caption="Der Anstieg über eine von gewittrigen Regengüssen aufgeweichte Schotterstraße durch Storo auf dem Weg von Brescia nach Trient vermittelt uns heute einen Eindruck, was die Radrennfahrer vor 100 Jahren geleistet haben. © BikeRaceInfo" data-fancybox="inline-77295" target="_image" href="https://s3-images.sportnews.bz/_images/scale/1280x1280/img/2021/05/der-anstieg-ueber-eine-von-gewittrigen-regenguessen-aufgeweichte-schotterstrasse-durch-storo-auf-dem-weg-von-brescia-nach-trient-vermittelt-uns-heute-ein.jpg"> The climb over a gravel road through Storo on the way from Brescia to Trento, which has been softened by thunderstorms, gives us today an impression of what the cyclists achieved 100 years ago. © BikeRaceInfo

The leading group covered the 322 kilometers at an impressive average speed of 25,08 km/h. The winner Girardengo needed 12 hours 56 minutes and 22 seconds to cover the distance. The last stragglers reached the stage destination around 10 o'clock in the evening. After reaching their destination, all drivers “covered up to the top of their heads, like a freshly thrown wall, with black and gray road excrement” were taken in cars to their hotels “to be restored with a bath and massage.” Dinner in the evening In the evening, the Meran organizers held a dinner at the Meranerhof, to which the mayor, the executive board of the spa and sports club, the Meran cycling club, representatives of the major Italian newspapers and the German local press as well as the military authorities were invited.

After cyclists and car guests had used the following rest day to visit Meran and the surrounding area, the starting signal for the second stage was given shortly after 4 a.m. the next day, the descent to Bolzano, Trento, the Suganertal and Bologna. The South Tyrolean regional newspaper reported: “It was a beautiful morning, the streets were still wet with rain, there was not a breath of air when the competitive cyclists in rows of four, followed by the sports and press cars accompanying them, left the spa town for further competition.”

In contrast to today, the cyclist, equipped with a spare hose and air pump, was completely on his own. © BikeRaceInfo

The Giro d'Italia on May 25, 1921 goes down in South Tyrolean history not only as a sporting event. This sporting event also illustrates the rapid development that sport has undergone over the past 100 years. At that time, less than 100 cyclists took part in the “Around Italy” cycling race. The prize money of 10.000 lire for the overall Giro victory was still very modest compared to today. Public sponsors were the exception. Even then, a few automobiles accompanied the racing drivers on the roads that were not closed to traffic. The racing drivers were also looked after to a modest extent. Incredible hardships Some of the gravel roads were in very poor condition and, especially in bad weather, every single cyclist, who was mostly left to their own devices, had to overcome unimaginable hardships. The fact that on the first stage a cyclist came under a truck and crushed his foot shows that the dangers in road traffic were great. During the second stage in Bologna, shortly before the finish, five cyclists were seriously injured after colliding with a motorcycle crossing the road.

The stage arrival in Meran in 1921 also had a political significance. The sporting event underlined to the public the connection of South Tyrol to Italy. It is therefore completely understandable that the cyclists were encouraged and celebrated almost exclusively by Italian fans. The South Tyrolean local press, with the exception of the newspapers from Merano, did not mention the sporting event a single word.

" data-fancybox="inline-77297" target="_image" href="https://s3-images.sportnews.bz/_images/scale/1280x1280/img/2021/05/das-werbeinserat-aus-der-suedtiroler-landeszeitungze.jpg"> The advertisement from the South Tyrolean regional newspaper.

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The “Around Italy” cycling race is celebrating its anniversary in South Tyrol

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