The 1938 Giro d'Italia was the 26th edition of the Giro d'Italia, organized and sponsored by the newspaperLa Gazzetta dello Sport. The race began on 7 May in Milan with a stage that stretched 182 km (113 mi) to Turin, finishing back in Milan on 29 May after a split stage and a total distance covered of 3,645.8 km (2,265 mi). The race was won by the Italian rider Giovanni Valetti of the Fréjus team, with fellow Italians Ezio Cecchi and Severino Canavesi coming in second and third respectively.[1]
Participants
Of the 94 riders that began the Giro d'Italia on 7 May,[2] 50 of them made it to the finish in Milan on 29 May.[3] Riders were allowed to ride as a member of a team or group; 61 riders competed as part of a team, while the remaining 33 competed as a part of a group.[2] The nine teams that partook in the race were: Bianchi, Dei, Fréjus, Ganna, Gloria-Ambrosiana, Lygie-Settebello, Legnano, Olympia, and Wolsit-Binda.[2][3] The teams ranged from six to eight riders each.[2] There were also seven groups, made up of three to five riders each, that participated in the race.[2] Those groups were: U. C. Modenese, Il Littoriale, La Voce di Mantova, U.S. Azzini, U.S. Canelli, Dopolavoro Mater, and Gruppo A.[2][3]
The leader of the general classification – calculated by adding the stage finish times of each rider – wore a pink jersey. This classification is the most important of the race, and its winner is considered as the winner of the Giro.[5]
In the mountains classification, the race organizers selected different mountains that the route crossed and awarded points to the riders who crossed them first.[5]
The winner of the team classification was determined by adding the finish times of the best three cyclists per team together and the team with the lowest total time was the winner.[3][6] If a team had fewer than three riders finish, they were not eligible for the classification.[6] The group classification was decided in the same manner, but the classification was exclusive to the competing groups.[6]
The rows in the following table correspond to the jerseys awarded after that stage was run.
^In 1938, there was no distinction in the rules between plain stages and mountain stages; the icons shown here indicate that the stages 2, 4a, 9, 14, 15, 16, 18a, and 18b included major mountains. The stage 7a individual time trial also contained a summit finish.
^ abcdefghi"I corridori iscritti" [The runners registered]. Il Littoriale (in Italian). 7 May 1938. p. 4. Archived from the original on 21 December 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
