The 1963 Giro d'Italia was the 46th running of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tour races. The Giro started in Naples, on 19 May, with a stage and concluded back in Milan, on 9 June, with a leg. A total of 120 riders from 12 teams entered the 21-stage race, which was won by Italian Franco Balmamion of the Carpano team. The second and third places were taken by Italian riders Vittorio Adorni and Giorgio Zancanaro, respectively.

Teams

Twelve teams were invited by the race organizers to participate in the 1963 edition of the Giro d'Italia. Each team sent a squad of ten riders, which meant that the race started with a peloton of 120 cyclists. From the riders that began the race, 86 made it to the finish in Milan.

The teams entering the race were:

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Most of the riders were Italian riders. The exceptions were 8 riders from Belgium, 3 from Switzerland, 2 from Spain and 2 from the Netherlands.

Route and stages The race route was revealed to the public on 25 March 1963 by race director Vincenzo Torriani. + Stage resultsStageDateCourseDistanceTypeWinner119 MayNaples to Potenza Plain stage 220 MayPotenza to Bari Plain stage 321 MayBari to Campobasso Plain stage 422 MayCampobasso to Pescara Stage with mountain(s) 523 MayPescara to Viterbo Plain stage 624 MayBolsena to Arezzo Plain stage 725 MayArezzo to Riolo Terme Stage with mountain(s) 826 MayRiolo Terme to Salsomaggiore Terme Plain stage 927 MaySalsomaggiore Terme to La Spezia Stage with mountain(s) 1028 MayLa Spezia to Asti Plain stage 1129 MayAsti to Santuario di Oropa Stage with mountain(s) 1230 MayBiella to Leukerbad (Switzerland) Stage with mountain(s) 1331 MayLeukerbad (Switzerland) to Saint-Vincent Stage with mountain(s) 141 JuneSaint-Vincent to Cremona Plain stage 152 JuneMantua to Treviso Plain stage 3 June Rest day164 JuneTreviso to Treviso Individual time trial 175 JuneTreviso to Gorizia Plain stage 186 JuneGorizia to Belluno Nevegal Stage with mountain(s) 197 JuneBelluno to Moena Stage with mountain(s) 208 JuneMoena to Lumezzane Plain stage 219 JuneBrescia to Milan Plain stage Total

Race events

Shortly before the Giro, the Italian National Road Race Championships were held. In 1963, this was not a one-day-race, but held over several stages. In the second stage, Marino Fontana had a flat tire, and was then assisted by a rider from a different team, which was against the rules. The union of Italian professional cyclists (organizers of the event) did not see this as a problem, but the Italian cycling union decided to disqualify Fontana. The organization ignored the union, and allowed Fontana to ride the third stage. Fontana gained enough points to win the championship, and was given the national jersey to wear. At the start of the Giro, Fontana wore this national jersey. The Giro was organized by the Italian cycling union, and they forbade him to wear this jersey because they did not see him as national champion. Fontana came to the start of the second stage again wearing this jersey, and the jury told him that he should take it off or else he would not be allowed to start. Fontana did not change this jersey, and the jury collectively quit. Without a jury, the race could not start, so the start of the second stage was delayed until a new jury could be found. The GBC team, made out of Belgian and Dutch riders, then abandoned the race. They gave the reason that the race no longer appeared to be sanctioned by the Italian cycling union, and so it could be seen as an illegal race, and the Belgian and Dutch cycling unions could suspend them. After this, the Italian National Olympic Committee took responsibility for the rest of the race.

Classification leadership

One leader's jersey was worn during the 1963 Giro d'Italia. 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. There were no time bonuses in 1963.

A major secondary classification was the mountains classification. In this ranking, points were won by reaching the summit of a climb ahead of other cyclists. There were three categories of mountains. The first category awarded 50, 40, 30, 20, and 10 points, the second distributed 40, 30, 20, and 10 points, and the third category gave 30, 20, and 10 points.

There were also intermediate sprints, called "traguardi tricolori", and this year there was a classification related to these. The first five riders at each intermediate sprint scored points.

Although no jersey was awarded, there was also one classification for the teams, in which the teams were awarded points for their rider's performance during the stages. This classification was named the "Ramazzotti" classification, and points were given for high positions in stages, intermediate sprints and mountain tops, and leading the general classification.

+Classification leadership by stage Stage WinnerGeneral classificationMountains classificationTeam classification 1 Vittorio Adorni Vittorio Adorni not awarded GBC 2 Pierino Baffi Cynar 3 Jaime Alomar Carpano 4 Guido Carlesi Diego Ronchini Vito Taccone Molteni 5 Vendramino Bariviera Carpano 6 Vendramino Bariviera 7 Nino Defilippis 8 Adriano Durante 9 Giorgio Zancanaro Giorgio Zancanaro 10 Vito Taccone 11 Vito Taccone 12 Vito Taccone Franco Balmamion Vito Taccone 13 Vito Taccone 14 Marino Vigna 15 Franco Magnani 16 Vittorio Adorni Diego Ronchini 17 Vendramino Bariviera 18 Arnaldo Pambianco Vittorio Adorni 19 Vito Taccone Franco Balmamion 20 Guido Carlesi 21 Antonio Bailetti Final Franco Balmamion Vito Taccone Carpano

Final standings

Legend      Denotes the winner of the General classification

General classification

+ Final general classification (1–10)RankNameTeamTime 1 Carpano 2 Cynar + 2' 24" 3 San Pellegrino + 3' 15" 4 Molteni + 6' 34" 5 Salvarani + 10' 11" 6 Lygie + 11' 50" 7 Legnano + 16' 52" 8 Molteni + 17' 08" 9 IBAC + 23' 38" 10 Gazzola + 25' 36"

Mountains classification

+ Final mountains classification (1–9)NameTeamPoints 1 Lygie 420 2 San Pellegrino 120 3 Springoil 100 4 San Pellegrino 80 5 Cynar 60 6 Carpano 50 7 Springoil 40 Legnano 9 Salvarani 30 Carpano

Traguardi tricolori classification

+ Final traguardi tricolori classification (1–10)NameTeamPoints 1 Lygie 99 2 Springoil 85 3 Legnano 51 4 San Pellegrino 50 5 Cynar 42 6 Carpano 35 7 San Pellegrino 30 8 Lygie 29 9 Gazzola 27 10 Carpano 25

Team classification

+ Final team classification (1–10)TeamPoints 1 Carpano 4,098 2 Lygie 3,167 3 Cynar 2,827 4 San Pellegrino 2,762 5 Molteni 2,333 6 Springoil 2,248 7 Salvarani 2,134 8 IBAC 1,878 9 Gazzola 1,860 10 Legnano 1,683

References

Citations

Bibliography