The 1961 Giro d'Italia was the 44th running of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tour races. The Giro started in Turin, on 20 May, with a stage and concluded in Milan, on 11 June, with a leg. A total of 170 riders from 17 teams entered the 21-stage race, which was won by Italian Arnaldo Pambianco of the team. The second and third places were taken by Frenchman Jacques Anquetil and Spaniard Antonio Suárez, respectively.
Teams
A total of 17 teams were invited to participate in the 1961 Giro d'Italia. Each team sent a squad of ten riders, so the Giro began with a peloton of 170 cyclists. Out of the 170 riders that started this edition of the Giro d'Italia, a total of 92 riders made it to the finish in Milan. Legnano initially threatened to not participate in the Giro.
The 17 teams that took part in the race were:
Baratti
San Pelligrino Torpado
Pre-race favorites
There was initial belief that Charly Gaul would not race the Giro.
Route and stages The route was revealed on 22 April 1961.
The fourth stage on Sardinia was the first time in Giro history that this Island was visited.
+Stage characteristics and winnersStageDateCourseDistanceTypeWinner120 MayTurin to Turin Plain stage 221 MayTurin to Sanremo Stage with mountain(s) 322 MaySanremo to Genoa Plain stage 423 MayCagliari to Cagliari Plain stage 524 MayMarsala to Palermo Stage with mountain(s) 25 May Rest day626 MayPalermo to Milazzo Plain stage 727 MayReggio Calabria to Cosenza Stage with mountain(s) 828 MayCosenza to Taranto Plain stage 929 MayCastellana Grotte to Bari Individual time trial 1030 MayBari to Potenza Stage with mountain(s) 1131 MayPotenza to Teano Stage with mountain(s) 121 JuneGaeta to Rome Plain stage 132 JuneMentana to Castelfidardo Stage with mountain(s) 143 JuneAncona to Florence Stage with mountain(s) 154 JuneFlorence to Modena Stage with mountain(s) 165 JuneModena to Vicenza Plain stage 176 JuneVicenza to Trieste Plain stage 7 June Rest day188 JuneTrieste to Vittorio Veneto Plain stage 199 JuneVittorio Veneto to Trento Stage with mountain(s) 2010 JuneTrento to Bormio Stage with mountain(s) 2111 JuneBormio to Milan Plain stage Total
Classification leadership
One leader's jersey was worn during the 1961 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 1961.
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.
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.
To honor the 100th birthday of Italy, the intermediate sprints were called "traguardi tricolori", named after the flag of Italy. There was no classification calculated from these sprints in 1961, but they were used in the calculation of the team classification.
+Classification leadership by stage Stage WinnerGeneral classificationMountains classificationTeam classification 1 Miguel Poblet Miguel Poblet not awarded 2 Miguel Poblet Angelo Conterno 3 Willy Schroeders Faema 4 Oreste Magni 5 Louis Proost 6 Nino Defilippis 7 Antonio Suárez Antonio Suárez Angelo Conterno & Edouard Delberghe 8 Piet van Est Guillaume Van Tongerloo 9 Jacques Anquetil 10 Vito Taccone Jacques Anquetil 11 Pietro Chiodini Vito Taccone & Federico Bahamontes 12 Renato Giusti 13 Rik Van Looy 14 Silvano Ciampi Arnaldo Pambianco Vito Taccone 15 Rik Van Looy 16 Adriano Zamboni 17 Rik Van Looy 18 Renato Giusti 19 Willy Schroeders 20 Charly Gaul 21 Miguel Poblet Final Arnaldo Pambianco Vito Taccone Faema
Final standings
Legend Denotes the winner of the General classification
General classification
+ Final general classification (1–10)RankNameTeamTime 1 2 + 3' 45" 3 + 4' 17" 4 + 4' 22" 5 + 8' 08" 6 + 12' 25" 7 + 12' 38" 8 + 14' 18" 9 Torpado + 16' 05" 10 + 16' 23"
Mountains classification
+ Final mountains classification (1–10)RankNameTeamPoints 1 270 2 130 3 120 4 70 Baratti 7 50 10 40
Team classification
+ Final team classification (1–10)RankTeamPoints 1 4959 2 Torpado 1964 3 1787 4 1591 5 1326 6 1137 7 Baratti 1010 8 950 9 849 10 838
References
Citations
Bibliography