1973 Giro d'Italia

1973 Giro d'Italia

Race details
Dates		18 May – 9 June
Stages		20 + Prologue
Distance		3,801 km (2,362 mi)
Winning time		106h 54' 41" (35.506 km/h or 22.062 mph)
Palmares
	Winner	Eddy Merckx (BEL)	(Molteni)
	Second	Felice Gimondi (ITA)	(Bianchi)
	Third	Giovanni Battaglin (ITA)	(Jolly Ceramica)
	Points	Eddy Merckx (BEL)	(Molteni)
	Mountains	José Manuel Fuente (ESP)	(KAS)
	Combination	Eddy Merckx (BEL)	(Molteni)
	Team Points	Molteni

The 1973 Giro d'Italia was the 57th running of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tours races. The Giro started in Verviers, Belgium, on 18 May, with a 5.2 km (3.2 mi) prologue and concluded with a 197 km (122 mi) mass-start stage, on 9 June. A total of 140 riders from fourteen teams entered the 20-stage race, that was won by Belgian Eddy Merckx of the Molteni team. The second and third places were taken by Italians Felice Gimondi and Giovanni Battaglin, respectively.^[1][2]

In addition to the general classification, Merckx won the points classification. Amongst the other classifications that the race awarded, José Manuel Fuente of KAS won the mountains classification. Molteni finished as the winners of the team points classification.

Teams

A total of fourteen teams were invited to participate in the 1973 Giro d'Italia. Each team sent a squad of ten riders, which meant that the race started with a peloton of 140 cyclists.^[3] From the riders that began this edition, 113 made it to the finish on the Trieste.^[3]

The teams entering the race were:

Molteni Bianchi Brooklyn Dreher Filotex

Flandria G.B.C. Jolly Ceramica KAS Magniflex

Ovest Rokado Sammontana Scic Zonca

Stage results

Stage characteristics and winners^[3]

Stage	Date	Course	Distance	Type		Winner
P	18 May	Verviers (Belgium)	5.2 km (3.2 mi)		Two-man Team Time Trial[N 1]	Eddy Merckx (BEL)  Roger Swerts (BEL)
1	19 May	Verviers (Belgium) to Cologne (Germany)	137 km (85 mi)		Plain stage	Eddy Merckx (BEL)
2	20 May	Cologne (Germany) to Luxembourg (Luxembourg)	227 km (141 mi)		Plain stage	Roger de Vlaeminck (BEL)
3	21 May	Luxembourg (Luxembourg) to Strasbourg (France)	239 km (149 mi)		Plain stage	Gustave Van Roosbroeck (BEL)
4	22 May	Geneva (Switzerland) to Aosta	163 km (101 mi)		Stage with mountain(s)	Eddy Merckx (BEL)
	23 May	Rest day
5	24 May	St. Vincent to Milan	173 km (107 mi)		Plain stage	Gerben Karstens (NED)
6	25 May	Milan to Iseo	144 km (89 mi)		Stage with mountain(s)	Gianni Motta (ITA)
7	26 May	Iseo to Lido delle Nazioni	248 km (154 mi)		Plain stage	Rik van Linden (BEL)
8	27 May	Lido delle Nazioni to Monte Carpegna	156 km (97 mi)		Stage with mountain(s)	Eddy Merckx (BEL)
9	28 May	Carpegna to Alba Adriatica	243 km (151 mi)		Plain stage	Patrick Sercu (BEL)
10	29 May	Alba Adriatica to Lanciano	174 km (108 mi)		Stage with mountain(s)	Eddy Merckx (BEL)
11	30 May	Lanciano to Benevento	230 km (143 mi)		Plain stage	Roger de Vlaeminck (BEL)
12	31 May	Benevento to Fiuggi	236 km (147 mi)		Stage with mountain(s)	Tullio Rossi (ITA)
13	1 June	Fiuggi to Bolsena	215 km (134 mi)		Stage with mountain(s)	Roger de Vlaeminck (BEL)
14	2 June	Bolsena to Florence	202 km (126 mi)		Plain stage	Francesco Moser (ITA)
15	3 June	Florence to Forte dei Marmi	150 km (93 mi)		Plain stage	Martín Emilio Rodríguez (COL)
	4 June	Rest day
16	5 June	Forte dei Marmi to Forte dei Marmi	37 km (23 mi)		Individual Time Trial	Felice Gimondi (ITA)
17	6 June	Forte dei Marmi to Verona	244 km (152 mi)		Stage with mountain(s)	Rik Van Linden (BEL)
18	7 June	Verona to Andalo	173 km (107 mi)		Stage with mountain(s)	Eddy Merckx (BEL)
19	8 June	Andalo to Auronzo di Cadore	208 km (129 mi)		Stage with mountain(s)	José Manuel Fuente (ESP)
20	9 June	Auronzo di Cadore to Trieste	197 km (122 mi)		Stage with mountain(s)	Marino Basso (ITA)
	Total		3,801 km (2,362 mi)

Classification leadership

The Passo di Giau was the Cima Coppi for the 1973 running of the Giro d'Italia.

Two different jerseys were worn during the 1973 Giro d'Italia. The leader of the general classification – calculated by adding the stage finish times of each rider, and allowing time bonuses for the first three finishers on mass-start stages – wore a pink jersey. This classification is the most important of the race, and its winner is considered as the winner of the Giro.^[4]

For the points classification, which awarded a purple (or cyclamen) jersey to its leader, cyclists were given points for finishing a stage in the top 15; additional points could also be won in intermediate sprints. No jersey was awarded for the mountains classification leader. In this ranking, points were won by reaching the summit of a climb ahead of other cyclists. Each climb was ranked as either first, second or third category, with more points available for higher category climbs. The Cima Coppi, the race's highest point of elevation, awarded more points than the other first category climbs.^[4] The Cima Coppi for this Giro was the Passo di Giau. The first rider to cross the Passo di Giau was Spanish rider José Manuel Fuente.

Although no jersey was awarded, there was also one classification for the teams, in which the awarded points to each team based off their riding's finishing position in every stage; the leading team was the one with the most points.^[4]

The rows in the following table correspond to the jerseys awarded after that stage was run.

Classification leadership by stage

Stage	Winner	General classification	Points classification	Mountains classification	Team classification
P	Eddy Merckx & Roger Swerts	Eddy Merckx	?	not awarded	not awarded
1	Eddy Merckx				?
2	Roger De Vlaeminck
3	Gustave Van Roosbroeck
4	Eddy Merckx			José Manuel Fuente
5	Gerben Karstens
6	Gianni Motta			Eddy Merckx
7	Rik Van Linden
8	Eddy Merckx
9	Patrick Sercu
10	Eddy Merckx
11	Roger De Vlaeminck
12	Tullio Rossi
13	Roger De Vlaeminck
14	Francesco Moser
15	Martín Emilio Rodríguez
16	Felice Gimondi
17	Rik Van Linden
18	Eddy Merckx
19	José Manuel Fuente			José Manuel Fuente
20	Marino Basso
Final		Eddy Merckx	Eddy Merckx	José Manuel Fuente	Molteni

Final standings

Legend
	Denotes the winner of the General classification		Denotes the winner of the Mountains classification
	Denotes the winner of the Points classification

General classification

Final general classification (1–10)^[3][2][5][6]

Rank	Name	Team	Time
1	Eddy Merckx (BEL)	Molteni	106h 54' 41"
2	Felice Gimondi (ITA)	Bianchi	+ 7' 42"
3	Giovanni Battaglin (ITA)	Jolly Ceramica	+ 10' 20"
4	José Pesarrodona (ESP)	KAS	+ 15' 51"
5	Santiago Lazcano (ESP)	KAS	+ 19' 11"
6	Wladimiro Panizza (ITA)	G.B.C.	+ 19' 45"
7	Ole Ritter (DEN)	Bianchi	+ 24' 24"
8	José Manuel Fuente (ESP)	KAS	+ 26' 06"
9	Francisco Galdós (ESP)	KAS	+ 26' 35"
10	Gianni Motta (ITA)	Zonca	+ 26' 49"

Points classification

Final points classification (1–5)^[3][5][6]

	Rider	Team	Points
1	Eddy Merckx (BEL)	Molteni	237
2	Roger de Vlaeminck (BEL)	Brooklyn	216
3	Felice Gimondi (ITA)	Bianchi	146
4	Rik van Linden (BEL)	Ovest Rokado	141
5	Gerben Karstens (NED)	Ovest Rokado	132

Mountains classification

Final mountains classification (1–10)^[3][2][5][6]

	Rider	Team	Points
1	José Manuel Fuente (ESP)	KAS	550
2	Eddy Merckx (BEL)	Molteni	510
3	Giovanni Battaglin (ITA)	Jolly Ceramica	180
4	Felice Gimondi (ITA)	Bianchi	110
5	Lino Farisato (ITA)	Scic	100
6	Wladimiro Panizza (ITA)	G.B.C.	70
	Ole Ritter (DEN)	Bianchi
8	Italo Zilioli (ITA)	Dreher	30
	Ottavio Crepaldi (ITA)	Zonca
	Santiago Lazcano (ESP)	KAS

Combination classification

Final Combination classification (1–4)^[3][5]

	Rider	Team	Points
1	Eddy Merckx (BEL)	Molteni	4
2	Felice Gimondi (ITA)	Bianchi	9
3	Giovanni Battaglin (ITA)	Jollj Ceramica	17
4	José Manuel Fuente (ESP)	KAS	18

Intermediate sprints classification

Final intermediate sprints classification (1–5)^[5][6]

	Rider	Team	Points
1	Domingo Perurena (ESP)	KAS	170
2	Ercole Gualazzini (ITA)	Bianchi	110
3	Gianni Motta (ITA)	Zonca	70
4	Joseph Bruyère (BEL)	Molteni	60
5	Enrico Paolini (ITA)	Scic	40
	Piero Dallai (ITA)	Magniflex

Neo-professional classification

Final neo-professional classification (1–5)^[2][6]

	Rider	Team	Time
1	Giovanni Battaglin (ITA)	Jolly Ceramica	107h 05' 01"
2	Francesco Moser (ITA)	Filotex	+ 28' 22"
3	Hennie Kuiper (NED)	Rokado	+ 28' 30"
4	Walter Riccomi (ITA)	Sammontana	+ 1h 01' 34"
5	Luciano Conati (ITA)	Scic	+ 1h 06' 27"

Team classification

Final team classification (1–5)^[3][6]

	Team	Points
1	Molteni	7,731
2	Bianchi	4,434
3	Brooklyn	4,114
4	Rokado	3,534
5	KAS	3,534

Aftermath

The race is documented in Jørgen Leth's 1973 film Stars and Watercarriers (Stjernerne og Vandbærerne).

References

Footnotes

1. The prologue for the 1973 Giro d'Italia was not a typical prologue as it was a two-man team time trial, not the normal individual time trial. The stage results were used to just award the first leaders jerseys of the race. The results from the stage did not count towards the general classification.^[3]

Citations

1. "Merckx, <<Maglia Rosa>> De Principio A Fin" [Merckx, <<Pink Jersey>> From Beginning to End] (PDF) (in Spanish). El Mundo Deportivo. 10 June 1973. p. 19. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 March 2015. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
2. Gianni Pignata (10 June 1973). "Giro-record per Merckx, sempre in rosa" [Lap-record for Merckx, always in pink] (PDF). La Stampa (in Italian) (Editrice La Stampa). p. 22. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
3. Bill and Carol McGann. "1973 Giro d'Italia". Bike Race Info. Dog Ear Publishing. Archived from the original on 2 January 2015. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
4. Laura Weislo (13 May 2008). "Giro d'Italia classifications demystified". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Archived from the original on 17 June 2014. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
5. "Clasificaciones oficiales" [Official classifications] (PDF) (in Spanish). El Mundo Deportivo. 10 June 1973. p. 19. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 March 2015. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
6. "I primi venti del 1973" [The first twenty of 1973] (PDF). l'Unità (in Italian) (PCI). 9 June 1974. p. 9. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 March 2015. Retrieved 27 May 2012.