Dates 12 May - 2 June Distance 4,035.5 km (2,508 mi) Winner Fausto Coppi (ITA) | Stages 21 Winning time 118h 37' 26" Second Hugo Koblet (SUI) | |
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The 1953 Giro d'Italia was the 36th edition of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The Giro started off in Milan on 12 May with a 263 km (163.4 mi) flat stage and concluded back in Milan with a 220 km (136.7 mi) relatively flat mass-start stage on 2 June. Sixteen teams entered the race, which was won by Italian Fausto Coppi of the Bianchi team. Second and third respectively were Swiss rider Hugo Koblet and Italian Pasquale Fornara.
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Hugo Koblet held the pink jersey up until the penultimate stage, when Coppi attacked and caught him on the climb up the Stelvio Pass, taking the lead and securing the final victory.
Teams
Sixteen teams were invited by the race organizers to participate in the 1953 edition of the Giro d'Italia. Each team sent a squad of seven riders, which meant that the race started with a peloton of 112 cyclists. From the riders that began the race, 72 made it to the finish in Milan.
The teams entering the race were:
Classification leadership
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.
Two additional jerseys were in use. The green jersey was given to the best foreign cyclist in the general classification; at the end of the Giro it was worn by Swiss Hugo Koblet. The white jersey was given to the best cyclist riding with a licence for independents; this was won by Angelo Conterno.
The mountains classification leader was not identified by a special jersey. The climbs all awarded three points to the first rider and one point to the second rider to cross the summit. There was one category for mountains which awarded five points down to one point for the first riders to cross the summit. Although no jersey was awarded, there was also one classification for the teams, in which the stage finish times of the best three cyclists per team were added; the leading team was the one with the lowest total time.