Dates 16 May - 7 June Distance 3,657 km (2,272 mi) Winner Charly Gaul (LUX) | Stages 22 Winning time 101h 50' 26" Second Jacques Anquetil (FRA) | |
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The 1959 Giro d'Italia was the 42nd running of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tour races. The Giro started in Milan, on 16 May, with a 135 km (83.9 mi) stage and concluded back in Milan, on 7 June, with a 220 km (136.7 mi) leg. A total of 120 riders from 15 teams entered the 20-stage race, which was won by Luxembourgian Charly Gaul of the Emi team. The second and third places were taken by Frenchman Jacques Anquetil and Italian Diego Ronchini, respectively.
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Teams
Thirteen teams were invited by the race organizers to participate in the 1959 edition of the Giro d'Italia Each team sent a squad of ten riders, which meant that the race started with a peloton of 130 cyclists. From the riders that began the race, 86 made it to the finish in Milan.
The teams entering the race were:
Classification leadership
One jersey was worn during the 1959 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.
The mountains classification leader. The climbs were ranked in first and second categories. In this ranking, points were won by reaching the summit of a climb ahead of other cyclists. There were two categories of mountains. The first category awarded 80, 60, 40, 30, and 20 points, while the second distributed 60, 40, and 20 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.