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1929 Giro d'Italia

17th edition: May 19 - June 9

Results, stages with running GC, photos and history

1928 Giro | 1930 Giro | Giro d'Italia Database | 1929 Giro Quick Facts | 1929 Giro d'Italia Final GC | Stage results with running GC | Teams | The Story of the 1929 Giro d'Italia


Plato's Crito

1929 Giro Quick Facts:

2,920 kilometers raced at an average speed of 27.29 km/hr.

166 starters and 99 classified finishers.

14 stages, giving an average stage length of 209 km.

Alfredo Binda so dominated the 1929 Giro that when the race finished in Milan, he was booed by some in the crowd. Binda won eight consecutive stages, still the Giro record. This was Binda's third consecutive Giro win and fourth overall.

This was the Giro's second time to start outside of Milan and the first edition to have an extended visit to southern Italy.

Plato's Crito is available as an audiobook here.


1929 Giro d'Italia Complete Final General Classification:

  1. maglia rosaAlfredo Binda (Legnano): 107 hr 19min 24sec
  2. Domenico Piemontesi (Bianchi) @ 3min 44sec
  3. Leonida Frascarelli (Ideor) @ 5min 4sec
  4. Antonio Negrini (Maino) @ 6min 36sec
  5. Luigi Giacobbe (Maino) @ 8min 43sec
  6. Allegro Grandi (Bianchi) @ 12min 52sec
  7. Giuseppe Pancera (La Rafale) @ 14min 44sec
  8. Alfonso Piccin (Bianchi) @ 15min 29sec
  9. Michele Orecchia (La Rafale) @ 15min 33sec
  10. Ambrogio Morelli (Gloria-Hutchinson) @ 16min 29sec
  11. Albino Binda (Legnano) @ 18min 31sec
  12. Felice Gremo (Ideor) @ 18min 39sec
  13. Carlo Rovida (Gloria) @ 20min 27sec
  14. Pietro Mori @ 21min 52sec
  15. Michele Mara (Bianchi) @ 24min 39sec
  16. Alessandro Catalani (Wolsit) @ 29min 16sec
  17. Ambrogio Beretta (Legnano) @ 29min 36sec
  18. Alfonso Crippa (La Rafale) @ 30min 46sec
  19. Mario Pomposi (La Rafale) @ 31mn 1sec
  20. Marco Giuntelli (Touring) @ 32min 19sec
  21. Adriano Zanaga (Touring) @ 32min 38sec
  22. Roberto Lorenzetti @ 36min 2sec
  23. Ermanno Vallazza (Bianchi) @ 37min 15sec
  24. Learco Guerra (Maino) @ 37min 34sec
  25. Battista Visconti (Wolsit) @ 40min 11sec
  26. Nello Ciaccheri (Ideor) @ 44min 46sec
  27. Raffaele Di Paco @ 52min 38sec
  28. Settimo Innocenti (La Rafale) @ 58min 41sec
  29. Nicolo Mammina @ 59min 13sec
  30. Mario Bianchi (Gloria) @ 1hr 5min 17sec
  31. Primo Guasco @ 1hr 18min 0sec
  32. Giovanni Briano @ 1hr 18min 35sec
  33. Pierino Ferioli @ 1hr 20min 15sec
  34. Pietro Chesi (Bianchi) @ 1hr 20min 43sec
  35. Enrico Eboli @ 1hr 22min 36sec
  36. Amulio Viarengo @ 1hr 26min 22sec
  37. Raffaele Perna @ 1hr 30min 52sec
  38. Enrico Negri @ 1hr 34min 5sec
  39. Anselmo Del Mastro @ 1hr 48min 3sec
  40. Alfredo Dinale (Legnano) @ 2hr 3min 51sec
  41. Carlo Moretti @ 2hr 12min 53sec
  42. Carlo Polo @ 2hr 17min 47sec
  43. Natale Nobile @ 2hr 18min 16sec
  44. Angelo Alberici @ 2hr 20min 40sec
  45. Giulio Bonugli @ 2hr 22min 40sec
  46. Giovanni Pizzarelli @ 2hr 23min 45sec
  47. Aurelio Scazzola @ 2hr 27min 7sec
  48. Cresare Strappazon @ 2hr 44min 55sec
  49. Alfredo Francini @ 2hr 53min 1sec
  50. Umberto Bricio @ 3min 9min 40sec
  51. Aldo Canazza @ 3hr 13min 16sec
  52. Amilcare Galloni @ 3hr 17min 20sec
  53. Saverio Rossi @ 3hr 24min 58sec
  54. Caimiro Bianchin @ 3hr 27min 4sec
  55. Leonardo Mariatoni @ 3hr 27min 7sec
  56. Luciano Bergami @ 3hr 33min 39sec
  57. Marcello Spadolini @ 3hr 41min 3sec
  58. Mario Borsotti @ 4hr 10min 18sec
  59. Giuseppe Valente @ 4hr 33min 24sec
  60. Manilo Piazza @ 5hr 5min 35sec
  61. Michele Tutolo @ 5hr 19min 35sec
  62. Luigi Cecilli @ 5hr 25min 19sec
  63. Francesco Da Fano @ 5hr 28min 5sec
  64. Luigi Errico @ 5hr 53min 6sec
  65. Aldo Bonacina @ 6hr 8min 37sec
  66. Angelo Campacci @ 6hr 16min 41sec
  67. Giuseppe Barale @ 6hr 23min 20sec
  68. Marco Della Valle @ 6hr 24min 11sec
  69. Riccardo Terreni @ 6hr 28min 0sec
  70. Alfredo Maffei @ 6hr 40min 24sec
  71. Adriano Santamaria @ 6hr 49min 41sec
  72. Augusto Zanzi @ 7hr 5min 45sec
  73. Gaetano Riva @ 7hr 15min 44sec
  74. Giulio Campasso @ 7hr 23min 45sec
  75. Francesco Basile @ 7hr 32min 30sec
  76. Mario Cesaroni @ 7hr 48min 20sec
  77. Umberto Reina @ 7hr 54min 25sec
  78. Antonio Di Venosa @ 8hr 15min 34sec
  79. Cristoforo Barbieri @ 8hr 34min 0sec
  80. Michele Pennisi @ 8hr 38min 9sec
  81. Antonio Viani @ 8hr 48min 13sec
  82. Tullio Verzini @ 8hr 51min 20sec
  83. Francesco Covre @ 9hr 12mn 7sec
  84. Loris Dall'Oglio @ 9hr 14min 32sec
  85. Giacomo Fassio @ 9hr 29min 42sec
  86. Francesco Ricco @ 10hr 6min 52sec
  87. Ottavio Dominici @ 10hr 7min 5sec
  88. Luigi Bovarino @ 10hr 19min 19sec
  89. Augusto Rho @ 10hr 34min 47sec
  90. Luigi Vasselli @ 10hr 41min 21sec
  91. Bruno Fontana @ 11hr 17min 10sec
  92. Guido Crovesi @ 11hr 42min 53sec
  93. Pietro De Bernardi @ 14hr 20min 21sec
  94. Gildo Lievore @ 15hr 0min 11sec
  95. Alessandro Avesani @ 15hr 20min 28sec
  96. Giovanni Marchesini @ 16hr 22min 46sec
  97. Giovanni Carnielli @ 17hr 15min 28sec
  98. Carlo Capra @ 20hr 31min 17sec
  99. Giuseppe Borghi @ 21hr 37min 55se

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1929 Giro stage results with running GC:

Stage 1: Sunday, May 19, Roma - Napoli, 235 km

climbAscent: Ferentino (313m)

  1. Gaetano Belloni: 8hr 27min 9sec
  2. Antonio Negrini s.t.
  3. Domenico Piemontesi s.t.
  4. Alfredo Binda s.t.
  5. Leonida Frascarelli s.t.
  6. Pierino Ferioli s.t.
  7. Battista Giuntelli s.t.
  8. Allegro Grandi s.t.
  9. Giovanni Pizzarelli s.t.
  10. Giuseppe Pancera s.t.

Stage 2: Tuesday, May 21, Napoli - Foggia, 186 km

climbAscent: Ariano Irpino (817m)

  1. Alfredo Binda: 6hr 28min 17sec
  2. Domenico Piemontesi s.t.
  3. Alfredo Dinale s.t.
  4. Alfonso Crippa s.t.
  5. Luigi Giacobbe s.t.
  6. Battista Visconti s.t.
  7. Leonida Frascarelli s.t.
  8. Averardi s.t.
  9. Alessandro Catalani s.t.
  10. Antonio Negrini s.t.

GC after Stage 2:

  1. Alfredo Binda: 14hr 54min 26sec
  2. Gaetano Belloni s.t.
  3. Antonio Negrini @ 1min
  4. Domenico Piemontesi s.t.
  5. Leonida Frascarelli s.t.
  6. Battista Giuntelli s.t.
  7. Giuseppe Pancera s.t.
  8. Ambrogio Beretta @ 1min 26sec
  9. Luigi Giacobbe @ 1min 28sec
  10. Battista Visconti s.t.

Stage 3: Thursday, May 23, Foggia - Lecce, 283 km

  1. Alfredo Binda: 9hr 45min 10sec
  2. Gaetano Belloni s.t.
  3. Domenico Piemontesi s.t.
  4. Antonio Negrini s.t.
  5. Mario Bianchi s.t.
  6. Battista Visconti s.t.
  7. Leonida Frascarelli s.t.
  8. Angelo Alberici s.t.
  9. Pierino Bestetti s.t.
  10. Ambrogio Beretta s.t.

GC after Stage 3:

  1. Gaetano Belloni: 24hr 41min 36sec
  2. Alfredo Binda @ 1min
  3. Leonida Frascarelli s.t.
  4. Battista Giuntelli s.t.
  5. Antonio Negrini s.t.
  6. Giuseppe Pancera s.t.
  7. Domenico Piemontesi s.t.
  8. Allegro Grandi @ 1min 42sec
  9. Giovanni Pizzarelli @ 2min 28sec
  10. Amulio Viarengo @ 2min 46sec

Stage 4: Saturday, May 25, Lecce - Potenza, 270 km

climbAscent: Altamura (461m)

  1. Alfredo Binda: 10hr 30min 24sec
  2. Luigi Giacobbe s.t.
  3. Leonida Frascarelli s.t.
  4. Antonio Negrini s.t.
  5. Alfonso Piccin s.t.
  6. Michele Mara s.t.
  7. Ambrogio Morelli s.t.
  8. Domenico Piemontesi s.t.
  9. Giuseppe Pancera @ 1min 23sec
  10. Mario Pomposi @ 2min 59sec

GC after Stage 4:

  1. Alfredo Binda: 35hr 12min 0sec
  2. Leonida Frascarelli @ 1min
  3. Antonio Negrini s.t.
  4. Domenico Piemontesi s.t.
  5. Luigi Giacobbe @ 2min 7sec
  6. Giuseppe Pancera @ 2min 23sec
  7. Alfonso Piccin @ 3min 0sec
  8. Gaetano Belloni @ 5min 6sec
  9. Michele Mara @ 8min 25sec
  10. Allegro Grandi @ 8min 48sec

Stage 5: Monday, May 27, Potenza - Cosenza, 264 km

  1. Alfredo Binda: 10hr 35min 8sec
  2. Domenico Piemontesi s.t.
  3. Antonio Negrini s.t.
  4. Leonida Frascarelli s.t.
  5. Felice Gremo s.t.
  6. Ambrogio Morelli s.t.
  7. Albino Binda s.t.
  8. Allegro Grandi s.t.
  9. Mario Pomposi s.t.
  10. Michele Orecchia s.t.

GC after Stage 5:

  1. Alfredo Binda: 45hr 47min 8sec
  2. Leonida Frascarelli @ 1min
  3. Antonio Negrini s.t.
  4. Domenico Piemontesi s.t.
  5. Giuseppe Pancera @ 2min 23sec
  6. Luigi Giacobbe @ 3min 7sec
  7. Ambrogio Morelli s.t.
  8. Alfonso Piccin @ 5min 12sec
  9. Ambrogio Beretta @ 7min 13sec
  10. Allegro Grandi @ 8min 48sec

Stage 6: Wednesday, May 29, Cosenza - Salerno, 295 km

climbAscent: Le Teste (1,030m)

  1. Alfredo Binda: 12hr 14min 0sec
  2. Domenico Piemontesi s.t.
  3. Adriano Zanaga s.t.
  4. Michele Mara s.t.
  5. Pierino Bestetti s.t.
  6. Gaetano Belloni s.t.
  7. Mario Bianchi s.t.
  8. Alfredo Dinale s.t.
  9. Enrico Eboli s.t.
  10. Alfonso Piccin s.t.

GC after stage 6:

  1. Alfredo Binda: 58hr 1min 20sec
  2. Leonida Frascarelli @ 1min
  3. Antonio Negrini s.t.
  4. Domenico Piemontesi s.t.
  5. Giuseppe Pancera @ 2min 23sec
  6. Luigi Giacobbe @ 3min 7sec
  7. Ambrogio Morelli s.t.
  8. Alfonso Piccin @ 5min 12sec
  9. Ambrogio Beretta @ 7min 13sec
  10. Allegro Grandi @ 8min 48sec

Stage 7: Friday, May 31, Salerno - Formia, 211 km

climbAscent: Roccamonfrina (608m)

  1. Alfredo Binda: 7hr 58min 37sec
  2. Antonio Negrini s.t.
  3. Domenico Piemontesi s.t.
  4. Gaetano Belloni s.t.
  5. Leonida Frascarelli s.t.
  6. Alfonso Crippa s.t.
  7. Adriano Zanaga s.t.
  8. Raffaele Di Paco s.t.
  9. Albino Binda s.t.
  10. Alessandro Catalani s.t.

GC after Stage 7:

  1. Alfredo Binda: 65hr 59min 57sec
  2. Leonida Frascarelli @ 1min
  3. Antonio Negrini s.t.
  4. Domenico Piemontesi s.t.
  5. Giuseppe Pancera @ 2min 23sec
  6. Luigi Giacobbe @ 3min 7sec
  7. Alfonso Piccin @ 6min 15sec
  8. Ambrogio Morelli @ 6min 20sec
  9. Allegro Grandi @ 8min 48sec
  10. Mario Pomposi @ 9min 4sec

Stage 8: Sunday, June 2, Formia - Roma, 196 km

  1. Alfredo Binda: 6hr 44min 59sec
  2. Domenico Piemontesi s.t.
  3. Anotnio Negrini s.t.
  4. Mario Bianchi s.t.
  5. Alfonso Crippa s.t.
  6. Pierino Ferioli s.t.
  7. Adriano Zanaga s.t.
  8. Battista Visconti s.t.
  9. Leonida Frascarelli s.t.
  10. Luigi Giacobbe s.t.

GC after Stage 8:

  1. Alfredo Binda: 72hr 44min 56sec
  2. Leonida Frascarelli @ 1min
  3. Antonio Negrini s.t.
  4. Domenico Piemontesi s.t.
  5. Giuseppe Pancera @ 2min 23sec
  6. Luigi Giacobbe @ 3min 7sec
  7. Alfonso Piccin @ 6min 15sec
  8. Ambrogio Morelli @ 6min 20sec
  9. Allegro Grandi @ 8min 48sec
  10. Mario Pomposi @ 9min 4sec

Stage 9: Monday, June 3, Roma - Orvieto, 120 km

climbAscent: Cimini (814m)

  1. Alfredo Binda: 4hr 45min 17sec
  2. Alfonso Crippa @ 24sec
  3. Domenico Piemontesi @ 30sec
  4. Leonida Frascarelli s.t.
  5. Luigi Giacobbe s.t.
  6. Felice Gremo s.t.
  7. Michele Mara s.t.
  8. Allegro Grandi s.t.
  9. Antonio Negrini s.t.
  10. Learco Guerra s.t.

GC after Stage 9:

  1. Alfredo Binda: 77hr 28min 13sec
  2. Leonida Frascarelli @ 3min 30sec
  3. Antonio Negrini s.t.
  4. Domenico Piemontesi s.t.
  5. Luigi Giacobbe @ 5min 37sec
  6. Giuseppe Pancera @ 6min 38sec
  7. Ambrogio Morelli @ 8min 23sec
  8. Alfonso Piccin @ 9min 26sec
  9. Allegro Grandi @ 11min 16sec
  10. Mario Pomposi 2 12min 55sec

Stage 10: Tuesday, June 4, Orvieto - Siena, 146 km

climbAscent: Montepulciano

  1. Mario Bianchi: 5hr 32min 52sec
  2. Alfredo Binda s.t.
  3. Marco Giuntelli s.t.
  4. Ambrogio Morelli s.t.
  5. Leonida Frascarelli s.t.
  6. Antonio Negrini s.t.
  7. Luigi Giacobbe s.t.
  8. Albino Binda s.t.
  9. Alessandro Catalani s.t.
  10. Alfonso Crippa s.t.

GC after Stage 10:

  1. Alfredo Binda: 83hr 1min 5sec
  2. Leonida Frascarelli @ 3min 30sec
  3. Antonio Negrini s.t.
  4. Domenico Piemontesi @ 4min 44sec
  5. Luigi Giacobbe @ 5min 37sec
  6. Giuseppe Pancera @ 6min 38sec
  7. Ambrogio Morelli @ 8min 23sec
  8. Alfonso Piccin @ 10min 51sec
  9. Allegro Grandi @ 11min 18sec
  10. Mario Pomposi @ 12min 55sec

Stage 11: Wednesday, June 5, Siena - La Spezia, 192 km

  1. Alfredo Dinale: 7hr 7min 58sec
  2. Domenico Piemontesi s.t.
  3. Alfredo Binda s.t.
  4. Battista Visconti s.t.
  5. Antonio Negrini s.t.
  6. Felice Bianchi s.t.
  7. Enrico Eboli s.t.
  8. Alfonso Crippa s.t.
  9. Ambrogio Morelli s.t.
  10. Michele Mara s.t.

GC after Stage 11:

  1. Alfredo Binda: 90hr 9min 3sec
  2. Leonida Frascarelli @ 3min 30sec
  3. Antonio Negrini s.t.
  4. Domenico Piemontesi @ 4min 44sec
  5. Luigi Giacobbe @ 5min 37sec
  6. Giuseppe Pancera @ 6min 38sec
  7. Ambrogio Morelli @ 8min 23sec
  8. Allegro Grandi @ 11min 15sec
  9. Alfonso Piccin @ 12min 23sec
  10. Mario Pomposi @ 12min 55sec

Stage 12: Friday, June 7, La Spezia - Parma, 132 km

climbAscent: Poggio di Berceto (841m)

  1. Domenico Piemontesi: 4hr 7min 49sec
  2. Alfredo Binda s.t.
  3. Albino Binda @ 1min 34sec
  4. Amulio Viarengo s.t.
  5. Allegro Grandi s.t.
  6. Michele Orecchia s.t.
  7. Carlo Rovida s.t.
  8. Leonida Frascarelli s.t.
  9. Felice Gremo s.t.
  10. Battista Visconti s.t.

GC after Stage 12:

  1. Alfredo Binda: 94hr 16min 52sec
  2. Domenico Piemontesi @ 3min 44sec
  3. Leonida Frascarelli @ 5min 4sec
  4. Antonio Negrini @ 6min 36sec
  5. Luigi Giacobbe @ 8min 43sec
  6. Allegro Grandi @ 12min 52sec
  7. Giuseppe Pancera @ 14min 44sec
  8. Alfonso Piccin @ 15min 29sec
  9. Michele Orecchia @ 15min 33sec
  10. Ambrogio Morelli @ 16min 29sec

Stage 13: Saturday, June 8, Parma - Alessandria, 153 km

  1. Alfredo Binda: 5hr 6min 16sec
  2. Domenico Piemontesi s.t.
  3. Antonio Negrini s.t.
  4. Felice Bianchi s.t.
  5. Alfredo Dinale s.t.
  6. Leonida Frascarelli s.t.
  7. Adriano Zanaga s.t.
  8. Amulio Viarengo s.t.
  9. Battista Visconti s.t.
  10. Luigi Giacobbe s.t.

GC after Stage 13:

  1. Alfredo Binda: 99hr 22min 8sec
  2. Domenico Piemontesi @ 3min 44sec
  3. Leonida Frascarelli @ 5min 4sec
  4. Antonio Negrini @ 6min 36sec
  5. Luigi Giacobbe @ 8min 43sec
  6. Allegro Grandi @ 12min 52sec
  7. Giuseppe Pancera @ 14min 44sec
  8. Alfonso Piccin @ 15min 29sec
  9. Michele Orecchia @ 15min 33sec
  10. Ambrogio Morelli @ 16min 29sec

14th and Final Stage: Sunday, June 9, Alessandria - Milano, 218 km

climbAscent: Brinzio

  1. Alfredo Dinale: 7hr 56min 16sec
  2. Alfredo Binda s.t.
  3. Domenico Piemontesi s.t.
  4. Pierino Ferioli s.t.
  5. Alfonso Piccin s.t.
  6. Battista Visconti s.t.
  7. Felice Gremo s.t.
  8. Giovanni Pizzarelli s.t.
  9. Antonio Negrini s.t.
  10. Learco Guerra s.t.

1929 Giro d'Italia Complete Final General Classification


Teams:

Bianchi-Pirelli
Gloria-Hutchinson
Ideor-Pirelli
Legnano-Hutchinson
Maino-Clément
Prina-Pirelli
Touring-Pirelli
Wolsit-Hutchinson


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The Story of the 1929 Giro d'Italia

This excerpt is from "The Story of the Giro d'Italia", Volume 1. If you enjoy it we hope you will consider purchasing the book, either print, eBook or Audiobook. The Amazon link here will make the purchase easy.

The organizers designed a fourteen-stage race covering 2,920 kilometers in 1929. That made the average stage only 209 kilometers. The 1929 peloton was about half as large as the 1928 pack, numbering only 166 at the start. Given that 99 riders made it to Milan in 1929, it appeared that Giro management had done a better job of selecting riders who could withstand the rigors of a three week race.

The 1929 edition was seen, quite reasonably, to have Binda as the odds-on favorite against the rest of Italy’s finest: Belloni, Piemontesi, Pancera and Antonio Negrini. There were two new entrants whose gifts had not fully matured, but would put their mark on the Giro in later editions, Raffaele Di Paco and Learco Guerra.

Spring competition gave the pretenders reason to believe that they were in for another caning by the Trumpeter. Binda masterfully won Milan–San Remo, cruising across the finish line with over eight minutes to spare. Both Milan–San Remo and the Giro were Italian contests that year, with only two foreign finishers in Milan–San Remo and none in the Giro.

For only the second time Giro started not in Milan, but in Rome, the other occasion being the 1911 celebration of the unification of Italy.

The first stage was 235 kilometers from Rome to Naples. The evergreen Belloni, who had by now been a professional racer for fourteen years, won the ten-man sprint. Right with him were Negrini, Piemontesi, Binda and Pancera.

Belloni wins stage 1

Gaetano Belloni wins stage 1.

For the first time, the race went into southern Italy for an extended visit. Stages one through eight were held in Lazio and regions further south. Stage two left Naples and crossed over the Apennines to Foggia. Binda took the win in a seventeen-man sprint. Since Belloni had received a one-minute bonus for winning the first stage he remained the leader. After the third stage, also won by Binda, records differ as to who was the leader. Some say Belloni, while one says Binda by “one-quarter wheel length”.

The southern experiment made for an extremely difficult race. At the end of the 1920s, most of the roads in Italy’s deep south were still unpaved. The race was plagued with loose animals, difficulty in finding lodging, scarce gasoline for the cars and even trouble getting safe water for the riders.

Stage four went through the rugged countryside of Puglia and Basilicata and was Belloni’s undoing where he lost over six minutes. The lead was now inarguably Binda’s.

Binda kept on winning stages, eight in a row in fact, from the second to the ninth stage. To this day, eight consecutive stage victories remains the Giro record.

As the race progressed, Belloni continued to lose time. His fifth stage (Potenza–Cosenza) loss of almost an hour meant the end of any hopes of a high placing for “The Eternal Second”.

Amazingly, in the eighth stage his luck managed to get even worse. He crashed and lost fourteen minutes before he was able to remount, and give what must have been a desperate chase to regain the field. While he was climbing the hill into Ferentino, a town southeast of Rome, a young boy darted in front of the pack at a bend in the road. Belloni ran right into him, killing the boy. Belloni was distraught. Overwhelmed by the tragedy, he climbed off his bike and wept. He abandoned the Giro and eventually a car took him back to Rome.

After Binda’s record-setting blitz of stage wins, the race was still surprisingly tight. Following the end of stage nine to Orvieto the General Classification now had this shape:
1. Alfredo Binda
2. Leonida Frascarelli @ 3 minutes 30 seconds
3. Antonio Negrini @ same time
4. Domenico Piemontesi @ same time
5. Luigi Giacobbe @ 5 minutes 37 seconds

team Legnano

The winning Legnano team. Italian champion Alfredo Binda reads the paper.

From Orvieto the race headed towards Milan. Binda didn’t win any of the next three stages but he was always in the top three, careful not to lose any time. Piemontesi, also an alert and careful rider, stayed close to Binda. When Binda and Piemontesi broke away in the twelfth stage, leaving Frascarelli 94 seconds behind, Piemontesi was able to move up to second place.

Binda took the thirteenth stage, but it wasn’t his to keep. The judges ruled that the first four across the line; Binda, Piemontesi, Negrini and Alfredo Dinale, had not sprinted fairly and the fifth rider, Mario Bianchi, was given the stage. Binda did come in second in the final stage to Milan, thus sealing his fourth Giro and in doing so, had taken nine (OK, eight) out of fourteen stages.

Binda’s win brought some pain to the great rider. When the Giro ended at the Arena stadium in Milan, Binda was booed by race fans tiring of his hegemony. Binda had been the subject of abuse before, but he was deeply shaken by the crowd’s reaction. He retired to the Legnano team van to cry in private.
La Gazzetta said that his “crime” was being superior to all the other riders in the race. Writers of the time spoke of Binda’s tyrannical hold on the race. It was true. There were no riders of Binda’s class racing in Italy in 1929.

Alfredo Binda

Not everybody was unhappy with Binda's victory.

Final 1929 Giro d’Italia General Classification:
1. Alfredo Binda (Legnano-Torpedo) 107 hours 18 minutes 24 seconds
2. Domenico Piemontesi (Bianchi) @ 3 minutes 44 seconds
3. Leonida Frascarelli (Ideor) @ 5 minutes 4 seconds
4. Antonio Negrini (Maino) @ 6 minutes 36 seconds
5. Luigi Giacobbe (Maino) @ 8 minutes 43 seconds

We all like our sports’ outcomes to be determined by grit and athletic ability. Stage racing is such a complex and expensive endeavor that there is a tendency for the best-sponsored rider to have a large advantage. The Giri of the era gave the richer riders another advantage. For an extra sum, the organizers would provide superior food for them at the feed stations.

Through the second half of the 1920s, Mussolini consolidated his power. He was able to take advantage of a collapse of the liberal and leftist parties and ban all political parties except the Fascists. He instituted some economic reforms, but when he tried to touch the power of the giant landowners of the south, he had to back off. They were a law unto themselves and even Il Duce couldn’t touch them. Thus, the promised reform and prosperity for the south did not happen under Mussolini, and the region sank into even deeper poverty.

Mussolini’s desire to create a totalitarian state in which the government controlled all aspects of the Italian citizens’ lives caused the Fascists to embrace sports, and cycling was one activity the regime particularly encouraged. Furthering the government’s marriage to sport, the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) was made part of the Fascist Party in 1927. We have seen Mussolini offer prizes in his name to the Giro racers. Historian Christopher Duggan believes the Fascist emphasis on sports and competition in the decades before the Second World War had a lot to do with making them the integral part of Italian life that they are today.


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