The Giro visits Pontedera:
Pontedera has hosted the start of a Giro TT, in
1980, a stage won by the Dane Jørgen Marcussen.
In 1994 Jan Svorada took the sprint finish here.
May 18th in the Giro:
Today we are going to talk about Binda and Cipollini.
Binda won on this date in 1928, a year where he
also took the overall. And again in 1933 he won on
this date, in Ascoli Piceno. And again he won the
overall.
Binda's record in the Giro is truly amazing. He
was capable of winning in the sprints and in the
mountains. He won in 1927, 1928, and 1929, winning
27 out of 41 total stages over those three years.
So great was his dominance that the organizers
paid him to not enter in 1930. He won 41 Giro
stages, and spent 60 days as the race leader.
But his legacy did not stop with his racing days.
Binda never won the Tour as a rider, but as
directeur sportif of the Italian team he would
win 4 times over 12 years. He directed Bartali to
victory in 1948 and Gastone Nencini in 1960. But
it was bringing together two great riders like
Bartali and Coppi for Coppi's wins in 1949 and
1952 that were considered his most memorable.
Mario Cipollini won his first stage in the Giro in
1989 at the age of 22. And on May 18th, 2003 the
36 year old sprinter took his 41st in Arezzo. He
would follow that the next day with his record
breaking 42nd.
This sprinter that was best known for dropping out
of the Tour would win the final Giro stage in Milan
no less than 5 times.
And this sprinter not known for his humility would
be very humble on the occasion of his breaking
Binda's record. "I never thought I could break
(Binda's) record. I'm a champion in the sprint and
I can't be compared with champions like Merckx and
Binda...but at 36 years old I tried to do my best."
And at 36 years old he was one of the oldest Giro
stage winners ever, with a gap between his first
and last wins that was exceeded only by Gino
Bartali (1935-1950) and Fausto Coppi (1940-1955).