page_title: 1909 Giro d'Italia
section_title: General classification
hierarchical_section_title: 1909 Giro d'Italia / Results / General classification
caption_attribution_description: English: The road racing cyclist Giovanni Cuniolo (1907)
context_page_description: The 1909 Giro d'Italia was the inaugural running of the Giro d'Italia, a cycling race organized and sponsored by the newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport. The event began in Milan on 13 May with a 397 km first stage to Bologna, finishing back in Milan on 30 May after a final stage of 206 km and a total distance covered of 2,447.9 km. The race was won by the Italian rider Luigi Ganna of the Atala team, with fellow Italians Carlo Galetti and Giovanni Rossignoli coming in second and third respectively.
  Conceived by La Gazzetta to boost its circulation at the expense of its rival Corriere della Sera, the 1909 Giro was the first stage road race. Its eight stages, although relatively few compared to modern Grand Tours, were each much longer than those raced today. The event began with a long primarily flat stage that was won by Dario Beni. He lost the lead after the next stage to the eventual winner Luigi Ganna, who in turn lost it to Carlo Galetti after the mountainous third stage. Ganna regained the lead after the fourth stage and successfully defended it all the way to the finish in Milan, winning three stages en route. Atala won the team classification.
context_section_description: Forty-nine cyclists completed all eight stages. The points each received from their stage placings were added up for the general classification, and the winner was the rider with the fewest accumulated points. Ernesto Azzini won the prize for best ranked isolati rider in the general classification.
caption: Giovanni Cuniolo won the second stage of the Giro d'Italia.
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