1963 Giro d'Italia
The 1963 Giro d'Italia was the 46th running of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tour races. The Giro started in Naples, on 19 May, with a stage and concluded back in Milan, on 9 June, with a leg. A total of 120 riders from 12 teams entered the 21-stage race, which was won by Italian Franco Balmamion of the Carpano team. The second and third places were taken by Italian riders Vittorio Adorni and Giorgio Zancanaro, respectively.
Teams
Twelve teams were invited by the race organizers to participate in the 1963 edition of the Giro d'Italia. Each team sent a squad of ten riders, which meant that the race started with a peloton of 120 cyclists. From the riders that began the race, 86 made it to the finish in Milan.The teams entering the race were:
Most of the riders were Italian riders. The exceptions were 8 riders from Belgium, 3 from Switzerland, 2 from Spain and 2 from the Netherlands.
Route and stages
The race route was revealed to the public on 25 March 1963 by race director Vincenzo Torriani.Race events
Shortly before the Giro, the Italian National Road Race Championships were held. In 1963, this was not a one-day-race, but held over several stages. In the second stage, Marino Fontana had a flat tire, and was then assisted by a rider from a different team, which was against the rules. The union of Italian professional cyclists did not see this as a problem, but the Italian cycling union decided to disqualify Fontana. The organization ignored the union, and allowed Fontana to ride the third stage. Fontana gained enough points to win the championship, and was given the national jersey to wear. At the start of the Giro, Fontana wore this national jersey. The Giro was organized by the Italian cycling union, and they forbade him to wear this jersey because they did not see him as national champion. Fontana came to the start of the second stage again wearing this jersey, and the jury told him that he should take it off or else he would not be allowed to start. Fontana did not change this jersey, and the jury collectively quit. Without a jury, the race could not start, so the start of the second stage was delayed until a new jury could be found. The GBC team, made out of Belgian and Dutch riders, then abandoned the race. They gave the reason that the race no longer appeared to be sanctioned by the Italian cycling union, and so it could be seen as an illegal race, and the Belgian and Dutch cycling unions could suspend them. After this, the Italian National Olympic Committee took responsibility for the rest of the race.Classification leadership
One leader's jersey was worn during the 1963 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. There were no time bonuses in 1963.A major secondary classification was the mountains classification. In this ranking, points were won by reaching the summit of a climb ahead of other cyclists. There were three categories of mountains. The first category awarded 50, 40, 30, 20, and 10 points, the second distributed 40, 30, 20, and 10 points, and the third category gave 30, 20, and 10 points.
There were also intermediate sprints, called "traguardi tricolori", and this year there was a classification related to these. The first five riders at each intermediate sprint scored 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. This classification was named the "Ramazzotti" classification, and points were given for high positions in stages, intermediate sprints and mountain tops, and leading the general classification.
Final standings
General classification
| Rank | Name | Team | Time | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 |  Franco Balmamion.png" />Franco Balmamion|ITAnowrap|116h 50' 16"Mountains classification
|