Who won the first Giro d’Italia in 1909?

Luigi Ganna won the first Giro d’Italia in 1909.

The inaugural Giro was organised by La Gazzetta dello Sport and began in Milan on 13 May 1909. It consisted of eight stages and covered about 2,448 kilometres. Ganna won the general classification by points, rather than by the cumulative-time system used in later editions of the race.

Ganna was a prominent Italian professional cyclist from Varese. He won three stages of the inaugural Giro and became the first name on the race’s roll of honour. Italian riders dominated the early Giro, which helped establish the event as a major national sporting tradition.

The first Giro was very different from the modern race. Riders faced rough roads, long stages and basic equipment, while support and communications were limited. The race later adopted the pink leader’s jersey, known as the maglia rosa, in 1931; that jersey was not part of Ganna’s 1909 victory.