The 1953 Giro d'Italia was the 36th edition of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The Giro started off in Milan on 12 May with a flat stage and concluded back in Milan with a relatively flat mass-start stage on 2 June. Sixteen teams entered the race, which was won by Italian Fausto Coppi of the Bianchi team. Second and third respectively were Swiss rider Hugo Koblet and Italian Pasquale Fornara. Hugo Koblet held the pink jersey up until the penultimate stage, when Coppi attacked and caught him on the climb up the Stelvio Pass, taking the lead and securing the final victory.
Teams
Sixteen teams were invited by the race organizers to participate in the 1953 edition of the Giro d'Italia. Each team sent a squad of seven riders, which meant that the race started with a peloton of 112 cyclists. From the riders that began the race, 72 made it to the finish in Milan. In total there were 35 foreign riders that started the race. French rider and Swiss riders were thought to be very strong, while Spanish riders Bernardo Ruiz and Michel Gual were thought to be their country's best riders. The teams entering the race were:
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. Time bonuses were awarded to the stage winner and the first riders to summit categorized climbs. Riders were allowed to have teammates and team cars help to following accidents and punctures. "Strollers" in years past were punished with small fines, but in this edition of the race they were punished by time adjustments and repeat offenses may lead to disqualification from the race. Two additional jerseys were in use. The green jersey was given to the best foreign cyclist in the general classification; at the end of the Giro it was worn by Swiss Hugo Koblet. The white jersey was given to the best cyclist riding with a licence for independents; this was won by Angelo Conterno. The mountains classification leader was not identified by a special jersey. The climbs all awarded three points to the first rider and one point to the second rider to cross the summit. There was one category for mountains which awarded five points down to one point for the first riders to cross the summit. Although no jersey was awarded, there was also one classification for the teams, in which the stage finish times of the best three cyclists per team were added; the leading team was the one with the lowest total time. Each day leading the general classification earned the rider and his team 100,000 lira, while the independent rider and foreign rider earned 25,000 lira each day for leading their respective classifications.
