Stage 1

Both today's start and finish towns are seeing their first
Giro. So there is no location history to report.

May 7th in the Giro

1933 - Alfredo Binda takes the stage to Genova. It is difficult
to overstate Binda's crushing superiority during this period.
This would be the first of 6 stage wins that year out of 17
total stages. He did this as the reigning World Champion,
having taken his 3rd title in 1932. In 1930 he was paid a
prize as big as the winner to NOT enter the Giro, something
the organizers did to return some suspense to the competition.
In 1933 he would win his 5th and final Giro.

We will talk more about Binda, there is much to discuss about
the man that did much to define Italian cycling from Girardengo
to Gimondi.

1939 - Gino Bartali wins the stage to Firenze. His rival
Giovanni Valetti would take the pink jersey on the stage, and
eventually finish with it in Milano.

1978 - Didi Thurau becomes an artifact of political and
cycling history as the first West German to win a stage as
he takes the prologue in Saint Vincent.