Costante Girardengo facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Costante Girardengo

Personal information
Full name	Costante Girardengo
Nickname	Campionissimo No.1
Born	(1893-03-18)18 March 1893 Novi Ligure, Italy
Died	9 February 1978(1978-02-09) (aged 84) Cassano Spinola, Italy
Team information
Discipline	Road
Role	Rider
Major wins
Grand Tours Giro d'Italia General classification (1919, 1923) 30 stages One-day races and Classics National Road Race Championships (1913, 1914, 1919, 1920, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1925) Milan–San Remo (1918, 1921, 1923, 1925, 1926, 1928) Giro di Lombardia (1919, 1921, 1922)

Costante Girardengo (born March 18, 1893 – died February 9, 1978) was an Italian professional road bicycle racer. Many people think he was one of the best riders ever in cycling history. He was the first cyclist to be called a "Campionissimo," which means "champion of champions," by Italian fans and media. In the 1920s, when he was at his best, he was even more famous than Benito Mussolini. Special trains would stop in his hometown of Novi Ligure, an honor usually only given to important leaders.

Costante won the Giro d'Italia twice and the Milan–San Remo race six times. He also won the Giro di Lombardia three times. He was the Italian road race champion nine times! His professional career was very long, from 1912 to 1936. World War I stopped him from racing during some of his best years. He was ranked the number one cyclist in the world in 1919, 1922, 1923, 1925, and 1926. He mostly raced in Italy because traveling to other countries was difficult back then. Girardengo was not very tall, so people sometimes called him "The Novi Runt".

Costante Girardengo's Cycling Career

Costante Girardengo was born in Novi Ligure, a town in Italy. He became a professional cyclist in 1913 when he was 20 years old. He joined the Maino-Dunlop team. The year before, he had shown great talent as an amateur, finishing second in the Tour of Tuscany.

Early Successes and Challenges

Girardengo quickly found success. In 1913, he won a stage in the Giro d'Italia. This was the first of his 30 stage wins in that race. He also became the Italian road race champion that year. He won these titles again in 1914. He also got his first of five wins in the Milano–Torino race. In 1914, Girardengo won the longest stage ever in the Giro d'Italia. It was a huge 430-kilometer ride between Lucca and Rome.

Later in 1914, Girardengo raced in the Tour de France for the only time. He was a guest rider for the Automoto team. But he had several crashes and had to quit the race. In 1915, he won Milano–Torino again. However, he was disappointed in the Milan–San Remo race. He won it, but then he was disqualified for going off course.

World War I and Comeback

Most professional bike races stopped after 1915 because of World War I. Girardengo didn't win another race until 1918. That year, he won his first of six victories in Milan–San Remo. This was a record that Eddy Merckx finally broke more than 50 years later. Girardengo also finished in the top three of Milan–San Remo every year from 1917 to 1926. He was also the first to cross the Turchino Pass five times.

His great performance after 1918 was even more amazing because he had a serious illness during World War I. He almost died from it. At one point, his manager didn't want to renew his racing license. The manager thought someone who had been so sick couldn't race well.

Dominance in the 1920s

Girardengo won his first Giro d'Italia in 1919, winning seven stages. But sometimes his performance in the Giro was not good. He quit the race early in 1920, 1921, and 1922. Then, in 1923, he completely dominated.

The year 1923 was definitely Girardengo's best. He won 16 races that year. He took his second Giro d'Italia win, winning eight of the ten stages. He also won many of the top Italian one-day races. Even though he raced mostly in Italy, Girardengo really wanted to win Paris–Roubaix. He first raced there in 1921. But he had bad luck several times, like breaking his bike when he was in a good position. He never came close to winning that race. In 1924, Girardengo won the GP Wolber in France. This race was seen as the unofficial World Championship at the time.

Later Career and Retirement

In 1927, Girardengo finished second in the first-ever World Championship road race. This race was held in Germany. The Italian team had four strong riders: Girardengo, Alfredo Binda, Gaetano Belloni, and Domenico Piemontesi. The team worked together perfectly. Binda broke away 20 miles from the finish and won easily. The Italian riders took the first four places that rainy day.

Girardengo won his sixth Milan–San Remo in 1928. This was his last major road race victory. He kept riding until the 1936 season, when he retired at 43 years old.

After retiring, Girardengo became a coach for the professional Maino team. He also coached the Italian national team for a while. He advised Gino Bartali when Bartali won the 1938 Tour de France. Later, a brand of motorbikes was named "Girardengo" after him. These motorbikes were made in Italy between 1951 and 1954.

Costante Girardengo is remembered in Italian culture. A famous song called "Il Bandito e il Campione" by Francesco De Gregori tells his story. It compares his life to that of his childhood friend, a famous outlaw named Sante Pollastri.

Costante Girardengo passed away in 1978 in Cassano Spinola, near Novi Ligure. He was 84 years old.

Major Results

See also

In Spanish: Costante Girardengo para niños

• Legends of Italian sport - Walk of Fame