Maglia nera

The Maglia Nera was a black jersey awarded as a symbolic prize in cycling competition at the Giro d'Italia, given to the last man to finish the race. It was allocated between 1946 and 1951.[1][2] The competition for the jersey came from the time Italian soccer star Giuseppe Ticozzelli who competed in the 1926 Giro d'Italia as an independent while wearing his black jersey of the football team he played for (Casale).[2][3] He completed three stages and would often take rest breaks for food, he had to drop out of the race after being run over by a car.[2][3]

Maglia Nera
SportRoad Cycling
CompetitionGiro d'Italia
Given forLast overall
English nameBlack jersey
Local nameMaglia Nera (in Italian)
History
First award1946
Editions6
Final award1951
First winner Luigi Malabrocca (ITA)
Most wins Luigi Malabrocca (ITA) (2 times)
Most recent Giovanni Pinarello (ITA)

There was real competition to win this particular jersey. Especially noted are the struggles between Sante Carollo and Luigi Malabrocca, to see who could waste the most time. Each tried to lose more time than the other by hiding in bars, barns, and behind hedges, or even by puncturing their own wheels. In 1948 the honor was awarded to the Tuscan Aldo Bini, who according to some journalists and fans of the time, stubbornly continued the race until the end, despite a broken right hand suffered in a mass crash, and the suffering that especially in the mountain stages forced him to get off the bike and push it uphill. The special ability of the black jersey was, in addition to not being "discovered", to reach the finish directly within the maximum time.[1][4][5][6]

The term "maglia nera" was later used in other contexts to indicate the bottom club in a league, often giving it a negative connotation.

In 2008 a similar "black number" was introduced, won by Markus Eichler of Team Milram.

Winners
Year Rider Team Time
1946  Luigi Malabrocca (ITA) Milan-Gazzetta 069h 41' 54"
1947  Luigi Malabrocca (ITA) Welter 121h 47' 27"
1948  Aldo Bini (ITA) Benotto 128h 59' 43"
1949  Sante Carollo (ITA) Wilier Triestina 135h 22' 57"
1950  Mario Gestri (ITA) Bartali 122h 28' 37"
1951  Giovanni Pinarello (ITA) Bottecchia 124h 37' 48"

See also

References
Footnotes
    Citations
    1. "Giro, la Maglia nera diventa Numero nero - Gazzetta dello Sport". Gazzetta.it. Retrieved 2012-08-04.
    2. Gino De Blasio (3 May 2013). "Giro d'Italia and The Black Jersey: When Losing Makes You a Legend!". ItalyMagazine. InterRail, LLC. Archived from the original on 29 April 2019. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
    3. Bill and Carol McGann. "1949 Giro d'Italia". Bike Race Info. Dog Ear Publishing. Retrieved 2012-07-10.
    4. "Addio a Malabrocca, grande mito della... maglia nera" [Goodbye to Malabrocca, great myth of ... black jersey] (PDF). l'Unità (in Italian). PCI. 4 October 1978. p. 18. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 April 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
    5. "Addio a Sante Carolo, vinse arrivando ultimo" [Farewell to Sante Carolo, he won by coming last] (PDF). l'Unità (in Italian). PCI. 12 January 1978. p. 13. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 April 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
    6. "Quelli che vestivano la maglia nera" [Quelli che vestivano la maglia nera] (PDF). l'Unità (in Italian). PCI. 10 June 1994. p. 11. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 April 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
    Bibliography
    • Foot, John (2011). "The Heroic Age". Pedalare! Pedalare!. Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 145–51. ISBN 978-1-4088-1755-1.
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