In the history of sport there are feats that go beyond victories, beyond trophies and rankings. They are the ones that remain engraved in the collective memory because they tell of willpower and human courage more than the numbers of a race. One of these is undoubtedly the company of Fiorenzo Magni at the 1956 Giro d’Italia, when the Tuscan cyclist born in Prato raced with one clavicle and a Homer fractured, inventing an incredible way to complete the race.
Magni, yes three times winner of the “Corsa Rosa” (1948, 1951 and 1955), he appeared at the start of the 1956 Giro d’Italia as one of the great favourites, behind the iconic duo Coppi-Bartali. He was 35 years old, a lot of experience and still the desire to fight with the younger ones. But after a few stages, in particular in the twelfth stage Grosseto-Livorno, a fall on the descent of Volterra questioned everything: fractured clavicle and excruciating pain. For any other rider it would have been the end of the race, but not for Magni.
He decided to continue anyway, with a trick that has remained in legend: he had his mechanic tie it up Faliero Masian inner tube on the handlebars and put it in his mouth. By clenching it with his teeth, he was able to reduce the pressure on his fractured shoulder and control the bike. A brilliant and desperate solution at the same time, which today seems almost impossible to imagine. As if that wasn’t enough, a few days later, in the stage of Modena-RapalloMagni fell again. This time it also fractured the humerus. A blow that would have convinced anyone to stop permanently. Not him: indeed, it is said that while he was on a stretcher inside the ambulance, he ordered to be let out to get back on the saddle and chase the group. A scene that belongs more to myth than to sport.
The “third man” who challenged two legends: the story of Fiorenzo Magni
Fiorenzo Magni – first a cyclist and later an entrepreneur and sports manager – was born in Vaiano, in the province of Prato, in 1920. At the age of 4, Magni risked no longer being able to cycle due to a pimple on his foot which soon led him to undergo surgery in Florence. Years later, Fiorenzo would discover that it was his operated foot that was pushing on the pedals faster than the other. Magni wins and a lot throughout his cycling career, where the number three will often appear. In fact, from 1940 to 1956 (the year he retired), Magni won 3 Tours of Italy (1948, 1951, 1955), 3 tricolor titles, 3 Tours of Piedmont And 3 Trophies Baracchi but he also won other races such as the Tour of Romagna and the Tour of Tuscanycollecting in total 81 victories. Among other things, with the victory in the “Corsa Rosa” of 1955, Magni established a record that still stands today, namely that of oldest winner of the Giro d’Italia at the age of 35 years old.
Magni was not just a man of great tours. In 1949, 1950 and 1951 he consecutively won the Tour of Flandersa record that even today no Italian cyclist has managed to break. That feat earned him the nickname “Lion of Flanders” precisely because of his tenacity and ability to find strength when the other runners were exhausted. As a boy, thin and tall, he was also affectionately called “Cipressino”.
Italian cycling in those years was monopolized by two legendary icons: Fausto Coppi And Gino Bartali. Despite this, Magni still managed to carve out a space of his own, away from the spotlight and above all capable of interrupting the domination of the two giants. Precisely for this reason it was defined as the “third man”.
A fractured collarbone, an inner tube and a lot of tenacity: Magni’s masterpiece at the 1956 Giro d’Italia
The last edition of the Giro d’Italia in which Magni participated in 1956 has become one of the most incredible stories in all of cycling. It will also be his last season as a cyclist as he himself stated at the beginning of that year. During the twelfth stage of the tour of that edition, in particular the stage from Grosseto-Livorno of May 29, coming down from VolterraMagni falls and hits his left shoulder on the asphalt, gets up and finishes the stage but in the end he is taken to hospital where doctors diagnose him with clavicle fracture. Despite the doctors telling him that his arm must be in a cast, Magni wants to continue the Giro.
To protect his shoulder, he covers the handlebars in foam and sets off for the stopwatch next. Despite the pain, he continues stage after stage. Here comes Bologna-San Luca hillclimb and here Magni is unable to leverage the handlebars, which is necessary to push on the pedals. His mechanic, Faliero Masitakes an inner tube, ties it to the handlebars and Magni squeezes it with his teeth. In this way he manages to complete even the most difficult climb of the time trial.
The next day, in the stage Modena-RapalloMagni falls again. This time it also fractures the humerus. The pain is so strong that he faints. He is in the ambulance heading to the hospital when he regains consciousness: he orders the driver to stop, gets out and gets back on his bicycle in pursuit of the group. The stop from Merano al Monte Bondone it is one of the hardest not only for Magni but for all cyclists on a route between snowstorm, intense cold, slippery roads. Many of the favorites withdraw, but Magni doesn’t give up. He reaches the top, conquering the second place in the general classificationa position he will hold until arriving at Milan.
Even though the 1956 Giro saw Luxembourg’s Charly Gaul triumph, Magni’s feat remained forever in the annals of sport, an immortal example of determination and courage.
