The 1909 Giro d'Italia was the first Giro d'Italia, a cycling race set up and sponsored by the newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport. It ran from 13 May to 30 May in eight stages over 2,447.9 km (1,521 mi), and was won by Luigi Ganna.
The race was conceived to boost the circulation of La Gazzetta dello Sport, after its circulation had been challenged by Corriere della Sera, a rival newspaper. The 1909 Giro d'Italia was the first stage road race, and compared to modern Grand Tours, it had relatively few stages, but each was much longer than those raced today.
Luigi Ganna won the race, 2 points ahead of Carlo Galetti, and received a prize of 5,325 lire. Eugenio Costamagna, director of La Gazzetta dello Sport, earned 150 lire.
There were 127 participants, all Italians with the exception of four French cyclists. Only 49 arrived at the final goal. The first race caravan contained 8 cars: 4 for the teams, 2 for the race officials and 2 for the promoter.
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