1. Early Life and Professional Debut
Born in Novi Ligure, located in the province of Alessandria in Piedmont, Costante Girardengo began his professional cycling career in 1913 at the age of 20. Before turning professional, he had already demonstrated significant promise as an amateur, notably finishing as runner-up in the Tour of Tuscany in the preceding year. He joined the Maino-Dunlop team for his professional debut and immediately achieved success, securing a stage win in the Giro d'Italia and claiming his first Italian road race championship.
2. Professional Racing Career
Costante Girardengo's extensive professional cycling career spanned from 1913 to 1936, marked by periods of immense dominance, interruptions due to war and illness, and consistent top-tier performances.
2.1. Early Years and World War I
Girardengo's early professional years were characterized by immediate success. In 1913, he not only won a stage in the Giro d'Italia (the first of his 30 Giro stage victories) but also became the Italian road race champion. He replicated these early triumphs in 1914, adding another Giro stage win and a second Italian championship title. The 1914 Giro d'Italia also saw him win the longest stage ever in the race's history, a 267 mile (430 km) leg between Lucca and Rome. Later in 1914, Girardengo made his sole appearance in the Tour de France as a guest rider for the Automoto team, but he abandoned the race after several crashes during stages five and six. In 1915, he secured another victory in Milano-Torino, but faced disappointment at Milan-San Remo when he was disqualified after winning the race for deviating from the course.
Much of professional cycle racing was halted after 1915 due to World War I. Girardengo's career was significantly interrupted by the war, which deprived him of some of his prime years. His return to racing in 1918 saw him claim his first of six victories in Milan-San Remo, a record that was only surpassed by Eddy Merckx over 50 years later. Remarkably, he finished among the top three in Milan-San Remo every year from 1917 to 1926 and was the first rider over the Turchino Pass on five occasions. His exceptional form after 1918 was particularly noteworthy given that he had contracted the Spanish flu during the war and nearly died. At one point, his manager, skeptical that a survivor of the disease could race effectively, even refused to renew his license.
2.2. Peak Performance and Major Victories
The 1920s marked Girardengo's most dominant period, during which he achieved the majority of his most significant victories. He secured his first Giro d'Italia victory in 1919, taking seven of the ten stages and famously winning by a margin of 51 minutes and 56 seconds over second-placed Gaetano Belloni. His form in the Giro, however, was not always consistent, as he abandoned the race in the early stages in 1920, 1921, and 1922. Despite these withdrawals, he came back to dominate in 1923, which was undoubtedly his best year with 16 victories. In 1923, he claimed his second Giro d'Italia title, winning eight of the ten stages, though this victory was by a narrower margin of 37 seconds over Belloni. He also triumphed in many of Italy's premier one-day races during this period.
Girardengo held the record for the most victories in Milan-San Remo with six wins until Eddy Merckx surpassed it in 1976. He also achieved an impressive nine consecutive Italian National Road Race Championships from 1913 to 1915 and then again from 1919 to 1925 (the race was suspended from 1916 to 1918 due to World War I). This streak of nine consecutive championships remains unbroken. He achieved these remarkable feats amidst strong competition from contemporary stars such as Alfredo Binda, Giovanni Brunero, and Gaetano Belloni. Despite racing almost exclusively in Italy, Girardengo harbored a strong desire to win Paris-Roubaix. He first competed there in 1921 but was consistently unlucky, experiencing mechanical failures when in strong positions and never managing to win. In 1924, he won the GP Wolber in France, which was then considered the unofficial World Championship. His consistent excellence led him to be ranked number one in the world in 1919, 1922, 1923, 1925, and 1926.
In 1927, Girardengo finished as runner-up in the inaugural World Championship road race, held at the Nürburgring in Germany. The four-man Italian team, which also included Alfredo Binda, Gaetano Belloni, and Domenico Piemontesi, worked effectively as a unit. Binda launched a decisive attack 20 mile from the finish, securing a comfortable victory, and the Italian riders filled the first four places on that rainy day. Binda was also the rider who ended Girardengo's streak of Italian National Road Race Championships in 1926, where Girardengo finished second.
2.3. Final Racing Years
Costante Girardengo's final years as an active professional racer extended from 1929 until his retirement in 1936. His sixth victory in Milan-San Remo in 1928 marked his last major road victory, although he continued to compete until the 1936 season, retiring at the age of 43.
3. Post-Racing Career
After his retirement from professional racing, Costante Girardengo transitioned into coaching. He served as a coach for the professional Maino team, his former team. He also took on the significant role of head coach for the Italian national cycling squad for a period. In this capacity, he notably advised Gino Bartali when Bartali achieved his victory in the 1938 Tour de France. Later in his life, from 1951 to 1954, Girardengo lent his name to a brand of motorbikes, "Girardengo," which were manufactured in the northern Italian city of Alessandria.
4. Legacy and Public Image
Costante Girardengo's impact on Italian society and cycling history is profound and enduring. He is famously known as the first "Campionissimo" or "champion of champions," a title that cemented his legendary status in Italian sport. His widespread popularity in the 1920s was extraordinary; it was said that he was more popular than the Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, and a special decree even mandated that express trains make stops in his hometown of Novi Ligure, an honor usually reserved for heads of state. Due to his small stature, he earned the affectionate nickname "The Novi Runt". His legacy has been further immortalized in Italian popular culture through the critically acclaimed song "Il Bandito e il Campione" by Francesco De Gregori. This song poetically contrasts Girardengo's life with that of his childhood friend, Sante Pollastri, who became a notorious bandit and outlaw.
5. Death
Costante Girardengo died on 9 February 1978, at the age of 84. His passing occurred in Cassano Spinola, a town located just outside of Novi Ligure. His death prompted widespread reactions from both the public and the sporting community, reflecting his lasting impact and revered status in Italian cycling.
6. Major Results
| Year | Event | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1912 | Coppa de Bagni di Casciana | 1st |
| 1913 | Road race, National Road Championships | 1st  |
| Stage 6 Giro d'Italia | 1st | |
| Overall Corsa XX Septembre | 1st | |
| Coppa Borzino | 1st | |
| Gran Fondo | 1st | |
| 1914 | Road race, National Road Championships | 1st |
| Stage 3 Giro d'Italia | 1st | |
| Milano-Torino | 1st | |
| Overall Giro della Romagna | 2nd | |
| Giro dell'Emilia | 2nd | |
| 1915 | Milano-Torino | 1st |
| 1917 | Milan-San Remo | 2nd |
| Overall Giro della Provincia Milan (with Angelo Gremo) | 2nd | |
| Milan-Bellagio-Varèse | 2nd | |
| 1918 | Milan-San Remo | 1st |
| Giro dell'Emilia | 1st | |
| Serravalle-Arquata | 1st | |
| Turin-Arquata (with Gaetano Belloni, Lauro Bordin, and Luigi Lucotti) | 1st | |
| Milan-Varèse | 2nd | |
| 1919 | Road race, National Road Championships | 1st |
| Overall Giro d'Italia | 1st | |
| Stages 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 9, & 10 Giro d'Italia | 1st | |
| Giro di Lombardia | 1st | |
| Milan-Modène | 1st | |
| Milano-Torino | 1st | |
| Giro dell'Emilia | 1st | |
| Giro del Piemonte | 1st | |
| Overall Giro della Provincia Milan (with Angelo Gremo) | 1st | |
| Overall Rome-Trente-Trieste | 1st | |
| Stages 1, 2, & 3 Rome-Trente-Trieste | 1st | |
| Milan-San Remo | 2nd | |
| 1920 | Road race, National Road Championships | 1st |
| Milan-Modène | 1st | |
| Giro del Piemonte | 1st | |
| Milano-Torino | 1st | |
| Turin-Gênes | 1st | |
| Giro dell'Emilia | 2nd | |
| Milan-San Pellegrino | 2nd | |
| Overall Giro della Provincia Milan (with Annoni) | 2nd | |
| Milan-San Remo | 3rd | |
| 1921 | Road race, National Road Championships | 1st |
| Milan-San Remo | 1st | |
| Giro di Lombardia | 1st | |
| Stages 1, 2, 3, & 4 Giro d'Italia | 1st | |
| Giro dell'Emilia | 1st | |
| Milan-San Pellegrino | 1st | |
| Genoa-Nice | 1st | |
| Overall Corsa XX Septembre | 1st | |
| Overall Giro della Provincia Milan (with Giuseppe Azzini) | 1st | |
| Milan-Modène | 2nd | |
| 1922 | Road race, National Road Championships | 1st |
| Giro di Lombardia | 1st | |
| Overall Corsa XX Septembre | 1st | |
| Giro dell'Emilia | 1st | |
| Giro di Romagna | 1st | |
| Tour du Lac Leman | 1st | |
| Critérium de Genève | 1st | |
| Tour des Deux Golfes | 1st | |
| Giro della Provincia de Milan (with Belloni) | 1st | |
| Stage 2 Giro d'Italia | 1st | |
| Milan-San Remo | 2nd | |
| 1923 | Road race, National Road Championships | 1st |
| Overall Giro d'Italia | 1st | |
| Stages 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, & 10 Giro d'Italia | 1st | |
| Milan-San Remo | 1st | |
| Overall Corsa XX Septembre | 1st | |
| Milano-Torino | 1st | |
| Giro del Veneto | 1st | |
| Giro di Toscana | 1st | |
| Giro de la Province de Turin (with Giovanni Brunero) | 1st | |
| 1924 | Road race, National Road Championships | 1st |
| Giro del Piemonte | 1st | |
| Giro del Veneto | 1st | |
| Giro di Toscana | 1st | |
| GP Wolber | 1st | |
| G.P Milazzo | 1st | |
| Giro di Lombardia | 2nd | |
| Milan-San Remo | 3rd | |
| 1925 | Road race, National Road Championships | 1st |
| Milan-San Remo | 1st | |
| Critérium National | 1st | |
| Giro del Veneto | 1st | |
| Overall Corsa XX Septembre | 1st | |
| Giro dell'Emilia | 1st | |
| G.P Milazzo | 1st | |
| Overall Giro de la Province de Milan (with Ottavio Bottecchia) | 1st | |
| Stage 1 Giro de la Province de Milan | 1st | |
| Overall Giro d'Italia | 2nd | |
| Stages 2, 4, 7, 9, 10, & 11 Giro d'Italia | 1st | |
| Critérium des As à Turin | 2nd | |
| 1926 | Milan-San Remo | 1st |
| Giro di Romagna | 1st | |
| Giro del Veneto | 1st | |
| Stages 4 & 5 Giro d'Italia | 1st | |
| Giro di Toscana | 2nd | |
| Giro del Piemonte | 3rd | |
| Critérium de Genève | 3rd | |
| 1927 | 6 Days of Milan (with Alfredo Binda) | 1st |
| Professional road race, UCI Road World Championships | 2nd | |
| G.P de Turin | 2nd | |
| 1928 | Milan-San Remo | 1st |
| Milan-Modène | 1st | |
| 6 Days of Milan (with Pietro Linari) | 1st | |
| 6 Days of Breslau (with Willy Rieger) | 1st | |
| 6 Days of Leipzig (with Antonio Negrini) | 1st | |
| 1929 | 6 Days of Paris (with Pietro Linari) | 2nd |
| 1930 | Milan-San Remo | 5th |
| 1932 | Overall Giro de la Province de Milan (with Learco Guerra) | 2nd |
| 1935 | Stage 3 Giro delle Quattro | 1st |
| Asti-Ceriale | 2nd | |
| Circuit Apuan | 3rd | |
| Circuit d'Imola | 3rd |