As this year’s Vuelta a España’s gets underway in Turin this weekend, the Grande Partenza sets the perfect backdrop to remember Angelo Conterno, the first Italian to win the Spanish Grand Tour.
Born in Turin in 1925, Conterno turned professional in 1950, with 1956 being the highlight of his career when he won the Vuelta.
After winning stage 2, Conterno captured the golden jersey, which would later become one of the most hotly contested Vuelta’s in history, with the Torinese outlasting Spaniard Jesus Loroño to win the overall title by just 13 seconds. The following year, Loroño won the 1957 Vuelta a España, albeit without Conterno in attendance.
Earlier in his career, Conterno wore the pink jersey as leader of the general classification for a day when he won the second stage of the 1952 Giro d’Italia. Beyond his three-stage victories in the Giro d’Italia, he won the 1959 Züri-Metzgete.
The Züri-Metzgete was first held in 1914 and was held annually since 1917, including the second World War years, giving it the longest continued existence of any of major race. Originally, the race was billed as “Meisterschaft von Zürich” (Championship of Zurich), and this designation is still being used in some places. However, the colloquial expression “Züri Metzgete” soon became popular and has long been adapted by the organizers themselves and also by the UCI.
“Züri” is Swiss dialect for Zurich. “Metzgete” (from “metzgern”, to butcher) is a dialect word as well and a tongue-in-cheek reference to the supposedly ruthless character of the race. (Originally, a “Metzgete” is a special form of agricultural festivity usually held in autumn when farmers had to reduce their livestock to get through the winter. The fresh meat was then sold and distributed in barbecue-like village festivals.)
In its heyday the race was considered the sixth monument of cycling, alongside the five most prestigious one-day races on the calendar (Milan–San Remo, Tour of Flanders, Paris–Roubaix, Liège–Bastogne–Liège and the Tour of Lombardy).
The Züri-Metzgete was included in every edition of the former UCI Road World Cup, which ran from 1989 to 2004, and a leg of the inaugural UCI ProTour in 2005. In 2005 the race was moved to the end of the season for the first time in its history.
Unfortunately, the 2007 edition of the race was canceled after organizers failed to attract enough sponsors in the wake of several doping scandals in international cycling.
In 2008, the race was held on September 7, but the format was changed to an amateur competition.
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