Stage 15: Grado – Gorizia. Bariviera’s triple win
On 5 June 1963, as the Giro arrived in Gorizia, the final victory remained uncertain. With just five stages left, the top five finishers were separated by just 24’’. The challenge between the race leader Diego Ronchini and his four immediate chasers (Vittorio Adorni, Giorgio Zancanaro, Guido De Rosso and Franco Balmamion) would be decided in the two following stages, with a climb up to the Nevegal, and an iconic monster stage through the Dolomites featuring the Duran, Staulanza, Cereda, Rolle, Valles and San Pellegrino passes. The forthcoming conclave that was called to elect the successor of Pope John XXIII, who had died on June 3, and the struggle of the outgoing Prime Minister Aldo Moro to form a new cabinet with the support of the Socialist Party grabbed all the headlines.
The Giro was back in Gorizia after the major political unrest that followed World War II, when three fifths of the territory of the city passed to Yugoslavia. It would take a further 40 years for the border that divided the plaza in front of the Gorizia-Montesanto railway station to be cancelled.