Lucca is a city and comune in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its province has a population of 383,957.
Mario Cipollini, often abbreviated to "Cipo", is a retired Italian professional road cyclist most noted for his sprinting ability, the longevity of his dominance, and his colourful personality. His nicknames include Il Re Leone and Super Mario. He is regarded as having been the best sprinter of his generation.
Paolo Bettini is an Italian former champion road racing cyclist, and the former coach of the Italian national cycling team. Considered the best classics specialist of his generation, and probably one of the strongest of all times, he won gold medals in the 2004 Athens Olympics road race and in the 2006 and 2007 World Road Race Championships. He is nicknamed Il Grillo for his repeated sudden attacks and his sprinting style.
Alessandro Petacchi is an Italian former professional road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 1996 and 2015. A specialist sprinter, Petacchi has won 48 grand tour stages with wins of the points jersey in the Giro d'Italia in 2004, the Vuelta a España in 2005 and the Tour de France in 2010. He also won the classics Milan – San Remo in 2005 and Paris–Tours in 2007. His career spanned over 18 years during which he earned 183 victories.
Romāns Vainšteins is a former professional road bicycle racer from Latvia. He won the road race at the 2000 World Cycling Championship in Plouay, France. At the end of the 268.8 km (167.0 mi) race, he won the sprint for the line ahead of Zbigniew Spruch and defending champion Óscar Freire.
Michele Bartoli is a retired Italian road racing cyclist. Bartoli was a professional cyclist from 1992 until 2004 and was one of the most successful single-day classics specialists of his generation, especially in the Italian and Belgian races. On his palmarès are three of the five monuments of cycling—five in total: the 1996 Tour of Flanders, the 1997 and 1998 Liège–Bastogne–Liège and the 2002 and 2003 Giro di Lombardia. He won the UCI Road World Cup in 1997 and 1998. From 10 October 1998 until 6 June 1999, Bartoli was number one on the UCI Road World Rankings.
Costante Girardengo was an Italian professional road bicycle racer, considered by many to be one of the finest riders in the history of the sport. He was the first rider to be declared a "Campionissimo" or "champion of champions" by the Italian media and fans. At the height of his career, in the 1920s, he was said to be more popular than Mussolini and it was decreed that all express trains should stop in his home town Novi Ligure, an honour only normally awarded to heads of state.
Pietro Caucchioli is an Italian professional road racing cyclist. His two-stage wins at the 2001 Giro d'Italia and a podium finish at the 2002 Giro are his finest career accomplishments.
The 1984 Giro d'Italia was the 67th running of the Giro. It started in Lucca, on 17 May, with a 5 km (3.1 mi) prologue and concluded in Verona, on 10 June, with a 42 km (26.1 mi) individual time trial. A total of 171 riders from nineteen teams entered the 22-stage race, that was won by Italian Francesco Moser of the Gis Gelati–Tuc Lu team. The second and third places were taken by Frenchman Laurent Fignon and Italian Moreno Argentin, respectively.
The 1985 Giro d'Italia was the 68th running of the Giro. It started in Palermo, on 16 May, with a 6.6 km (4.1 mi) prologue and concluded in Lucca, on 9 June, with a 48 km (29.8 mi) individual time trial. A total of 180 riders from twenty teams entered the 22-stage race, that was won by Frenchman Bernard Hinault of the La Vie Claire team. The second and third places were taken by Italian Francesco Moser and American Greg LeMond, respectively.
Fabrizio Guidi is an Italian former road bicycle racer. Guidi won over 40 races since he turned professional in 1995, including two stages in Giro d'Italia and three stages of 1998 Vuelta a España. He also won the Intergiro competition of Giro d'Italia in 1996, 1999 and 2000. He retired at the end of 2007 season, riding for the British team Barloworld. He now works as a directeur sportif for UCI WorldTeam UAE Team Emirates.
Alessandro Bertolini is an Italian professional road racing cyclist, who last rode for the UCI Professional Continental cycling team Androni Giocattoli. He is also known in Italy as "Alex" Bertolini.
Alessio–Bianchi was an Italian professional cycling team which existed from 1998 to 2004. It was created in 1998 as Ballan. In 1999 Italian wheels manufacturer Alessio came in as co-sponsor, and in 2000 as main sponsor. The team was dissolved by the end of the 2004 season.
The 1912 Giro d'Italia was the fourth edition of the Giro d'Italia, a Grand Tour set up and sponsored by the newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport. The race began on 19 May in Milan with a stage that stretched 398.8 km (248 mi) to Padua. The race was composed of nine stages that covered a total distance of 2,733.6 km (1,699 mi). The race came to a close in Bergamo on 4 June after a 235 km (146 mi) stage. The race was won by the Atala-Dunlop team that finished with Carlo Galetti, Eberardo Pavesi, and Giovanni Micheletto. Second and third respectively were Peugeot and Gerbi.
The 1914 Giro d'Italia was the sixth Giro; it was organised and sponsored by the newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport. The race began on 24 May in Milan with a stage that stretched 420 km (261 mi) to Cuneo, finishing back in Milan on 6 June after a 420.3 km (261 mi) stage and a total distance covered of 3,162 km (1,965 mi). The race was won by the Italian rider Alfonso Calzolari of the Stucchi team. Second and third respectively were the Italian riders Pierino Albini and Luigi Lucotti.
Nankang–Dynatek was a UCI Continental cycling team founded in 2013 that disbanded after the 2015 season. It was originally sponsored by Ceramica Flaminia, an Italian tile manufacturer which previously sponsored the Ceramica Flaminia team between 2005 and 2010, and was based in Lucca, Tuscany, Italy. Ceramica Flaminia-Fondriest was established as a development squad for Tinkoff. It was later sponsored by Nankang, a tire company, and was based in Serbia.
The Men's road race of the 2013 UCI Road World Championships was a cycling event that took take place on 29 September 2013 in the region of Tuscany, Italy.
The 2013 Giro della Toscana Int. Femminile – Memorial Michela Fanini will be the 19th edition of the Giro della Toscana Int. Femminile – Memorial Michela Fanini, a women's cycling stage race in Italy. It was rated by the UCI as a category 2.HC race and will be held between 11 and 15 September 2013.
The 2014 Giro della Toscana Int. Femminile – Memorial Michela Fanini will be the 20th edition of the Giro della Toscana Int. Femminile – Memorial Michela Fanini, a women's cycling stage race in Italy. It was rated by the UCI as a category 2.2 race and will be held between 12 and 14 September 2013.
Paolo Bettini (ITA)
