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.
Tony Rominger is a Swiss former professional road racing cyclist who won the Vuelta a España in 1992, 1993 and 1994 and the Giro d'Italia in 1995.
Francesco Casagrande is an Italian former professional road racing cyclist. Casagrande was a professional cyclist between 1992 and 2005.
Rolf Sørensen is a former Danish professional road bicycle racer. He is currently working as a cycling commentator and agent. Born in Helsinge in Denmark, Sørensen moved to Italy at the age of 17, where he has lived since. He goes under the name Il Biondo due to his blonde hair.
Giuseppe Saronni, also known as Beppe Saronni, is an Italian former racing cyclist. He had remarkable success riding in the Giro d'Italia. In 1980 he won 7 stages and finished 7th overall; in 1981 he won 3 stages and finished 3rd overall. In 1979 and 1983 he won the Giro d'Italia and all total for his career win 24 stages in this race.
Oscar Camenzind is a former professional road racing cyclist from Switzerland. He became national road champion in 1997. In 1998 he won the World Road Championship and the Giro di Lombardia, in 2000 the Tour de Suisse and Liège–Bastogne–Liège in 2001. His career came to an abrupt end when he retired from pro cycling after a positive doping test in July 2004 for erythropoietin, leading into the Athens Olympics. After confessing to the use, in 2005 he was sued in Swiss court in order to name his supplier, which he refused to do fearing retribution.
Davide Rebellin was an Italian professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 1992 and 2022 for twelve different teams, taking more than sixty professional wins. He was considered one of the finest classics specialists of his generation with more than fifty top ten finishes in UCI Road World Cup and UCI ProTour classics.
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.
Hendrikus Andreas "Hennie" Kuiper is a Dutch former professional road racing cyclist. His career includes a gold medal in the Olympic road race at Munich in 1972, becoming world professional road race champion in 1975, as well as winning four of the five "Monument" classics. He rode the Tour de France 12 times, finishing second twice and winning the stage to Alpe d'Huez on two occasions. Kuiper, Ercole Baldini, Paolo Bettini and Remco Evenepoel are the only riders to have won both the Olympic road race and the world professional road race.
Maurizio Fondriest is a retired Italian professional road racing cyclist.
Italo Zilioli is an Italian former professional cyclist.
Steven Rooks is a former Dutch professional road racing cyclist known for his climbing ability. His professional career ran from 1982–1995.
Silvano Contini is an Italian former professional road bicycle racer. He was professional from 1978 to 1990, his main successes were the 1982 Liège–Bastogne–Liège of 1982, the 1985 Grand Prix du Midi Libre and the 1981 Tour of the Basque Country. He also won the Trofeo Baracchi in 1983 with Daniel Gisiger as well as four stages of the Giro d'Italia.
Franco Bitossi is an Italian former professional cyclist. He was born in Camaioni di Carmignano.
Alberto Elli is an Italian former road racing cyclist, who wore the yellow jersey for 4 days in the 2000 Tour de France. Elli was called up late for the 2000 Tour de France, and after a group of 12 cyclists stayed away from the others, Elli became a surprise leader, being the second oldest cyclist in the peloton. He kept the yellow jersey until the Pyrenées mountains, where he lost it to Lance Armstrong.
Luc Roosen is a retired road racing cyclist from Belgium, who was a professional rider from 1986 to 1997.
Edwig Van Hooydonck is a former professional road racing cyclist from Belgium. He won the prestigious Tour of Flanders twice and Brabantse Pijl four times. Van Hooydonck retired from professional cycling because he felt he could no longer compete with other cyclists, who were at the time starting to dope themselves, without himself cheating too. At this time Erythropoietin (EPO) was becoming a widely used doping agent in the sport. He is the uncle of former professional cyclist Nathan Van Hooydonck.
Acácio Mora da Silva is a Portuguese former professional road bicycle racer. He was a professional from 1982 to 1994 during which he won stages in the Tour de France, the Giro d'Italia and stages in many other stage races. He won three stages in total in the Tour de France, one in 1987, one in 1988, and one in 1989. After his stage win in 1989, he wore the yellow jersey as leader of the general classification for four days. In 1986, he won the Züri-Metzgete and was also the Portuguese national road champion.
Henk Lubberding is a Dutch former professional road bicycle racer. He was a professional from 1977 to 1992.
Josef Fuchs is a retired Swiss racing cyclist. As an amateur he won two world championship medals in 1969 and 1971, both on the road and on track. He also won a few minor races and two stages of the Tour de l'Avenir and one of the Milk Race (1971).
