Franco Bitossi
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| Full name | Franco Bitossi | |||||||||||||||
| Nickname | Cuore matto (Crazy heart) | |||||||||||||||
| Born | September 1, 1940 Camaioni di Carmignano, Italy |
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| Current team | Retired | |||||||||||||||
| Discipline | Road | |||||||||||||||
| Role | Rider | |||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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| Infobox last updated on April 16, 2007 |
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Franco Bitossi (born September 1, 1940) is an Italian former professional cyclist. He was born in Camaioni di Carmignano.
Bitossi cycled for three years as an amateur and became a professional in October 1961, after he had reached the required age of 21.[1] As a professional cyclist, from 1961 until 1978, he won a total of 171 races.
In 1965 he won the Tour de Suisse and the Züri-Metzgete, which he won again in 1968. In 1967 he won the Tirreno–Adriatico, Giro di Lombardia and Coppa Agostoni, while the following year he became the first Italian to win the points classification in the Tour de France.[2]
In 1970, he won the Italian championship.[3]
In 1972 he became famous for his near victory at the World Championship in Gap, France, where he was beaten by only a few meters by his teammate Marino Basso.[1]
Four years later, in 1978, he won the Italian Championship again.[3]
Bitossi was nicknamed Cuore matto ("Crazy heart") due to a cardiac arrythmia which often compelled him to stop midway in a stage.[4]
[edit] Palmarès
The following is an excerpt from Bitossi's palmarès - list of races a rider has won:
- 1965
- Tour de Suisse
- Züri-Metzgete
- Giro d'Italia:
- Mountains classification
- 1966
- Giro d'Italia:
- Mountains classification
- Tour de France:
- Winner stages 5 and 17
- 1967
- Tirreno–Adriatico
- Giro di Lombardia
- Coppa Agostoni
- 1968
- Züri-Metzgete
- Tour de France:
Points classification- Combination classification
- Winner stages 7 and 16
- 1969
- Giro d'Italia:
- Coppa Agostoni
- 1970
Italian National Road Race Championships- Giro d'Italia:
Points classification
- Giro di Lombardia
- Volta a Catalunya
- 1971
- Coppa Agostoni
- 1976
- Italian National Road Race Championships
[edit] References
- ^ a b Franco Bitossi, the Grand Champion with the "Crazy Heart"
- ^ Jacques Augendre (2009). "Guide Historique, part 6" (in French) (PDF). Amaury Sport Organisation. Archived from the original on 2009-10-03. http://www.letour.fr/2009/TDF/COURSE/docs/histo2009_06.pdf. Retrieved 26 January 2010.
- ^ a b Statistics Franco Bitossi in Cycling Archives Retrieved 2010-05-07
- ^ Franco Bitossi profile at Cycling Archives
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