Franco Ballerini
Encyclopedia
Franco Ballerini was an Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 road racing cyclist
Road bicycle racing
Road bicycle racing is a bicycle racing sport held on roads, using racing bicycles. The term "road racing" is usually applied to events where competing riders start simultaneously with the winner being the first to the line at the end of the course .Historically, the most...

.

Born in Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....

, his greatest exploits as a rider came with his two victories in the cycling classic
Classic cycle races
The classic cycle races are one-day professional cycling road races in the international calendar. Most of the events, all run in western Europe, have been fixtures on the professional calendar for decades and the oldest ones date back to the 19th Century. They are normally held at roughly the same...

 Paris–Roubaix, riding for the Mapei cycling team. In 1993 he was beaten on the line by Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle
Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle
Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle is a former French professional road racing cyclist who was a specialist at one-day classic cycling races...

 in an exciting Paris–Roubaix finale. Also on his palmarès
Palmares
Palmares may refer to:*Palmares, Pernambuco, a municipality in the state of Pernambuco in Brazil*Palmares Paulista*Palmares Canton, a canton in the province of Alajuela in Costa Rica...

 or list of accomplishments there are other one-day races such as Omloop Het Volk and Paris–Brussels.

Ballerini then became manager of the Italian national cycling squad, winning the 2002 World Championships with Mario Cipollini
Mario Cipollini
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...

 and the 2004 Summer Olympics
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...

 in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...

 with ex-teammate Paolo Bettini
Paolo Bettini
Paolo Bettini is an Italian former champion road racing cyclist, and the 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...

. In 2006, 2007 and 2008 he won the World Championships with Paolo Bettini
Paolo Bettini
Paolo Bettini is an Italian former champion road racing cyclist, and the 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 Alessandro Ballan
Alessandro Ballan
Alessandro Ballan is an Italian professional road bicycle racer for UCI Professional Continental team , and is a former world champion. Although he possesses a frame that is usually more associated with climbing, Ballan has established himself as a leading spring classics contender in recent years...

.

On 7 February 2010, Ballerini, a rallying
Rallying
Rallying, also known as rally racing, is a form of auto racing that takes place on public or private roads with modified production or specially built road-legal cars...

 fan, was seriously injured during a race in Larciano
Larciano
Larciano is a comune in the Province of Pistoia in the Italian region Tuscany, located about 30 km west of Florence and about 13 km south of Pistoia....

 where he was participating as co-driver/navigator for professional driver Alessandro Ciardi. He later died of his injuries at the Pistoia
Pistoia
Pistoia is a city and comune in the Tuscany region of Italy, the capital of a province of the same name, located about 30 km west and north of Florence and is crossed by the Ombrone Pistoiese, a tributary of the River Arno.-History:...

 city hospital. He was 45 years old.

He is to be honoured by race organisers in 2010.

Racing history

Wins

1987
Tre Valli Varesine
Tre Valli Varesine
The Tre Valli Varesine is a semi classic European bicycle race held in Varese, Italy. Since 2005, the race has been organised as a 1.HC event on the UCI Europe Tour....


1989
GP Città di Camaiore

1990
Giro di Campania
Paris-Bruxelles
Grand Prix des Amériques
Giro del Piemonte
Giro del Piemonte
The Giro del Piemonte is a semi classic European bicycle race held in the Apennine Mountains, Italy. The race first took place in 1906. Since 2005, the race has been organised as a 1.HC event on the UCI Europe Tour...


1991
Giro della Romagna
Giro della Romagna
The Giro della Romagna is a semi classic European bicycle race held in the Italian region of Romagna. Since 2005, the race has been organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour.-Winners:...

14th stage of Giro d'Italia
Giro d'Italia
The Giro d'Italia , also simply known as The Giro, is a long distance road bicycle racing stage race for professional cyclists held over three weeks in May/early June in and around Italy. The Giro is one of the three Grand Tours , and is part of the UCI World Ranking calendar...


1993
2nd stage A Hofbrau Cup

1995
Omloop Het Volk
Paris–Roubaix

1996
GP van Wallonië
5th stage Tour of Austria

1998
Paris–Roubaix


Tour de France
  • 1992 – 115th
  • 1993 – 61st
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