The Most Famous

CYCLISTS from Italy

This page contains a list of the greatest Italian Cyclists. The pantheon dataset contains 1,613 Cyclists, 170 of which were born in Italy. This makes Italy the birth place of the 2nd most number of Cyclists.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Italian Cyclists of all time. This list of famous Italian Cyclists is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Italian Cyclists.

1. Fausto Coppi (1919 - 1960)

With an HPI of 65.68, Fausto Coppi is the most famous Italian Cyclist. His biography has been translated into 53 different languages on wikipedia.

Angelo Fausto Coppi (Italian pronunciation: [ˈfausto ˈkɔppi]; 15 September 1919 – 2 January 1960) was an Italian cyclist, the dominant international cyclist of the years after the Second World War. His successes earned him the title Il Campionissimo ("Champion of Champions"). He was an all-round racing cyclist: he excelled in both climbing and time trialing, and was also a good sprinter. He won the Giro d'Italia five times (1940, 1947, 1949, 1952, 1953), the Tour de France twice (1949 and 1952), and the World Championship in 1953. Other notable results include winning the Giro di Lombardia five times, the Milan–San Remo three times, as well as wins at Paris–Roubaix and La Flèche Wallonne and setting the hour record (45.798 km) in 1942.

2. Gino Bartali (1914 - 2000)

With an HPI of 62.13, Gino Bartali is the 2nd most famous Italian Cyclist. His biography has been translated into 44 different languages.

Gino Bartali, (Italian pronunciation: [ˈdʒiːno ˈbartali]; 18 July 1914 – 5 May 2000), nicknamed Gino the Pious and (in Italy) Ginettaccio, was a champion road cyclist. He was the most renowned Italian cyclist before the Second World War, having won the Giro d'Italia twice, in 1936 and 1937, and the Tour de France in 1938. After the war, he added one more victory in each event: the Giro d'Italia in 1946 and the Tour de France in 1948. His second and last Tour de France victory in 1948 gave him the largest gap between victories in the race. In September 2013, 13 years after his death, Bartali was recognised as a "Righteous Among the Nations" by Yad Vashem for his efforts to aid Jews during World War II.

3. Maurice Garin (1871 - 1957)

With an HPI of 61.26, Maurice Garin is the 3rd most famous Italian Cyclist. His biography has been translated into 40 different languages.

Maurice-François Garin (pronounced [mɔʁis fʁɑ̃swa ɡaʁɛ̃, moʁ-]; 3 March 1871 – 19 February 1957) was an Italian-French road bicycle racer best known for winning the inaugural Tour de France in 1903, and for being stripped of his title in the second Tour in 1904 along with eight others, for cheating. He was of Italian origin but adopted French nationality on 21 December 1901.

4. Felice Gimondi (1942 - 2019)

With an HPI of 59.40, Felice Gimondi is the 4th most famous Italian Cyclist. His biography has been translated into 37 different languages.

Felice Gimondi (Italian pronunciation: [feˈliːtʃe dʒiˈmondi]; 29 September 1942 – 16 August 2019) was an Italian professional racing cyclist. With his 1968 victory at the Vuelta a España, only three years after becoming a professional cyclist, Gimondi, nicknamed "The Phoenix", was the second cyclist (after Jacques Anquetil) to win all three Grand Tours of road cycling: Tour de France (1965, his first year as a pro), Giro d'Italia (1967, 1969 and 1976), and Vuelta a España (1968). He is one of only seven cyclists to have done so. Gimondi also won three of the five Cycling monuments, winning the Giro di Lombardia twice, and finished on the podium of a grand tour twelve times. He accomplished all of these major victories despite his career coinciding with that of Eddy Merckx.

5. Marco Pantani (1970 - 2004)

With an HPI of 57.78, Marco Pantani is the 5th most famous Italian Cyclist. His biography has been translated into 47 different languages.

Marco Pantani (Italian: [ˈmarko panˈtaːni]; 13 January 1970 – 14 February 2004) was an Italian road racing cyclist, widely regarded as one of the greatest climbing specialists in the history of the sport by measures of his legacy, credits from other riders, and records. He recorded the fastest ever climbs up the Tour's iconic venues of Mont Ventoux (46:00) and Alpe d'Huez (36:50), and other cyclists including Lance Armstrong and Charly Gaul have hailed Pantani's climbing skills. He is the second to last rider and one of only eight to ever win the Tour de France – Giro d'Italia double, doing so in 1998. He is the sixth of seven Italians, after Ottavio Bottecchia, Gino Bartali, Fausto Coppi, Gastone Nencini and Felice Gimondi, and before Vincenzo Nibali to win the Tour de France. Pantani's cycling style was off-the-saddle, and was a relentless climbing style. His early death caused by acute cocaine poisoning in 2004 has further turned the cyclist into a popular icon. The narrative was cultivated by Pantani, who picked the nickname "Il Pirata" (English: "The Pirate") because of his shaven head and the bandana and earrings he wore. At 1.72 metres (5.6 ft) and 57 kilograms (126 lb), he was said to have the classic build for a mountain climber. His style has been contrasted with that of time-trialling experts such as the five-time Tour winner Miguel Induráin. Although Pantani never tested positive during his career, his career was beset by doping allegations. In the 1999 Giro d'Italia, he was expelled due to his irregular blood values. Although he was disqualified for "health reasons", it was implied that Pantani's high haematocrit was the product of EPO use. Following later accusations, Pantani went into a severe depression from which he never fully recovered, ultimately leading to his death in 2004.

6. Alfredo Binda (1902 - 1986)

With an HPI of 57.72, Alfredo Binda is the 6th most famous Italian Cyclist. His biography has been translated into 28 different languages.

Alfredo Binda (11 August 1902 – 19 July 1986) was an Italian road cyclist of the 1920s and 1930s. He was the first to win five editions of the Giro d'Italia, and a three-time world champion. In addition he won Milan–San Remo twice, and the Tour of Lombardy four times. Later he would manage the Italian National team. Under him, Fausto Coppi, Gino Bartali and Gastone Nencini all triumphed at the Tour de France.

7. Ottavio Bottecchia (1894 - 1927)

With an HPI of 55.66, Ottavio Bottecchia is the 7th most famous Italian Cyclist. His biography has been translated into 28 different languages.

Ottavio Bottecchia (pronounced [otˈtaːvjo botˈtekkja]; 1 August 1894 – 15 June 1927) was an Italian cyclist and the first Italian winner of the Tour de France. He was found injured and unconscious by a roadside and died a few days later; the exact circumstances of his accident remain a mystery.

8. Carlo Galetti (1882 - 1949)

With an HPI of 54.21, Carlo Galetti is the 8th most famous Italian Cyclist. Her biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Carlo Galetti (26 August 1882 – 2 April 1949) was an Italian professional road racing cyclist. He was born at Corsico. The highlight of his career was his three consecutive overall wins in the 1910, 1911 and 1912 Giros d'Italia, the last of which was won as part of Team Atala along with Giovanni Micheletto and Eberardo Pavesi. He died in Milan in 1949.

9. Francesco Moser (b. 1951)

With an HPI of 53.78, Francesco Moser is the 9th most famous Italian Cyclist. His biography has been translated into 25 different languages.

Francesco Moser (Italian: [franˈtʃesko ˈmɔːzer, - moˈzɛr], German: [ˈmoːzɐ]; born 19 June 1951), nicknamed "Lo sceriffo" (The sheriff), is an Italian former professional road bicycle racer. He finished on the podium of the Giro d'Italia six times including his win in the 1984 edition. Moser was dominant from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s. He turned professional in 1973, showing a cultured pedaling style. But his powerful build meant he was not a gifted climber. He entered one edition of the Tour de France, in 1975, where he won two stages, held the maillot jaune for six days and finished 7th overall. He also won the 1977 world road racing championship in addition to collecting silver medals in 1976 and 1978. He won six times in three of the five monuments. Three consecutive editions of Paris–Roubaix, two victories in the Giro di Lombardia and one win in Milan–San Remo. His 273 road victories puts him behind Eddy Merckx (525) and Rik Van Looy (379), but ahead of Rik Van Steenbergen (270) and Roger De Vlaeminck (255). He was also an accomplished track rider, riding up to six Six-Day races almost each winter throughout his career. He rode 35, 14 of which with René Pijnen, winning 15. A nephew, Moreno Moser, (born 25 December 1990) is an Italian professional racer, and Francesco's son Ignazio Moser enjoyed success at the junior and amateur levels before retiring at the age of 22.

10. Gastone Nencini (1930 - 1980)

With an HPI of 53.01, Gastone Nencini is the 10th most famous Italian Cyclist. His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Gastone Nencini (Italian pronunciation: [ɡaˈstoːne nenˈtʃiːni]; 1 March 1930 – 1 February 1980) was an Italian road racing cyclist who won the 1960 Tour de France and the 1957 Giro d'Italia. Nicknamed Il Leone del Mugello, "The Lion of Mugello" (from his birthplace Barberino di Mugello, near Florence), Nencini was a powerful all-rounder, particularly strong in the mountains. He was an amateur painter and a chain smoker. He was a gifted descender. "The only reason to follow Nencini downhill would be if you had a death wish", said the French rider Raphaël Géminiani. It was in trying to follow Nencini down a mountain on Stage 14 of the 1960 Tour de France that Roger Rivière missed a bend, crashed over a wall and broke his spine.

People

Pantheon has 194 people classified as Italian cyclists born between 1871 and 2000. Of these 194, 146 (75.26%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Italian cyclists include Francesco Moser, Mario Cipollini, and Dino Bruni. The most famous deceased Italian cyclists include Fausto Coppi, Gino Bartali, and Maurice Garin. As of April 2024, 24 new Italian cyclists have been added to Pantheon including Renato Longo, Giovanni Micheletto, and Renato Perona.