[NeilG83]

Buried under all the bad news today are reports of the death of Fiorenzo Magni.
Magni was an all time great winning the Giro d’Italia 3 times during the golden age of Italian cycling of the 40s and 50s and won the Tour of Flanders 3 consecutive times.
He also revolutionised sponsorship when he persuaded Nivea to become the first company outside of the cycling industry to sponsor a team in 1954.
He was a hard man and famously finished 2nd in the 1956 Giro after breaking his collarbone half way through the race.

Topic

[onthebummel48]

I find it pretty devastating
I find it pretty devastating – a dark hero who did so well despite being overshadowed by Coppi and Bartali. There aren’t many of the greats from his era left any more.

It’s worth checking out the picture of the man as he battled up a mountain using an inner tube clenched in a fierce grimace of pain as a means to maintain a grip on his handlebars – http://wp.me/pOjfC-6V

[James Warrener]

Wasn’t there a recent feature
Wasn’t there a recent feature about him in Procycling magazine?

Might have dreamt that though.

[NeilG83]

Just found this excellent
Just found this excellent article, which gives more information on Magni.

http://www.cyclingrevealed.com/Jan11/Jan_feature11_Magni.html

[Author]

Replies