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Francesco Moser (born June 19, 1951) nicknamed " Lo sceriffo" (The sheriff) is an Italian former professional road bicycle racer. He was one of the dominant riders from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s, and won the 1984 Giro d'Italia, the 1977 World Road Racing Championship title and six victories overall in three of the five great Classics, the so-called 'Monuments', of cycling. Moser was born in Palù di Giovo, province of Trento. He began his professional career in 1973. He had an almost effortless pedal stroke that provided great power. Moser was an intimidating figure on the bicycle, but due to his powerful build, Moser wasn’t a gifted climber. Classic races After Moser finished runner up in 1974 behind Roger De Vlaeminck, and likewise in 1976 behind Marc De Meyer of Belgium, he finally won his favourite race, the brutally tough Paris-Roubaix three consecutive times: in 1978, when he preceded Roger De Vlaeminck of Belgium and Jan Raas of the Netherlands; in 1979, in front of Roger De Vlaeminck and Hennie Kuiper of the Netherlands; and in 1980, in front of Frenchman Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle of France and German Dietrich Thurau. Moser came in third in 1981 behind Bernard Hinault and Roger De Vlaeminck, and was also third in 1983 behind Hennie Kuiper and Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle. His other major Classics victories include the 1975 and 1978 Tour of Lombardy, and the 1984 Milan-Sanremo. Other classics Of lesser classic races, Moser won the 1974 Paris-Tours, the 1977 Championship of Zurich, the 1979 Gent-Wevelgem, and the 1977 Flèche Wallonne. Grand Tours Apart from the one-day classics, Moser also enjoyed some success in the three-weeks long Grand Tours of cycling. Francesco Moser only rode the Tour de France once, in 1975, but the high mountains didn’t suit his riding style. However, he won the 1984 Giro d'Italia, in front of Laurent Fignon of France and Moreno Argentin of Italy. Taking advantage of an unusually flat course, Moser used his superior time-trialing ability to clinch the overall prize from the better climbers of the peloton. In addition to his overall victory in the Giro, Moser also won the Maglia ciclamino (Points Jersey) of the Italian tour four times; in 1976, 1977, 1978, and 1982. Other accomplishments Francesco Moser won the 1977 World Road Race Championship in front of Dietrich Thurau of Germany and Moser's countryman Franco Bitossi. Moser was also the silver medallist in 1976, arriving behind Freddy Maertens of Belgium, and again he finished second in 1978 conceding to Gerrie Knetemann of the Netherlands. Moser's lasting accomplishment was in 1984, when he broke the 1972 Hour record of Eddy Merckx's, after a long, accurate, technical and physical preparation by Moser. The very advanced bike Moser rode looked far more advanced than that which Eddy Merckx used: in 1997 the Union Cycliste Internationale banned all previous records which were set on bikes with technological advantage over those used in 1972. Under the new rules, Merckx's 1972 record wasn't broken until 1993. Moser later auctioned his revolutionary bicycle to benefit UNICEF. In 1999, he admitted having used blood doping to help breaking the record, helped by medician Francesco Conconi. His doping practices, however, had not been declared illegal at the time. The 1984 record of Moser did, however, stand for more than nine years before it was broken, and Moser's attempt further opened the door to new aerodynamic technology in competitive cycling. Moser retired from the professional ranks in 1987. After the cycling career Francesco Moser has since 1999 been Chairman of the Cyclistes Professionels Associés, CPA, founded 19 May, after the 1999 Giro d'Italia. The CPA is a union for all professional riders of then TT/I and TT/II league of teams (now UCI ProTour and UCI Continental Circuits teams, respectively). See also | |||||||
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