Francesco Moser

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Francesco Moser
Personal information
Nickname Checco
Born (1951-06-19) 19 June 1951
Palù di Giovo, Italy
Team information
Current team Retired
Discipline Road, track
Role Rider
Rider type Time-Trialist/Classics specialist
Professional team(s)
1975
1976-1977
1977-1982
1983-1985
1986
1987
1988		 Filotex
Sanson
Famcucine
GIS
Supermercati
Brianzoli
Château d'Ax
Major wins

Grand Tours

Tour de France
2 stages (1975)
Giro d'Italia
General Classification (1984)
Points Classification (1976, 1977, 1978, 1982)
23 stages

Stage races

Volta a Catalunya
General classification (1978)
Tirreno–Adriatico
General classification (1980, 1981)

One-day races and Classics

Road Race World Championships (1977)
Italian National Road Race Championship (1975, 1979, 1981)
Milan – San Remo (1984)
Paris-Tours (1974)
Paris–Roubaix (1978, 1979, 1980)
Gent–Wevelgem (1979)
Giro di Lombardia (1975, 1978)
La Flèche Wallonne (1977)
Züri-Metzgete (1977)
Infobox last updated on
April 28, 2008

Francesco Moser (Italian pronunciation: [ˈmɔːzer] or [moˈzɛr]; German pronunciation: [ˈmoːzɐ];[1] born 19 June 1951 in Palù di Giovo, Trentino), nicknamed "Lo sceriffo" (The sheriff), is an Italian former professional road bicycle racer.

Moser 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 and six victories in three of the five Monuments. He began his professional career in 1973. He had an almost effortless pedal stroke that provided great power.[citation needed] Moser was intimidating on a bicycle[citation needed] but his powerful build meant he wasn’t a gifted climber. With 273 road victories during his career he is the third most prolific road bicycle champion in the world, behind Eddy Merckx (426) and Rik Van Looy (379), but ahead of Rik Van Steenbergen (270) and Roger De Vlaeminck (255). A nephew Moreno Moser (born 25 December 1990) is an Italian professional road bicycle racer.

Palmarés

Classic races

After finishing second in 1974 behind Roger De Vlaeminck, and likewise in 1976 behind Marc Demeyer of Belgium, Moser finally won Paris–Roubaix, his favorite race, three consecutive times. In total, Moser has had seven podium finishes in Paris–Roubaix; only De Vlaeminck has more (9). In 1978, he preceded Roger De Vlaeminck 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. He rode Paris–Roubaix in his final season as a professional cyclist in 1987. His other major Classics victories include the 1975 and 1978 Giro di Lombardia, and the 1984 Milan – San Remo.

Other classics

Of lesser classic races, Moser won the 1974 Paris–Tours, the 1977 Züri-Metzgete, the 1979 Gent–Wevelgem, and the 1977 Flèche Wallonne.

Grand Tours

Apart from one-day classics, Moser also enjoyed some success in the three-week Grand Tours. Moser rode the Tour de France in 1975, and although he won two stages, led the general classification for seven days and won the young rider classification, he never rode the Tour again, as the mountains did not suit his 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 time-trialing ability to clinch the overall prize from the better climbers of the peloton. Moser also won the Points classification in the Giro d'Italia in 1976, 1977, 1978, and 1982.

Other accomplishments

Moser won the 1977 world road racing championship in San Cristobal, Venezuela in front of Dietrich Thurau of Germany and Moser's countryman Franco Bitossi. Moser was also silver medallist in 1976, behind Freddy Maertens of Belgium, and again he finished second in 1978 to Gerrie Knetemann of the Netherlands.

On 19 January 1984, in Mexico City, Moser broke the famous 1972 hour record of Eddy Merckx, after long physical preparation and training. Moser rode 50.808 kilometers, on a radical and high-tech aerodynamic bike (with aero bars and full disc wheels), which was far more advanced than the conventional track bike which Merckx had used in 1972. As a result, in 1997 the Union Cycliste Internationale banned hour records set on bikes featuring technological advantages over those used in 1972. Under the new rules, Merckx's 1972 record wasn't broken until 2000. Moser auctioned his bicycle to benefit UNICEF.

In 1999, he admitted using blood doping in breaking the record, helped by sports doctor Francesco Conconi; his doping had not been declared illegal at the time. The 1984 record stood for more than nine years, and Moser's attempt opened the door to aerodynamic technology in cycling. Moser retired from the professional ranks in 1987.

Rivalries

Moser's biggest rival was Giuseppe Saronni.

After cycling

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 professional riders of TT/I and TT/II league of teams (now UCI ProTeams and UCI Professional Continental Teams, respectively).

Career highlights

Grand Tours overall classification results timeline

Grand Tour 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986
Pink jersey Giro 15 7 - 4 2 3 2 WD 21 8 WD 1 2 3
Yellow jersey Tour - - 7 - - - - - - - - - - -
red jersey Vuelta - - - - - - - - - - - 10 - -

WD = Withdrew

See also

External links

References

  1. ↑ (Italian) Dizionario d'ortografia e di pronunzia
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Roger De Vlaeminck		 Winner of Paris–Roubaix
1978, 1979, 1980 		Succeeded by
Bernard Hinault
UCI Road World Champions – Men's road race
  • 1915–18 World War I
  • 1941–45 World War II
*This Giro was contested solely by teams, with no individual classification
Authority control
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