Giovanni Battaglin
Personal information | |
---|---|
Born | Marostica, Italy |
22 July 1951
Team information | |
Current team | Retired |
Discipline | Road |
Role | Rider |
Professional team(s) | |
1973–1977 | Jollj Ceramica |
1978 | Fiorella |
1979–1983 | Inoxpran |
1984 | Carrera Jeans |
Major wins | |
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Infobox last updated on 28 May 2011 |
Giovanni Battaglin (born 22 July 1951) is an Italian professional road racing cyclist. The highlight of his career was his overall win in the 1981 Giro d'Italia. He also won the 1981 Vuelta a España.
Contents
Early years[edit]
Battaglin was born in Marostica, province of Vicenza. Battaglin won the 1972 Amateur Giro d’Italia and turned professional the following year with the Jollj Ceramica team.
Professional career[edit]
The 1973 Giro d'Italia that began in Verviers in Belgium and was Battaglin’s debut in a grand tour. Battaglin immediately showed promise when he finished third on stage four ahead of Eddy Merckx and José Manuel Fuente. By halfway through the race, Battaglin was sitting in second place overall behind Merckx but lost that placing to Felice Gimondi. Still at the age of 21, the neo-pro astonished the cycling world by finishing third in the race.[1] Battaglin would wear the maglia rosa for five days in the 1975 Giro d'Italia as well as several stage wins and wins in smaller stage races. He also won the King of the Mountains jersey in the 1979 Tour de France, even after he received a penalty for testing positive for doping.[2] Battaglin finished third in the 1980 Giro d'Italia.
The following year on the tenth stage mountain time trial of the 1981 Vuelta a España which was on the long climb to Sierra Nevada, Battaglin won the stage and took over the leader’s jersey. The only threat to Battaglin’s lead was Pedro Muñoz.[3] Battaglin and his Inoxpran team withstood the challenge from the Spanish and brought Battaglin to his first grand tour victory.[4] Three days later after Battalin’s triumph in Spain on May 13, 1981, he began the 1981 Giro d'Italia. On the 19th stage toward the end of the race, Battaglin won the stage to Mareo and took the maglia rosa from Silvano Contini. He withstood the final test – the final stage’s individual time trial to win the race in Verona ahead of Tommy Prim. Battaglin was only the second rider after Eddy Merckx to win the Vuelta-Giro double. In the space of one and a half months, Battaglin won two of the grand tours.
Retirement[edit]
Battaglin retired after the 1984 season. In 1982 Battaglin started a bicycle manufacturing business with the same name, which he runs from Marostica, Italy. In 2002 the company sponsored the Ceramiche Panaria Fiordo squad.[5][6][7]
Palmarès[edit]
- 1971
- Gran Premio Palio del Recioto
- 1972
- Giro d'Italia (amateurs)
- 1973
- Giro del Lazio
- 1974
- Giro dell'Appennino
- Morrovalle
- 1975
- 2 stages in the Giro d'Italia
- 1 stage in the Volta a Catalunya
- Giro di Puglia (con 1 vittoria di tappa)
- Coppa Sabatini
- 1976
- 1 stage in the Tour de France
- 1977
- Carpineti
- Gran Premio di Montelupo
- 1978
- Coppa Bernocchi
- Acicatena
- 3 stages in the Tour de Suisse
- 1979
- Tour of the Basque Country (and 2 stage victories)
- Giro della Provincia di Reggio Calabria
- 1 stage in the Tour de Suisse
- Coppa Agostoni
- Coppa Placci
- Trofeo Matteotti
- Trofeo Pantalica
- Col San Martino
- 1980
- 1 stage in the Giro d'Italia
- Milano–Torino
- Coppa Placci
- Zambana di Trento
- Milano–Vignola
- 1981
- 1 stage and overall classification in the Giro d'Italia
- 1 stage and overall classification in the Vuelta a España
- 1983
- Lariano
- 1984
- Col San Martino
Grand Tours overall classification results timeline[edit]
Grand Tour | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Giro | 3 | 6 | 18 | WD | 46 | WD | - | 3 | 1 | - | WD | 50 |
Tour | - | - | WD | WD | - | - | 6 | - | - | WD | - | WD |
Vuelta | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | - |
WD = Withdrew
References[edit]
- ^ "Interview: Giovanni Battaglin". Cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 2008-01-19.
- ^ "Battaglin positivo". El Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 16 July 1979. p. 32. Retrieved 8 September 2010.
- ^ "1981 General Information". La Vuelta.com. Retrieved 2008-01-19.
- ^ "Battaglin flies among the nest of eagles". Bellati sport.com. Retrieved 2008-01-19.
- ^ Tim Maloney. "Interview: Giovanni Battaglin". CyclingNews. Retrieved 2012-06-06.
Today, Battaglin runs his eponymous bike company in Marostica, Italy. (www.Battaglin.com), sponsoring the Ceramiche Panaria-Fiordo squad with Battaglin bikes
- ^ Cycling Plus (26 Aug 2009). "Battaglin Stealth review". BikeRadar. Retrieved 2012-06-06.
- ^ Warren Rossiter (20 Sep 2011). "Battaglin C12 Plus review". BikeRadar. Retrieved 2012-06-06.
External links[edit]
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- 1951 births
- Living people
- Doping cases in cycling
- Italian sportspeople in doping cases
- People from Marostica
- Italian male cyclists
- Italian Tour de France stage winners
- Giro d'Italia winners
- Italian Giro d'Italia stage winners
- Vuelta a España winners
- Italian Vuelta a España stage winners
- Tour de Suisse stage winners
- Sportspeople from Veneto
- Vuelta a España cyclists
- Tour de France cyclists
- Giro d'Italia cyclists