Guido Carlesi is dead: he won seven stages at the Giro, was 2nd at the 1961 Tour behind Anquetil

They called him Coppinobut although the comparison was clearly blasphemous, Guido Carlesi he kept the flag of Italian cycling high in the years that followed the retirement and death of the Great Fausto. Dell’Airone had, yes, an extraordinary physical resemblance and a very similar posture on a bicycle. Fast distance runner, great downhill skier, but also climber: a complete one, Carlesi, who passed away at the age of 87, in Pisa. He was born in San Sisto al Pino. His professional debut in 1956 with Nivea-Fuchs Fiorenzo Magnithe first Italian professional team to be sponsored by a company outside the world of cycling. And he didn’t take long to show off himself with two successes, the Coppa Sais and the very tough Tour of the Apuan Alps. The real explosion came two years later, in the spring, with a victory in the Vuelta and one in the <a href="https://www.world-today-news.com/turns-off-corona-alarm-after-tour-de-france-stage/" title="Turns off corona alarm after Tour de France stage: -“>Giro d’Italia, in the Cattolica stage.

It Tour 1961

His golden year was 1961: he won two stages (in Juan les Pins and Toulouse) and came second in the Tour de France behind the sun Jacques Anquetil and in front, just by 2”, to Charly Gaul, two absolute legends. “I was in great shape, in ideal conditions to perform well” he told Gino Sala years later, “I won in two stages, one right in front of Jacques, but when it comes down to it I had to bow down in front of an unbeatable opponent. Of course, that Tour is still fresh in my thoughts.” That year he had finished in 5th place at the Giro. In all, Carlesi achieved around thirty successes in his career, including 7 stages at the Giro, 2 at the Tour and one at the Vuelta: he is one of just over 100 riders ever to have won at least one stage in all three Grands Turns. In 1965 he moved to the team with which he would end his career: Filotex. It was an excellent year, as a companion to the emerging Franco Bitossi, who as an opponent he had beaten in a stage of the 1963 Giro, in Lumezzane. From 1959 to 1963, he was in the top 10 of the Giro d’Italia five times in a row. In 1962 he finished 10th in the only Paris-Roubaix race in his career.