Claudio Chiappucci

Claudio Chiappucci in the 1993 Tour de France

Claudio Chiappucci, also on the 1993 tour

Claudio Chiappucci (born February 28, 1963 in Uboldo ) is a former Italian cyclist . He is considered to be one of the best climbers in the first half of the 1990s.

Career

As an amateur he started for the GS Isaltissari club . Chiappucci became a professional in 1985 for the cycling team of the sporting director Sandro Quintarelli, which was called Carrera until 1986 . He stayed there until he retired in 1999.

His breakthrough came in 1990 when he first won the mountain classification of the Giro d'Italia , the Maglia Verde . At the Tour de France 1990 he was part of a four-man breakaway group that was more than 10 minutes ahead of the peloton on the first stage. He took over the overall leader's yellow jersey on the twelfth stage in the Alps and extended his lead as the stage winner of the mountain finish of the 16th stage in Luz Ardiden . He wore the yellow jersey for seven days until he lost it to eventual winner Greg Lemond in the time trial of the penultimate stage and came second in the tour .

Chiappucci could neither win the Giro d'Italia nor the Tour de France in the next few years , but continued to be successful as a specialist on the mountain and in stage races. At the Giro he placed five times in the top five of the overall standings and won the Maglia Verde two more times.

In the Tour de France he was third in 1991 and second in 1992 . He won the mountain classification winner's dotted jersey . His attack on the favorite Miguel Indurain during the 13th stage of the 1992 tour was spectacular , when he attacked 192 kilometers from the finish and was able to save a lead of 1:45 minutes on Indurain at the finish in Sestriere .

He achieved his greatest success in the one-day races in 1991, when he gradually shook off all companions of a long escape at the classic Milan – Sanremo and won the race single-handedly. In 1994 he was runner-up at the World Road Championships in Agrigento .

His aggressive driving style earned Chiappucci two honors as the most combative driver in the Tour de France and the Spanish nickname El diablo (the devil).

During his career, Chiappucci used the expertise of the physician Francesco Conconi , who was accused of using the doping agent EPO on cyclists . Conconi was found 'morally guilty' by a court in Ferrara , but not convicted due to the statute of limitations . The allegation was based on medical records of 33 racing cyclists, including Chiappucci, from the period from 1993 to 1995 with large fluctuations in the hematocrit value , which was considered an indication of EPO use. In 1997 Chiappucci is said to have admitted the EPO intake to investigator Vincenzo Scolastico, but later denied this.