Gianni Bugno

Gianni Bugno

Gianni Bugno (born February 14, 1964 in Brugg , Switzerland ) is a former Italian racing cyclist who was one of the strongest all-rounders in road cycling in the first half of the 1990s . After retiring, he became President of the Cyclistes Professionnels Associés .

Career as a cyclist

As an amateur, Bugno was able to win an Italian championship jersey when he won the points race in the juniors' championships in 1982 . He belonged to the Ciclisti Monzesi association. Bugno turned pro in 1985 . For a long time, his weakness in descents stood in the way of greater success. After an inner ear blockage was diagnosed as the cause of balance disorders and treated with ultrasound, he improved on the descents. It is also said that he listened to Mozart during training descents in order to conquer his fear.

He celebrated his breakthrough in 1990, when he first won the spring classic Milan-San Remo , then celebrated a victory at the Giro d'Italia with leadership from the first to the last stage and finally won the overall cycling World Cup . This makes Bugno the last driver to this day who was able to dominate both one of the major national tours and the classic one-day races in the same year .

In 1991 and 1992 Bugno won the road cycling world championship twice in a row , each in the sprint ahead of Miguel Induráin and Laurent Jalabert .

From 1991, however, Bugno's main focus was on the Tour de France . In 1990 he had already finished 7th there and won two stages (including a mountain stage up to L'Alpe d'Huez ). In 1991 Bugno finished second, three and a half minutes behind the new star, the almost unbeatable Miguel Induráin , but at least won again at L'Alpe d'Huez. In 1992 Bugno was third again, but had its strongest phase in stage races behind him.

His last great success was his victory at the Tour of Flanders in 1994. After that, Bugno, despite his great success, increasingly took on a role as a water carrier again, until he won a final stage in the Vuelta a España in 1998 at the end of his career .

doping

In 1994 Bugno was tested positive for caffeine at the Coppa Agostinho and was banned for three months because of doping. In 1999 he was sentenced to six months suspended prison sentence for buying and possessing amphetamines .

After the active career

After his career as a cyclist, Bugno trained as a helicopter pilot . In this role he is u. a. worked for the Italian national television RAI for cycling broadcasts. At the end of 2009, he was elected President of the Cyclistes Professionnels Associés . In 2010 he ran unsuccessfully for the political left in a regional election.

Awards

• Italy's Sportsman of the Year ( La Gazzetta dello Sport ): 1990, 1991

Individual evidence

1. ↑ L'Unità . Nuova Iniziativa Editoriale SpA, Rome November 14, 1983, p. 12 (Italian).
2. ↑ ^{a b} Procycling (German edition) October 2013, p. 60: Gianni Bugno - Das Paradoxon
3. ↑ Ralf Meutgens : Doping in cycling , Bielefeld 2007, p. 265ff. ISBN 978-3-7688-5245-6
4. ↑ Gianni Bugno reelected as president of the Association of Professional Cyclists - VeloNews.com. In: Velonews. November 30, 2014, accessed May 6, 2015 . 

Web links

• Gianni Bugno in the Radsportseiten.net database
• Gianni Bugno in the Tour de France database(French / English )