Luigi Malabrocca

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Luigi Malabrocca

Luigi Malabrocca (born June 22, 1920 in Tortona , † October 1, 2006 in Garlasco ) was an Italian cyclist and national champion in cycling .

Athletic career

Malabrocca started as an amateur for the cycling club UCA Cantore Milano . Luigi Malabrocca, known as “Il Cinese di Garlasco” because of his slightly Asian appearance, became known for having “won” the black jersey twice for the last place at the Giro d'Italia . The "duel" with his compatriot Sante Carollo at the Giro d'Italia in 1949 is legendary . Malabrocca was a strong racing driver, but as a water carrier he had little chance of a good placement and tried to be the last because of the rewards that came with winning the jersey. Carollo, on the other hand, was actually a trained bricklayer and a short-term substitute who was an hour behind the first in the overall standings after the first stage. Malabrocca tried to lose as much time as possible by hiding in bars, barns or behind hedges. When he arrived in Monza , however, the jury had already gone home and rated him with the same time as the main peloton, so Carollo kept the black jersey. In 1952, Malabrocca managed to cover the 40 kilometers between Novara and Milan in three hours and 15 minutes. Thereupon the "black jersey" was abolished immediately. Malabrocca still enjoys cult status in Italy as a two-time wearer of the “black jersey”, and there are many anecdotes about the way he tried to waste time during the Giro.

However, Malabrocca, who was a good friend of Fausto Coppi and his water carrier, also had some success: He won the Coppa Carena in 1946, the Paris-Nantes race in 1947 and the Coppa Agostoni in 1948 . From 1950 he also drove successfully cyclo-cross races and was Italian champion in this discipline in 1951 and 1953. In his career as a professional driver, which lasted from 1946 to 1954, he achieved four victories.

Professional

After finishing his cycling career, Luigi Malabrocca opened a bike shop, worked as a fisherman and opened a restaurant. In the 1970s, he lost his voice due to cancer surgery. Towards the end of his life he lived in a hut in the mountains. After his death in January 2007, his house with all his memorabilia burned down.

Trivia

In 2006 the “Memorial Luigi Malabrocca” for mountain bikers was held for the first time in his hometown of Garlasco , as part of the “Zanza Cup”. In the same year, the one-person play “La Maglia Nera” by and with Matteo Caccia was premiered in Italy, which addresses the life of Malabrocca and his rivalry with Carollo. In 2018, the Italian cycling clothing manufacturer Santini offered an entire black jersey collection dedicated to Malabrocca.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Giampiero Petrucci, Carlo Fontanelli: Corse promiscue sotto le bomb . La Biblioteca del Ciclismo. Geo Edizione, Empoli 2000, p. 53 (Italian).
  2. ^ Museo del Ciclismo. Retrieved November 28, 2019 (Italian).
  3. ↑ Luciano Boccaccini, Giovanni Tarello: Annuario Storico Del Ciclismo Italiano . Publialfa Edizion, Milan 1994, p. 232 (Italian).
  4. ↑ produionifuorivia.it ( Memento of the original from July 21, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.produzionifuorivia.it
  5. ↑ Santini: new collection “Maglia Nera Malabrocca”. In: radsport-news.com. Retrieved March 6, 2019 .

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Malabrocca, Luigi
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian cyclist
DATE OF BIRTH June 22, 1920
PLACE OF BIRTH Tortona
DATE OF DEATH October 1, 2006
Place of death Garlasco