Gilberto Simoni

Simoni (right) with Saunier Duval-Prodir team manager Mauro Gianetti (left).
Personal information
Full name	Gilberto Simoni
Nickname	Gibo
Date of birth	August 25, 1971 (1971-08-25) (age 35)
Country	Italy
Height	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Weight	62 kg (136 lb)
Team information
Current team	Saunier Duval-Prodir
Discipline	Road
Role	Rider
Rider type	All-rounder
Professional team(s)
1994 1995-1996 1997 1998 1999 2000-2001 2002-2004 2005 2006	Jolly Componibili Aki MG Maglificio Cantina Tollo Ballan Lampre Saeco Lampre-Caffita Saunier Duval-Prodir
Major wins
Giro d'Italia (2001, 2003), 8 stages Tour de France, 1 stage Vuelta a España, 2 stages
Infobox last updated on:
May 30, 2007

Gilberto Simoni (born August 25, 1971, Palù di Giovo, province of Trento) is an Italian professional road bicycle racer. He is a two-times winner of the Giro d'Italia cycling race (2001 and 2003 editions). Simoni is a native of Palu di Giovo, and is a climbing specialist. For the 2006 season he rides for Saunier Duval-Prodir. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1960x2336, 333 KB) Summary Gilberto Simoni and Mauro Gianetti of Saunier Duval-Prodir. ... Saunier Duval-Prodir Team is a Spanish road bicycle racing team, which participate in the 2005 UCI ProTour. ... Mauro Gianetti is currently a directeur sportif and was a former rider in professional road bicycle racing from Switzerland. ... August 25 is the 237th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (238th in leap years), with 128 days remaining. ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Italy. ... The or meter (see spelling differences) is a measure of length. ... A foot (plural: feet or foot;[1] symbol or abbreviation: ft or, sometimes, ′ – a prime) is a unit of length, in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... An inch (plural: inches; symbol or abbreviation: in or, sometimes, ″ - a double prime) is the name of a unit of length in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... The U.S. National Prototype Kilogram, which currently serves as the primary standard for measuring mass in the U.S. It was assigned to the United States in 1889 and is periodically recertified and traceable to the primary international standard, The Kilogram, held at the Bureau International des Poids et... The pound (abbreviations: lb or, sometimes in the United States, #) is a unit of mass in a number of different systems, including various systems of units of mass that formed part of English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... May 30 is the 150th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (151st in leap years). ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... August 25 is the 237th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (238th in leap years), with 128 days remaining. ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday. ... Giovo is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Trento in the Italian region Trentino-South Tyrol, located about 10 km northeast of Trento. ... Trento (Italian: Provincia autonoma di Trento, German: Autonome Provinz Trient) is an autonomous province in the autonomous Trentino-South Tyrol region of Italy. ... Road bicycle racing is a popular bicycle racing sport held on the road (following the geography of the area), using racing bicycles. ... The Giro dItalia, also simply known as the Giro, is a long distance road bicycle racing stage race for professional cyclists held over three weeks in May or early June in and around Italy. ... The 84th Giro dItalia (long-distance professional bicycle race) was held in 2001 from 19 May to 10 June. ... The 86th Giro dItalia was held in 2003 from May 10 to June 1. ... A climbing specialist is a road bicycle racer who can ride especially well on highly inclined roads, such as those found among hills or mountains. ... Saunier Duval-Prodir Team is a Spanish road bicycle racing team, which participate in the 2005 UCI ProTour. ...

Early career

Simoni started cycling in the amateur ranks having set his sights on someday winning the Giro d'Italia. In 1993 he won the Baby Giro d'Italia (Giro d'Italia for amateurs) and the amateur Italian Road Cycling Championship.

He turned professional in 1994 with the Jolly Componibili team. He had a difficult first year during which his father and then his brother died. It was only three years later that he won his first professional race, a stage of the Giro del Trentino, while riding for the M&G Technogym team of sports director Giancarlo Ferretti. The Giro del Trentino (English: Tour of Trentino) is an Italian cycle road race. ... Giancarlo Ferretti wearing team Fassa Bortolo attire. ...

Another difficult spell plagued him while riding for the Cantina Tollo team in 1998 in which he had very poor results. He briefly quit cycling and worked as a bicycle mechanic for 1984 Giro d'Italia winner Francesco Moser. However, Simoni joined the Ballan team in 1999 and finished third on the general classification of that year's Giro d'Italia. It was also that edition of the race that saw Marco Pantani get disqualified for allegedly doping. Simoni was criticized that he hadn't earned his placing. He proved his critics wrong by winning a stage in the Tour de Suisse and again finishing on the final podium. This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ... the 1984 Giro dItalia of cycling was held from May 17 to June 10, 1984, consisting of 22 stages. ... Francesco Moser (Born June 19, 1951) was an Italian professional road racing cyclist. ... ballan ... The General Classification (or GC) in bicycle racing is the category that tracks overall times for bicycle riders in multi-stage bicycle races. ... Marco Pantani (January 13, 1970, Cesena – February 14, 2004, Rimini) was an Italian cyclist widely regarded as being one of the best climbers of all times in professional road bicycle racing. ... Doping drugs on display at The Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland In sports, doping refers to the use of performance-enhancing drugs such as anabolic steroids, particularly those that are forbidden by the organizations that regulate competitions. ... The Tour of Switzerland (Tour de Suisse) is a ProTour bicycle race held annually in June. ...

First Giro d'Italia victory

The 2000 season started well for Simoni: he joined the top-ranked Lampre-Dankin team of two-time Giro d'Italia winner Giuseppe Saronni and Simoni finished on the podium of the Giro d'Italia again. He proved his climbing prowess by winning the dramatic Alto de El Angliru stage of the Vuelta a España later that year. Giuseppe Saronni (22 September 1957), also known as Beppe, is a former Italian cyclist. ... The 2000 Giro dItalia was held 13 May through 04 June. ... The Alto de El Angliru (alternative name: La Gamonal) is arguably one of the heaviest climbs in professional Road bicycle racing. ... The Vuelta a España bicycle race is one of the three Grand Tours of Europe and, after the Tour de France and the Giro dItalia, is the third most important road cycling stage race in the world. ...

In the 2001 Giro d'Italia he was the undisputed team leader for the general classification, which he won with a comfortable margin.

Second Giro d'Italia victory

Following his Giro victory Simoni moved to the Saeco team with the goal of repeating his Giro success of the previous year. However, traces of cocaine were found in his blood and he was disqualified despite his protestations of innocence. It was later determined that the cocaine in his blood came from candies that his aunt had bought for him from Peru. Saeco was the name of an Italian road bicycle racing team, sponsored by the company with the same name. ... Cocaine (see also: crack) is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. ...

In 2003, the Saeco team came to the Giro d'Italia with the sole purpose of supporting Simoni. After epic battles with a resurgent Stefano Garzelli, Yaroslav Popovych and Marco Pantani in the high mountains in a hailstorm, Simoni cemented his second Giro d'Italia victory. His pursuit was documented in the film The Quest. Stefano Garzelli (born July 16, 1973, in Varese) is an Italian professional road racing cyclist. ... Yaroslav Popovych is a cyclist with the Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team, and considered by many as a possible successor to Lance Armstrong as team leader. ... Marco Pantani (January 13, 1970, Cesena – February 14, 2004, Rimini) was an Italian cyclist widely regarded as being one of the best climbers of all times in professional road bicycle racing. ... Hailstorm may refer to: a kind of precipitation a digital identity project by Microsoft Categories: | ...

Following his dominant showing in the Giro, he set his aims on the Tour de France and in several interviews challenged the incumbent Lance Armstrong to a battle in the mountains. Unfortunately his performance was lacking, although he was able to gain a stage win. The Tour de France is the worlds best known cycling race, a three week long road race that covers a circuit of most areas around France, and sometimes neighbouring countries. ... Lance Armstrong (born Lance Edward Gunderson on September 18, 1971) is a retired American professional road racing cyclist. ...

Recent news

Simoni failed to defend his title in the 2004 Giro d'Italia with the emergence of his teammate Damiano Cunego. After some public dispute, Simoni reconciled with Cunego and agreed to continue on the same team, which became Lampre-Caffita. In the 2005 Giro d'Italia the team took advantage of the publicity and played up the rivalry between Simoni and Cunego, boasting their strength for the Giro. The early part of the Giro saw Cunego lose significant time in the early mountain stages - later diagnosed with Epstein-Barr viral infection - firmly establishing Simoni as the team leader for the Giro. However, Simoni failed to dislodge Paolo Savoldelli in the last mountain stage, even with an epic performance which saw him and Danilo Di Luca work together to gain time on Savoldelli. Suffering from cramps, he also failed to win that stage. The 87th Giro dItalia was scheduled for May 9 - May 30, 2004 for a total distance of 3435 kilometers. ... Damiano Cunego (born in Cerro Veronese, Verona province, September 19, 1981) is a professional cyclist. ... Lampre-Caffita in an Italian road bicycle racing team created from a fussion of the already existing Saeco and Lampre teams for the 2005 UCI ProTour. ... The 88th Giro dItalia was held in 2005 from May 7 to May 29, running for about 3500 kilometers. ... The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), also called Human herpesvirus 4 (HHV-4), is a virus of the herpes family (which includes Herpes simplex virus and Cytomegalovirus), and one of the most common viruses in humans. ... Paolo Savoldelli (born in Clusone, Province of Bergamo, May 7, 1973) is the Italian road racing cyclist for UCI Pro Tour team Discovery Channel and winner of the 2002 and 2005 Giro dItalia. ... Danilo Di Luca (born January 2, 1976) is an Italian professional road racing cyclist. ...

Simoni was slated to join Giancarlo Ferretti's Sony-Ericsson team, which was supposed to be the continuation of the Fassa Bortolo team. However, it later turned out that Ferretti had fallen victim to a fraud, and the team did not in fact exist. After a strong performance in which he finished second in the Giro di Lombardia (which was won by Cunego in the previous edition), Simoni signed a contract to join Saunier Duval-Prodir. Giancarlo Ferretti wearing team Fassa Bortolo attire. ... 2005 Rund um den Henninger Turm Fassa Bortolo (2000-2005) was a professional road bicycle racing team founded in 2000 and lead by Giancarlo Ferretti. ... The Tour of Lombardy (Italian: Giro di Lombardia) is an Italian cycling race. ... Saunier Duval-Prodir Team is a Spanish road bicycle racing team, which participate in the 2005 UCI ProTour. ...

Simoni is currently embroiled in a minor scandal with fellow Italian Ivan Basso of Team CSC. Simoni alleged that Basso offered him a stage win in the 2006 Giro d'Italia into Aprica five kilometers from the finish after the two cyclists had broken away from the main field. Basso has denied any such offer, and went on to win the stage by 77 seconds. Simoni retracted his accusations several days later. Ivan Basso (born November 26, 1977) is an Italian professional road bicycle racer, most recently with Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team. ... Riders from Team CSC in Danmark Rundt, August 2006. ... The 89th Giro dItalia was held from May 6 to May 28, 2006. ...

In dramatic fashion he won the epic stage 17 to Monte Zoncolan in the 2007 Giro d'Italia. Overview of the stages The 2007 Giro dItalia cycle race takes place from May 12 until June 3, 2007. ...

Mountain bike marathon

On the urging of his frame sponsor, Scott USA, Simoni began competing in mountain bike marathon events during the 2006 off-season for road bicycle racing. He quickly garnered impressive results by winning the Italian National Championship for Mountain Bike Marathon. Marathon mountain bike races, often referred to as cross country marathon (XCM), are a very demanding form of mountain bike races covering at least 40 kilometers usually in mountainous terrain. ...

Mountain bike results

• 1st, 2006  Italy National Mountain Bike Marathon Championship
• 1st, 2006 Rampilonga^[1] (Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, Italy)
• 3rd, 2006 PopoBike (Mexico)^[2]

Image File history File links Flag_of_Italy. ... Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol (Italian: Trentino-Alto Adige, German and Ladin: Trentino-Südtirol) is an autonomous region in northern Italy. ...

Palmares

1999

• Giro d'Italia (3rd overall; stage 5 win, 1 day in leader's jersey)
• Tour de Suisse (3rd overall)
• Giro del Trentino (2nd overall)

2000

• Giro d'Italia (3rd overall; stage 14 win)
• Vuelta a España (stage 16 win)
• Giro dell'Emilia

2001

• Giro d'Italia (1st overall; stage 20 win)
• Vuelta a España (stage 20 win)
• Tour de Suisse (2nd overall)
• Tour de Romandie (stage 4 win)
• Japan Cup

2002

• Giro d'Italia (stage 11 win)
• Giro del Trentino (3rd overall)

2003

• Giro d'Italia (1st overall; 1st points classification; stage 12, 14 and 19 wins)
• Tour de France (stage 14 win)
• Giro del Trentino (1st overall; stage 2 win)
• Giro dell'Appennino

2004

• Giro d'Italia (3rd overall; stage 3 win)
• Giro del Veneto
• Giro del Trentino (3rd overall)

2005

• Paris-Nice (stage 5 win)
• Giro d'Italia (2nd overall)
• Giro dell'Emilia
• Giro dell'Appennino

2006

• Giro del Trentino (stage 2 win)
• Giro d'Italia (3rd overall)

2007

• Giro d'Italia (stage 17 win)