Damiano Cunego (born 19 September 1981) is an Italian former professional

road racing cyclist Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The two most common ...

, who rode professionally between 2002 and 2018 for the , and teams. Cunego's biggest wins were the 2004 Giro d'Italia, the 2008 Amstel Gold Race, and the

Giro di Lombardia The Giro di Lombardia ( en, Tour of Lombardy), officially ''Il Lombardia'', is a cycling race in Lombardy, Italy. It is traditionally the last of the five 'Monuments' of the season, considered to be one of the most prestigious one-day events in cy ...

in 2004, 2007 and 2008. He finished second in the

UCI Road World Championships The UCI Road World Championships are the annual world championships for bicycle road racing organized by the (UCI). The UCI Road World Championships consist of events for road race and individual time trial, and a mixed team relay. Events ...

in 2008 and in the 2008 UCI ProTour. Primarily a climber, he improved his time-trialing and was characterized by great sprinting ability, unusual for a climber.

Career

Saeco–Longoni Sport (2002–04)

Born in

Cerro Veronese Cerro Veronese ( cim, kame Cire; vec, El Sèro) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Verona in the Italy, Italian region Veneto, located about west of Venice and about north of Verona. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of ...

Veneto Veneto (, ; vec, Vèneto ) or Venetia is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about five million, ranking fourth in Italy. The region's capital is Venice while the biggest city is Verona. Veneto was part of the Roman Empire unt ...

, Cunego began cycling as a teenager after being a successful

cross-country Cross country or cross-country may refer to: Places * Cross Country, Baltimore, a neighborhood in northwest Baltimore, Maryland * Cross County Parkway, an east–west parkway in Westchester County, NY * Cross County Shopping Center, a mall in Yo ...

runner. He was discovered by

Giuseppe Martinelli Giuseppe Martinelli (born 11 March 1955) is a retired road bicycle racer from Italy, who was a professional rider from 1977 to 1985. He represented his native country at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where he won silver ...

who also worked closely with

Marco Pantani Marco Pantani (; 13 January 1970 – 14 February 2004) was an Italian road racing cyclist, widely regarded as the greatest climbing specialist in the history of the sport by measures of his legacy, credits from other riders, and records. He rec ...

. Cunego turned professional in 2002 at the age of 20 with , winning the

Giro d'Oro The Giro d'Oro was an early season road bicycle race held annually in Trentino, Italy. The race was organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introdu ...

and the Giro Medio Brenta in his first season. In 2003 he won the seventh stage and the overall classification of the

Tour of Qinghai Lake The Tour of Qinghai Lake is an annual professional road bicycle racing stage race held in the Qinghai province of China since 2002, named after Qinghai Lake. The race is sanctioned by the International Cycling Union (UCI) as a 2.HC race as part ...

. He came to prominence in May 2004, winning the Giro d'Italia at the age of 22 with . Cunego's strength came as a blow to his captain

Gilberto Simoni Gilberto Simoni (born 25 August 1971 in Palù di Giovo, Trentino) is an Italian former professional road bicycle racer, most recently for . Simoni is twice winner of the Giro d'Italia cycling race (2001 and 2003 editions). Simoni might have wo ...

; relations between the two during the race were strained when Cunego sprinted away from Simoni to win the 18th stage after Simoni's solo breakaway. ''

La Gazzetta dello Sport ''La Gazzetta dello Sport'' (; "The Sports Gazette") is an Italian daily newspaper dedicated to coverage of various sports. Founded in 1896, it is the most widely read daily newspaper of any kind in Italy (in 2018). History and profile ''La ...

'' reported that as Simoni passed by Cunego, who was surrounded by journalists, Simoni pointed his finger at Cunego and angrily said ''"You're a bastard...you are really stupid."'' During 2004 he won the

in October, his 13th victory of the season. He finished the season number one in the

UCI Road World Cup The UCI Road World Cup was a season-long road cycling competition held from 1989 until 2004 and comprising ten one-day events. History The competition was inaugurated in 1989, and replaced the Super Prestige Pernod International. In the first ...

, the youngest rider to achieve it, aged 23. He was also the last rider ranked first on the world ranking, because from 2005 the ranking was replaced by the

UCI ProTour The UCI ProTour was a series of road bicycle races in Europe, Australia and Canada organised by the UCI (International Cycling Union). Created by Hein Verbruggen, former president of the UCI, it comprises a number of 'ProTour' cycling teams, e ...

Lampre (2005–14)

In the 2005 Giro d'Italia, Simoni and Cunego were co-captains of , but Cunego posed no threat to Simoni, as he faltered during the first climb in the Dolomites, losing six minutes in the day and any prospect of winning. At the time his team attributed his loss to a "psychological crisis" and Cunego said "a great weight has been lifted from me by this defeat." After the race, he was found to have

Epstein–Barr virus The Epstein–Barr virus (EBV), formally called ''Human gammaherpesvirus 4'', is one of the nine known human herpesvirus types in the herpes family, and is one of the most common viruses in humans. EBV is a double-stranded DNA virus. It is b ...

, and he did not enter the

2005 Tour de France The 2005 Tour de France was the 92nd edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It took place between 2–24 July, with 21 stages covering a distance . It has no overall winner—although American cyclist Lance Armstrong origin ...

. In 2006, Cunego finished third in

Liège–Bastogne–Liège Liège–Bastogne–Liège, also known as ''La Doyenne'' ("The Old Lady"), is a one-day classic cycling race in Belgium.Cycling Weekly, UK, 13 March 1993 First run in 1892, it is the oldest of the five ''Monuments'' of the European professional r ...

losing to

Alejandro Valverde Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (born 25 April 1980) is a Spanish former professional road racing cyclist, who last rode for UCI WorldTeam . Valverde's biggest wins have been the Vuelta a España in 2009, Critérium du Dauphiné in 2008 and 2009 ...

and

Paolo Bettini Paolo Bettini (born 1 April 1974 in Cecina, Tuscany, Cecina, Province of Livorno, Livorno, Tuscany) is an Italian former champion road racing cyclist, and the former coach of the Italian national cycling team. Considered the best classic cycle ra ...

in a sprint finish. In the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

Cunego was the winner of the

young rider classification Young rider classification (french: classement général des jeunes) is a cycling jersey competition in multi-day stage race events, such as the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and many others, which awards the current leader by overall time for rid ...

; he finished 2nd on stage 15 to

Alpe d'Huez L'Alpe d'Huez () is a ski resort in southeastern France at . It is a mountain pasture in the Central French Western Alps, in the commune of Huez, which is part of the department of Isère in the region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. It is part of th ...

, after losing to

Fränk Schleck Fränk René Schleck (born 15 April 1980) is a Luxembourgish former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2003 and 2016, for and . Schleck is the older brother of Andy, winner of the 2010 Tour de France. Their father, ...

, who broke away in the final . He also finished 3rd on stage 17, on the road to

Morzine Morzine (; frp, Morzena) is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of south-eastern France. A traditional market town in the heart of the Portes du Soleil, Morzine is dominated by chalets spread across a rive ...

. In 2007 Cunego again won the

Giro del Trentino The Tour of the Alps is an annual professional cycling stage race in Italy and Austria. First held in 1962, it was named Giro del Trentino ( en, Tour of Trentino) until 2016, and run over four stages in the Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol region o ...

and his second

. In 2008 he won the

Klasika Primavera The Klasika Primavera ( en, Spring classic) is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in April in Amorebieta, Spain. Since 2005, the race is organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road ...

and the

Amstel Gold Race The Amstel Gold Race is an annual one-day classic road cycling race held in the province of Limburg, Netherlands. It traditionally marks the turning point of the spring classics, with the climbers and stage racers replacing the cobbled classics r ...

, with two powerful sprints against Valverde and Schleck, with victory in the latter propelling him to the top of the UCI Pro Tour rankings, as he also went on to finish second in the

. He was widely tipped to be victorious in the

, but he struggled and eventually dropped out before the finish. By the end of the year Cunego conquered for the third time at the

and then he ended the season with victory in the

Japan Cup The is one of the most prestigious horse races in Japan. It is contested on the last Sunday of November, post time of 15:40 at Tokyo Racecourse in Fuchu, Tokyo at a distance of 2400 meters (about miles) run under weight for age conditions with ...

, confirming himself as one of the best Classics specialists in the world. In 2009 he won the

Settimana Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali The Settimana Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali ( en, International Week of Coppi and Bartali), also known as Coppi e Bartali, is an Italian cycle road race. It is run typically in late March over five days in the Emilia-Romagna region of Ital ...

with victories in two stages; later he won two mountain stages at

Vuelta a España The Vuelta a España (; en, Tour of Spain) is an annual multi-stage bicycle race primarily held in Spain, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. Inspired by the success of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia, the r ...

, which made him one of the favourites for the road race at the

. He ultimately finished that race in eighth position. In July 2013, he was one of 27 former riders and officials linked to the team indicted for doping in an Italian court, with a hearing set for 10 December 2013. In early 2014 however, details emerged that indicated that Cunego might have been one of few Lampre riders to refuse treatment by Spanish doctor José Ibarguren Taus, who was linked to doping practices.

Nippo–Vini Fantini (2015–18)

In October 2014, it was announced that Cunego was to leave to ride with in 2015.

Post-career

In June 2020, Cunego was hospitalised due to

ventriculitis Ventriculitis is the inflammation of the ventricles in the brain. The ventricles are responsible for containing and circulating cerebrospinal fluid throughout the brain. Ventriculitis is caused by infection of the ventricles, leading to swelling ...

, an infection of the cerebral ventricle.

Major results

;1998 : 1st Overall

Giro della Lunigiana Giro della Lunigiana is a four-day road bicycle race for junior men (age 17 and 18) in the historical territory Lunigiana (currently the provinces of La Spezia and Massa Carrara), Italy. The race, class 2.1 MJ on the UCI calendar, counts as a big ...

;1999 : 1st Jersey rainbow

Road race, UCI Junior Road World Championships : 2nd Road race, National Junior Road Championships ;2000 : 3rd

Giro del Belvedere The Giro del Belvedere is a professional cycling race held annually in the Treviso province, Italy. It has been part of the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport ...

: 8th

Gran Premio Palio del Recioto The Gran Premio Palio del Recioto is a professional one day cycling race held annually in Italy. It is part of UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2005 by the Unio ...

;2001 : 2nd

;2002 : 1st

: 1st

Giro del Medio Brenta The Giro del Medio Brenta is a professional one day cycling race held annually in Veneto, Italy. It has been part of the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2005 b ...

;2003 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall

::1st Stage 7 : 4th Overall

Brixia Tour The Brixia Tour was an Italian cycle road race held annually in the province of Brescia, Lombardy. Since 2005, the race has been organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing ...

: 4th

Giro dell'Appennino The Giro dell'Appennino is a semi classic European bicycle race held in the Apennine Mountains, Italy. Since 2005, the race has been organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. Famous riders like Fausto Coppi, Francesco Moser, Felice ...

: 6th

;2004 : 1st Jersey pink

Overall Overalls, also called bib-and-brace overalls or dungarees, are a type of garment usually used as protective clothing when working. The garments are commonly referred to as a "pair of overalls" by analogy with "pair of trousers". Overalls were ...

Giro d'Italia ::1st Stages 2, 7, 16 & 18 : 1st Jersey red

Overall

::1st Stages 1 & 2 : 1st

: 1st

GP Industria & Artigianato di Larciano The GP Industria & Artigianato di Larciano is a road bicycle race held annually in Larciano, Italy. After 2005, the race was organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing Road ...

: 1st

Gran Premio Nobili Rubinetterie The Gran Premio Nobili Rubinetterie was a single-day road bicycle race held annually in Arona, Italy between 1997 and 2015. It was held primarily as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle ra ...

: 1st Gran Premio Fred Mengoni : 1st

Memorial Marco Pantani The Memorial Marco Pantani is a professional road bicycle race held annually in Emilia-Romagna, Italy. History The race has been organized since 2004 and serves as a memory of Marco Pantani. The race starts in Cesenatico, Pantani's hometown, and ...

: 2nd

: 4th

Giro del Veneto The Giro del Veneto is a classic cycle races, semi classic European Road bicycle racing, bicycle race held in the region of Veneto, Italy. The race is a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. In 2012 the race merged with another Italian classic, Coppa ...

: 6th

: 9th Road race,

: 9th

Giro di Toscana The Giro di Toscana is a road bicycle race held annually in Tuscany, Italy. From 2005 to 2014, the race has been organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. The race was not held in 2015. On 4 April 2016 it was announced that the race will ...

;2005 : 1st

: 1st

Trofeo Melinda Trofeo Melinda was a single-day road bicycle race held annually in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, Italy. After 2005, the race was organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. It was created after the disappearance of Giro dell'Umbria, held be ...

: 1st

: 2nd Overall

Tour de Romandie The Tour de Romandie is a stage race which is part of the UCI World Tour. It runs through the Romandie region, or French-speaking part of Switzerland. The competition began in 1947, to coincide with the 50-year anniversary of Swiss Cycling. I ...

::1st Stage 3 : 2nd

: 3rd Overall

Vuelta a Murcia The Vuelta Ciclista a Murcia ( en, Tour of Murcia) is a road bicycle race held in and around Murcia, Spain. The first four editions were reserved to amateurs. Originally the race was held in early March and consisted of five stages. However, due ...

: 3rd Overall

: 3rd

Tre Valli Varesine The Tre Valli Varesine is a semi classic European bicycle race held in Varese, Italy. Since 2005, the race has been organised as a 1.HC event on the UCI Europe Tour. It is usually the first and most important race of Trittico Lombardo, which c ...

: 5th Overall

: 7th

: 8th

Gran Premio Città di Camaiore The Gran Premio Città di Camaiore was a road bicycle race held in Camaiore, Tuscany, Italy. Since 2005, the race has been organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitio ...

: 9th Overall

Tour of the Basque Country The Tour of the Basque Country (Officially: ''Itzulia Basque Country'', es, Vuelta al País Vasco, links=no, eu, Euskal Herriko Itzulia) is an annual road bicycle racing, road cycling stage race held in the Basque Country (autonomous community) ...

: 9th

Giro dell'Emilia The Giro dell'Emilia is a late season road bicycle race held annually in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. Since 2005, the race has been organised as a 1.HC event on the UCI Europe Tour, and since 2020 it's part of the UCI ProSeries calendar. The ...

;2006 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall

::1st Stage 3 : 1st Jersey red

Overall

::1st Stage 2 : 1st

: 1st

Young rider classification Young rider classification (french: classement général des jeunes) is a cycling jersey competition in multi-day stage race events, such as the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and many others, which awards the current leader by overall time for rid ...

: 2nd

Giro del Lazio The Giro del Lazio is a semi classic European bicycle race held in the region of Lazio, Italy. From 2005 to 2008, the race has been organised as a 1.HC event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing ...

: 2nd

: 3rd

: 4th Overall Giro d'Italia : 8th Overall

: 8th

Clásica de Almería The Clásica de Almería ( en, Classic of Almería) is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in February or March in Almería, Spain, starting and finishing in Almería itself. Established in 1986, the race was run as an amateur event in i ...

;2007 : 1st Jersey red

Overall

::1st Stages 1 & 2 : 1st

: 1st

Gran Premio Bruno Beghelli The Gran Premio Bruno Beghelli (also known as GP Beghelli) is a late season men's road bicycle race held annually in Monteveglio, near the city of Bologna, Italy. From 2005 to 2013, the race has been organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe T ...

: 1st Stage 4

Deutschland Tour The Deutschland Tour (English: ''Tour of Germany'' and sometimes ''Deutschland-Rundfahrt'' in German) is the most important multi-stage road bicycle race in Germany. Initially the race was held in May/June, but from 2005 until 2008 it was moved to ...

: 4th Overall

: 5th Overall Giro d'Italia : 5th Overall

Tour de Suisse The Tour de Suisse ( en, Tour of Switzerland) is an annual road cycling stage race. Raced over eight days, the event covers two weekends in June, and along with the Critérium du Dauphiné, it is considered a proving ground for the Tour de France ...

: 5th

: 7th Overall

Critérium International The Critérium International was a two-day bicycle stage race held in France every spring from 1932 until 2016, typically the last weekend of March. It was formerly known as the Critérium National de la Route, first run in 1932. For many years ...

: 7th

: 9th Overall

;2008 : 1st

: 1st

: 2nd

Road race,

: 2nd

: 3rd Overall

::1st Stage 5 : 3rd

La Flèche Wallonne La Flèche Wallonne (, French for "The Walloon Arrow") is a men's professional cycle road race held in April each year in Wallonia, Belgium. The first of two Belgian Ardennes classics, La Flèche Wallonne is today normally held mid-week betw ...

: 3rd

: 4th Overall

: 6th

: 10th Overall

;2009 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall

::1st Stages 2 & 3 :

::1st Stages 8 & 14 : 2nd Road race, National Road Championships : 3rd

: 5th Overall

: 5th

: 6th Overall

: 6th

: 7th

: 8th Road race,

: 9th

;2010 : 5th

: 5th

: 6th

: 10th

Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec The Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec is a one-day professional bicycle road race held in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. Its first edition was on September 10, 2010, as the penultimate event in the 2010 UCI ProTour. The Grand Prix Cycliste de Québ ...

;2011 : 1st

: 1st Stage 2

: 2nd Overall

: 3rd Overall

Giro di Sardegna Giro di Sardegna (Tour of Sardinia) was a stage road bicycle race held on the island of Sardinia, an Italian region. It was rated 2.1 on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing Road bicycle racing i ...

::1st Stage 2 : 3rd Montepaschi Strade Bianche : 4th

: 6th Overall

: 8th Overall

Tirreno–Adriatico Tirreno–Adriatico, nicknamed the "Race of the Two Seas", is an elite road cycling stage race in Italy, run between the Tyrrhenian and Adriatic coasts. Traditionally held in the early part of the season, it is considered to be an important prep ...

;2012 : 2nd Overall

::1st Stage 2 : 2nd

Gran Premio di Lugano The Gran Premio di Lugano ( en, Grand Prix of Lugano) is a road bicycle race held annually in Lugano, Switzerland. Prior to 1981 it was held as an individual time trial but in recent years it has been organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe ...

: 4th Overall

: 6th Overall Giro d'Italia : 6th Overall

Volta a Catalunya The Volta a Catalunya (; en, Tour of Catalonia, es, Vuelta a Cataluña, link=no) is a road bicycle race held annually in Catalonia, Spain. It is one of three World Tour stage races in Spain, together with the Vuelta a España and the Tour of th ...

;2013 : 1st Jersey green

Mountains classification,

: 2nd Overall

::1st

Points classification ::1st Stage 3 : 3rd

;2014 : 4th

: 4th

Strade Bianche The Strade Bianche is a road bicycle race in Tuscany, Central Italy, starting and finishing in Siena. First held in 2007, it is raced annually on the first or second Saturday of March. The name ''Strade Bianche'' (Italian for ''White Roads'') st ...

;2015 : 3rd

: 4th

: 5th Overall

: 6th

Milano–Torino Milano–Torino is a semi classic European single day cycling race, between the northern Italian cities of Milan and Turin over a distance of 199 kilometres. The event was first run in 1876 making it the oldest classic race in the world. The ev ...

: 8th

: 9th

Volta Limburg Classic Volta Limburg Classic is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in late March or early April in Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg, Netherlands. Since 2005, the race is organized as a UCI race classifications, 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. P ...

: 10th

;2016 : 6th

: Giro d'Italia ::Held Jersey blue

after Stages 4–6 & 10–19 ;2017 : 7th Overall

::1st Stage 6

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

Classics results timeline

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cunego, Damiano 1981 births Living people Cyclists from the Province of Verona Italian male cyclists Giro d'Italia winners Italian Giro d'Italia stage winners Italian Vuelta a España stage winners UCI Road World Rankings winners