Eros Poli (born 6 August 1963 in

Isola della Scala Isola della Scala is a ''comune'' (municipality) of c. 10,000 inhabitants in the Province of Verona in the Italian region of Veneto, located about west of Venice and about southeast of Verona. Isola della Scala borders the following municipalit ...

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 ...

) is an Italian former professional

racing cyclist Cycle sport is Competition, competitive physical activity using bicycles. There are several categories of bicycle racing including road bicycle racing, cyclo-cross, mountain bike racing, track cycling, BMX, and cycle speedway. Non-racing ...

of the 1990s, notably employed as

Mario Cipollini Mario Cipollini (; born 22 March 1967), often abbreviated to "Cipo", is a retired Italian professional road cyclist most noted for his sprinting ability, the longevity of his dominance (his first pro win came in 1988, his last in 2005; 170 p ...

's lead-out man in bunch sprints.

Biography

Poli won the gold medal in the

Team Time Trial A team time trial (TTT) is a road bicycle race in which teams of cyclists race against the clock (see individual time trial for a more detailed description of ITT events). The winning team in a TTT is determined by the comparing the times of ( ...

at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, together with

Claudio Vandelli Claudio Vandelli is an Italian cyclist. He won the gold medal in Men's team time trial at the 1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an internationa ...

Marcello Bartalini Marcello Bartalini (born 12 March 1962) is an Italian cyclist. He won the gold medal in Men's team time trial in the 1984 Summer Olympics along with teammates Marco Giovannetti, Eros Poli, and Claudio Vandelli. In 1985, along with Poli, Vandel ...

and

Marco Giovannetti Marco Giovannetti (born 4 April 1962) is an Italian former professional road bicycle racer and Olympic gold medalist who won the Vuelta a España in 1990. He has also won stages at the Tour de Suisse and the Giro d'Italia. Giovannetti was bor ...

. He also rode at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

. Following Cipollini's abandonment of the 1994 Tour de France, Poli won the

Montpellier Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...

Carpentras Carpentras (, formerly ; Provençal Occitan: ''Carpentràs'' in classical norm or ''Carpentras'' in Mistralian norm; la, Carpentoracte) is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. ...

stage (the 15th) which featured an ascent of

Mont Ventoux Mont Ventoux (; oc, Ventor, label= Provençal ) is a mountain in the Provence region of southern France, located some northeast of Carpentras, Vaucluse. On the north side, the mountain borders the department of Drôme. At , it is the highest ...

. Poli calculated that if he broke away from the peloton by a sufficient margin on the flat run to the base of the climb of the Mont Ventoux, he would reach the summit in front in spite of his relatively poor climbing speed due to his heavy 197 cm frame. In the event, his gap of some 20 minutes was nearly closed, but he crested the climb in front and was not caught by the chasing pack on the run down to the finish of the stage in

. In that Tour, Poli won the

Combativity award The combativity award is a prize given in road bicycle racing to a stage's or the overall race's most aggressive rider. References {{cycling-stub Cycling jerseys ...

. Poli rode mainly in the days before cycle helmets were compulsory in professional racing, and normally wore a

casquette A casquette () is a peaked cotton cap traditionally worn by road cyclists. With the introduction of compulsory cycle helmets for massed-start racing, casquettes have become less common, but most professional race outfits still have them produced ...

from which he cut out the top part, leaving just the elasticated headband and the peak to shade his eyes from the sun. He was praised for his calculated cycling style and called the "bus driver", by cyclists such

Chris Boardman Christopher Miles Boardman, (born 26 August 1968) is a British former racing cyclist. A time trial and prologue specialist, Boardman won the inaugural men's World time trial championship in 1994, won the individual pursuit gold medal at the 1 ...

, for his ability to lead the gruppetto through tough stages, ensuring they all reached the cut-off time.Ward, T. (2018, Summer). Lead out First person: In praise of... the gruppetto. ''Cyclist (The Thrill of the Ride)'', (76), 47-48. When asked by ''

Cycle Sport Cycle sport is competitive physical activity using bicycles. There are several categories of bicycle racing including road bicycle racing, cyclo-cross, mountain bike racing, track cycling, BMX, and cycle speedway. Non-racing cycling s ...

'' magazine what he would like his epitaph to be, he said "Here lies Eros Poli, famous for being tall and coming last in the Giro d'Italia".

Major results

;1984 :1st Olympic Games,

;1987 :1st World Amateur Team Time Trial Championship ;1992 :1st Stage 7 Alpine Tour, Australia ;1994 :

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 ...

::1st Stage 15 :: Jersey red number

Combativity classification :: Jersey red number

Combativity award The combativity award is a prize given in road bicycle racing to a stage's or the overall race's most aggressive rider. References {{cycling-stub Cycling jerseys ...

Stages 7 & 15 ;1997 :4th Overall Etoile de Bessèges ;1998 :1st Dun Le Palestel Criterium

References

External links

*
Official Tour de France results for Eros Poli
at Cyclingnews.com

at http://ruedalenticular.blogspot.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Poli, Eros 1963 births Cyclists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Cyclists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Italian male cyclists Italian Tour de France stage winners Living people Olympic cyclists of Italy Olympic gold medalists for Italy Olympic medalists in cycling Cyclists from the Province of Verona UCI Road World Champions (elite men) Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics