Vittorio Adorni (14 November 1937 – 24 December 2022) was an Italian professional road racing cyclist.

Early life and amateur career

Adorni was born in San Lazzaro di Parma on 14 November 1937.L'Eqquipe, Profile of Vittorio Adorni
Lequipe.fr. Retrieved on 24 July 2015. He was a talented amateur and showed early talent at riding alone. He began racing in 1955Vittorio ADORNI
uci.ch and won the national amateur pursuit championship in 1959.Coureurs Italiens – Vittorio Adorni
velo-club.net Skill at riding fast alone won him the world professional road championship nine years later. Adorni won the Trofeo de Gasperiin 1960 and turned professional during 1961 after winning the

Coppa San Geo The Coppa San Geo is a one-day cycling race held annually in Italy. It was part of UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2005 by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UC ...

Professional career

Adorni won two races in his first full year as a professional in 1961, riding for

Philco Philco (an acronym for Philadelphia Battery Company) is an American electronics industry, electronics manufacturer headquartered in Philadelphia. Philco was a pioneer in battery, radio, and television production. In 1961, the company was purchased ...

and winning stages of the Giro d'Italia and the Tour of

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

. Adorni was more a

domestique In road bicycle racing, a domestique is a rider who works for the benefit of their team and leader, rather than trying to win the race. In French, ''domestique'' translates as "servant".However, in French, the term used is ''équipier''. In I ...

than a leaderHein Verbruggen reste président de l'UCI et intronise Vittorio Adorni au CCP
canoe.com. 11 October 2001 but he nevertheless won the 1965 Giro and the 1968 world road race championship. The championship was on the car race circuit at

Imola Imola (; rgn, Jômla or ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Bologna, located on the river Santerno, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. The city is traditionally considered the western entrance to the historical ...

, Italy. He broke clear with 93 km still to ride. He finished 10 minutes ahead of the field, helped in the

peloton In a road bicycle race, the peloton (from French, originally meaning 'platoon') is the main group or pack of riders. Riders in a group save energy by riding close ( drafting or slipstreaming) to (particularly behind) other riders. The reducti ...

by his Italian teammates and also by

Eddy Merckx Édouard Louis Joseph, Baron Merckx (, ; born 17 June 1945), better known as Eddy Merckx, is a Belgian former professional road and track bicycle racer who is among the most successful riders in the history of competitive cycling. His victorie ...

, his normal teammate, who did not take up the chase. The Cycling Hall of Fame, an American organisation, said:

"In 1968, Adorni taught Eddy Merckx of Belgium how to properly eat and rest during a Grand Tour. Merckx used this knowledge to not only win his first ''grand tour'', the Giro d'Italia, but also the mountains and points jerseys as well, the first time ever this was done in a ''grand tour''. Adorni finished second to Merckx in that race."

Retirement

Adorni rode as a professional from 1961 to 1970. He retired to work in insurance and then became

directeur sportif A ''directeur sportif'' (French for sporting director, although the original French term is often used in English-language media; plural ''directeurs sportifs'') is a person directing a cycling team during a road bicycle racing event. It is se ...

of the

Salvarani Salvarani was an Italian professional cycling team that existed from 1963 to 1972. The team was sponsored by the Italian kitchen components maker Salvarani. Major wins ;1965 : Overall Giro d'Italia, Vittorio Adorni :Overall Tour de Romandie, Vi ...

team until 1973. He became president of the Italian riders' association and a commentator for the television company,

RAI RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana (; commercially styled as Rai since 2000; known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane) is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many ter ...

.Vélo, France, February 2005 In 2001 he joined the management committee of the governing body, the

Union Cycliste Internationale The ''Union Cycliste Internationale'' (UCI; ; en, International Cycling Union) is the world governing body for sports cycling and oversees international competitive cycling events. The UCI is based in Aigle, Switzerland. The UCI issues raci ...

. The French magazine ''Vélo'' said: When he was nominated, no small number of observers asked 'Why him? Isn't he just

Hein Verbruggen Hein Verbruggen (21 June 1941 – 14 June 2017) was a Dutch sports administrator who was president of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) from 1991 till 2005 and president of SportAccord from 2004 to 2013. He was an honorary member of the Inte ...

's puppet?' The former Italian champion was chosen for his personality 'était simplement victime de sa personnalité'' As a rider, he was respected by everyone. He was a gentleman. When Hein Verbruggen dug in, Adorni was a patient mediator, a natural negotiator. Thanks to him, the crisis with the organisers of the three ''grands tours'' didn't turn into a huge fiasco and he was able to maintain contacts. The world body was responsible for the Pro Tour; Adorni became its conscience. Adorni worked in

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee ( ...

, in public relations for the

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...

at Innsbruck in 1976. He also worked in public relations at the summer Games in

Montréal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-p ...

in 1976. From 1996 until 2004 he was President of

Panathlon International Panathlon International (PI) is a global umbrella organisation of "Panathlon clubs", which are nonprofit non-governmental organisations promoting sports ethics and fair play and opposing discrimination and politicisation in sport. PI is recog ...

. In 2000, he was a recipient of the Silver

Olympic Order The Olympic Order, established in 1975, is the highest award of the Olympic Movement. It is awarded for particularly distinguished contributions to the Olympic Movement, i.e. recognition of efforts worthy of merit in the cause of sport. Traditi ...

. Adorni died in

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, music, art, prosciutto (ham), cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 inhabitants, Parma is the second mos ...

on 24 December 2022, at the age of 85.

Major results

Sources:

Track

;1958 : 1st National Track Championship,

Individual Pursuit The individual pursuit is a track cycling event where two cyclists begin the race from a stationary position on opposite sides of the track. It is held at over for men and for women. The riders start at the same time and set off to complete the ...

Road

;1960 : 2nd Giornata della Bicicletta ;1961 : 1st

: 3rd San Daniele Po : 10th

Giro della Romagna The Giro della Romagna was a semi classic European bicycle race held in the Italian region of Romagna. After 2005, the race was organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. The race was discontinued in 2011, and in 2013, it merged with the Me ...

: 10th

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 ...

;1962 : 1st Stage 4

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 ...

: 2nd

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 ...

: 4th

: 5th Overall Giro d'Italia ::1st Stage 15 : 5th

Trofeo Baracchi The Trofeo Baracchi was a major Italian cycling race that ran for 50 years. It was created by Mino Baracchi, in memory of his father Angelo who was a great cycle racing fan. Originally (from 1941) an amateur individual time trial, from 1944 it w ...

: 6th

Grand Prix des Nations The Grand Prix des Nations was an individual time trial (against the clock) for both professional and amateur racing cyclists. Held annually in Cannes, France, it was instituted in 1932 and often regarded as the unofficial time trial championship ...

: 7th

Trofeo Matteotti Trofeo Matteotti is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in Pescara, 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 competitions which ...

;1963 : 1st Maggiora : 1st Tour des Quatre-Cantons : 2nd Overall Giro d'Italia ::1st Stages 1 & 16 ::Held after Stage 18 : 3rd

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 ...

: 4th

Coppa Agostoni The Coppa Ugo Agostoni is a semi classic European bicycle race held in Lissone, Italy. The race is held in memory of Italian cyclist Ugo Agostoni, winner of prestigious classic Milan–San Remo, killed during World War II. It is also called ''G ...

: 5th Milan–San Remo : 7th

: 8th Overall

::1st Stages 5 & 6 : 10th

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 con ...

;1964 : 1st Overall

: 2nd

Road race,

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 ...

: 2nd

: 2nd Antwerpen - Ougrée : 3rd

: 3rd Corsa Coppi : 4th Overall Giro d'Italia ::1st Stages 1 & 14 : 7th

Trofeo Laigueglia The Trofeo Laigueglia is an early season road bicycle race held annually in Liguria, Italy. From 2005 to 2014, the race was organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. It is held about ten days after the opening to the Italian season, the G ...

: 7th

Coppa Placci The Coppa Placci is a semi classic European bicycle race held between Imola, Italy and San Marino. Since 2005, the race has been organised as a 1.HC event on the UCI Europe Tour. The race is named after Antonio Placci, a cyclist born in Imola ...

: 10th Overall

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 ...

;1965 : 1st Overall Giro d'Italia ::1st Stages 6, 13 & 19 : 1st 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. It ...

::1st Stages 1b & 3b : 1st Trofeo Città di Borgomanero : 1st

GP 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 ...

: 2nd Milan–San Remo : 2nd

: 5th

: 6th

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 ...

: 7th

Paris–Roubaix Paris–Roubaix is a one-day professional bicycle road race in northern France, starting north of Paris and finishing in Roubaix, at the border with Belgium. It is one of cycling's oldest races, and is one of the ' Monuments' or classics of th ...

: 8th

: 8th Corsa Coppi ;1966 : 1st Overall

Tour of Belgium The Tour of Belgium ( nl, Ronde van België; french: Tour de Belgique) is a five-day bicycle race which is held annually in Belgium, and is part of the UCI ProSeries. It was held annually between 1908 and 1981, except during both world wars. Bet ...

::1st Stage 4 : 1st Stage 1

: 3rd Overall Paris–Nice : 6th

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 ...

: 6th

: 7th Overall Giro d'Italia ::1st Stage 13 ::Held after Stages 13 & 14 : 9th

Tour of Flanders The Tour of Flanders ( nl, Ronde van Vlaanderen), also known as ''De Ronde'' (''"The Tour"''), is an annual road cycling race held in Belgium every spring. The most important cycling race in Flanders, it is part of the UCI World Tour and orga ...

;1967 : 1st Overall

: 1st

Coppa Bernocchi The Coppa Bernocchi is a European bicycle race held in Legnano, Italy. Since 2005, the race has been organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. In 1919 the business magnate Antonio Bernocchi founded the Coppa Bernocchi (or Bernocchi Cup ...

: 2nd

Giro della Provincia di Reggio Calabria The Giro della Provincia di Reggio Calabria is a road bicycle race 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 ...

: 2nd

Giro di Campania The Giro di Campania was a one-day road cycling race held annually in the region of Campania (man), it, Campana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , d ...

: 2nd

GP Forli Gp or GP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming * Gameplanet (New Zealand), a New Zealand video game community * GamePolitics.com, a blog about the politics of computer and video games * ''GamePro'', a monthly video game magazine * ...

: 3rd

: 4th Overall Giro d'Italia ::1st Stage 20 : 5th Overall

: 5th

: 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 ...

: 10th

Milano–Vignola The Milano–Vignola was a professional road bicycle race held annually in the Province of Modena, Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in t ...

;1968 : 1st Road race

: 1st Stage 1

: 2nd Overall Giro d'Italia : 3rd

: 5th Overall

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 ...

: 5th

: 8th Overall

À travers Lausanne À travers Lausanne was a professional road cycling race held annually in Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian- ...

;1969 : 1st National Road Race Championship : 1st 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 ...

::1st Stages 5 & 9 : 1st Stage 22 Giro d'Italia : 1st

: 1st GP Alghero : 1st Stage 5b

: 2nd Overall

::1st Stages 2 & 3b ;1970 : 1st Stage 3

: 4th Overall

: 10th Overall Giro d'Italia

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

Honour

* : Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic ( it, Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana) is the senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-ranking ...

(27 December 2012)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Adorni, Vittorio 1937 births 2022 deaths Sportspeople from Parma Italian male cyclists Giro d'Italia winners Italian Giro d'Italia stage winners UCI Road World Champions (elite men) Tour de Suisse stage winners Recipients of the Olympic Order Cyclists from Emilia-Romagna Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Commanders of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Grand Officers of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic