Damiano Caruso (born 12 October 1987) is an Italian professional road bicycle racer, who currently rides for

UCI WorldTeam A UCI WorldTeam (2015–present), previously UCI ProTeam (2005–2014), is the term used by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to name a cycling team of the highest category in professional road cycling, the UCI World Tour or UCI ProTour ...

. Caruso was also the 2008 under-23 Italian national champion for the road race. He competed at the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

, in the road race.

Career

Born in Ragusa,

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, Caruso has competed as a professional since the second half of the 2009 season, competing for the , and teams, before joining for the 2011 season. In October 2011, the

Italian National Olympic Committee The Italian National Olympic Committee ( it, Comitato Olimpico Nazionale Italiano, CONI), founded in 1914 and a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), is responsible for the development and management of sports activity in Italy. ...

(CONI) requested for Caruso to be suspended from competition for two years, although backdated from December 2010, in relation to a doping offence in 2007. He was given a backdated one-year ban in February 2012, allowing for him to return to competition without being banned, but all his 2011 results were voided. Caruso held the lead 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 ...

at the

2012 Giro d'Italia The 2012 Giro d'Italia was the 95th edition of Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It started in the Danish city of Herning, and ended in Milan. The complete route of the 2012 Giro d'Italia was announced in mid October. For the fir ...

, after 's Peter Stetina lost time on the eighth stage. In August 2014, Caruso signed a multi-year deal with the . At the end of 2014, Caruso scored a top-10 placing in the

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 ...

, finishing ninth in the general classification. In 2015, Caruso finished eighth in the Giro d'Italia, before he was named in the start list for 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 ...

for the first time. Caruso rode each of the following five editions of the race.

Bahrain–Merida (2019–present)

In August 2018, announced that Caruso would join them from 2019 on an initial two-year contract, with a continued focus on riding as 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 ...

in Grand Tours and to take opportunities as a team leader in some shorter stage races. During the

2019 Giro d'Italia The 2019 Giro d'Italia was a three-week Grand Tour cycling stage race organised by RCS Sport that took place mainly in Italy, between 11 May and 2 June 2019. The race was the 102nd edition of the Giro d'Italia and was the first Grand Tour of the ...

, both he and teammate

Domenico Pozzovivo Domenico Pozzovivo (born 30 November 1982) is an Italian professional road racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . His very small stature confer him with the qualities of a pure climbing specialist. He is most known for a victor ...

rode as mountain domestiques for team leader and general classification favourite

Vincenzo Nibali ), The Nibbler , birth_date = , birth_place = Messina, Sicily, Italy , height = , weight = , currentteam = , discipline = Road , role = Rider , ridertype = Climber , proyears1 = 2005 , proteam1 = , proyears2 = 2006–2012 , protea ...

; Nibali finished the race in second place overall. During the

2020 Tour de France The 2020 Tour de France was the 107th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's three Grand Tours. Originally scheduled to start on 27 June 2020, it was postponed until 29 August 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in France. The race began ...

he rode well with

Mikel Landa Mikel Landa Meana (born 13 December 1989) is a Spanish professional road cyclist who rides for UCI WorldTeam . His career breakthrough came at the 2015 Giro d'Italia where he won two stages and finished third overall. Career Early career Lan ...

, who finished in fourth place, as Caruso finished in tenth place overall, his first such placing at the Tour de France. Caruso remained with for the 2021 season; going into the Giro d'Italia he would once again ride for Landa, who was considered one of the favourites for overall victory. However on stage five, Landa was involved in a crash that left him with multiple fractures and had to withdraw from the race. As a result, Caruso became ' highest-placed rider on the general classification, and moved onto the overall podium at the halfway point of the race. In the final five road stages, Caruso took four top-five stage placings, culminating in a stage victory on the penultimate day. In second place overall, and trailing race leader

Egan Bernal Egan Arley Bernal Gómez (born 13 January 1997) is a Colombian cyclist who rides for UCI WorldTeam . In 2019 he won the Tour de France, becoming the first Latin American rider to do so, and the youngest winner since 1909. At the 2021 Giro d'Ita ...

by two-and-a-half minutes, Caruso attacked with remaining and caught up to the remnants of the breakaway, along with teammate

Pello Bilbao Pello Bilbao López de Armentia (born 25 February 1990) is a Spanish cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Career Caja Rural–Seguros RGA (2014–16) Bilbao joined for the 2014 season, after his previous team – – fo ...

. Caruso outlasted Romain Bardet on the final climb, the Alpe Motta, and soloed to his first

Grand Tour The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tut ...

stage win. Bernal finished second on the stage, limiting his losses to half a minute, and held an almost two-minute lead going into the final stage

individual time trial An individual time trial (ITT) is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock (in French: ''contre la montre'' – literally "against the watch", in Italian: ''tappa a cronometro'' " stopwatch stage"). There are also track ...

. Caruso took another 30 seconds on that stage, confirming his second-place overall finish. During the

Caruso went on a solo attack and won the mountainous stage nine in

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The t ...

. He finished in 17th overall, and in conjunction with the performances of teammates Gino Mäder and Jack Haig, who both placed in the top-five overall, won the teams classification. He signed a two-year contract extension with the team in October, with an additional year's extension confirmed the following month. He entered the

2022 Tour de France The 2022 Tour de France was the 109th edition of the Tour de France. It started in Copenhagen, Denmark on 1 July 2022 and ended with the final stage on the Champs-Élysées, Paris on 24 July 2022. Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard () won the general clas ...

intending to ride for Haig, but Haig abandoned the Tour in the first week. Together with Luis León Sánchez the pair were making a strong showing for Team Bahrain-Victorious, being active in breakaways and both likely on pace to finish in the top 20. Unfortunately he was forced to quit the Tour late in the race because of COVID. Of the previous fifteen grand tours he entered he finished every single one.

Major results

;2005 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall Tre Ciclistica Bresciana Junior ::1st Stage 2 : 5th Overall Giro della Lunigiana ;2007 : 4th Overall Giro della Toscana ::1st Jersey white

Young rider classification : 8th

Trofeo Gianfranco Bianchin The Trofeo Gianfranco Bianchin 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 Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, ...

: 9th Trofeo Banca Popolare di Vicenza ;2008 : 1st MaillotItalia

Road race, National Under-23 Road Championships : 3rd Gran Premio Industria e Commercio Artigianato Carnaghese : 3rd

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 Road bic ...

: 6th Giro Del Canavese : 9th Overall

Tour de l'Avenir Tour de l'Avenir ( en, Tour of the Future) is a French road bicycle racing stage race, which started in 1961 as a race similar to the Tour de France and over much of the same course but for amateurs and for semi-professionals known as independen ...

: 9th Trofeo Banca Popolare di Vicenza : 10th Road race, UCI Under-23 Road World Championships ;2009 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall Giro Delle Pesche Nettarine Di Romagna ::1st Stage 5 : 1st Trofeo Comune di Cafasse : 1st Stage 2

Giro Ciclistico d'Italia Giro d'Italia Giovani Under 23, also known as Baby Giro, Girobio or Giro Ciclistico d'Italia, is an Italian road bicycle racing amateur stage race created in 1970. Giro d'Italia Giovani Under 23 is the most important race on Italy's U23 calendar, ...

: 4th Trofeo Banca Popolare di Vicenza : 10th Road race, UCI Under-23 Road World Championships ;2010 : 5th 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 ...

: 5th

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 ...

: 7th Overall Brixia Tour : 7th Overall

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 ...

: 10th Overall Giro del Trentino ;2011 :4th Overall
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 ...
: 6th
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 Road bic ...
: 7th

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 ...

;2012 : 2nd Overall

Tour of Britain The Tour of Britain is a multi-stage cycling race, conducted on British roads, in which participants race across Great Britain to complete the race in the fastest time. The event dates back to the first British stage races held just after the S ...

: 8th

GP Miguel Induráin The Grand Prix Miguel Induráin ( es, Gran Premio Miguel Induráin), formerly the "Grand Prix Navarre" is a Spanish one-day road bicycle race. History The race was inaugurated in 1951, but was limited to local competition. It was rebranded after ...

: 8th

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 ...

: 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 ...

;2013 : 1st Jersey polkadot

Mountains classification,

Tour of Beijing The Tour of Beijing was an annual professional stage bicycle road race held in Beijing, China. History Its first edition took place in October 2011, as the penultimate event in the 2011 UCI World Tour. The tour was a partnership between the UCI a ...

: 1st Stage 5

: 3rd Overall

Tour of Alberta The ATB Tour of Alberta was a Canadian bicycle stage race, which raced across the province of Alberta. It was sanctioned by Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and was part of the UCI America Tour. It was classified as a 2.1 race, making it one ...

;2014 : 3rd Overall

Tour of Austria The Tour of Austria (german: Internationale Österreich Rundfahrt) is a stage cycling race held in Austria. From 1949 to 1995 it was a race for amateur cyclists, turning into a professional event in 1996. In 2005 and 2006 it was organised as a 2 ...

: 5th Overall

: 5th

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 ...

: 6th Overall

Tour of Slovenia Tour of Slovenia is a stage race cycling race held in Slovenia. Between 2005 and 2018, it was organised as a 2.1 race on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing Road bicycle racing is the cycle spor ...

: 9th Overall

;2015 : 1st Stage 9 ( TTT)

: 8th Overall Giro d'Italia : 9th

Classic Sud-Ardèche Classic Sud-Ardèche (also known as the Souvenir Francis Delpech) is a road bicycle race held annually in late-February in the Ardèche department of France. The race was a National Event from its inception in 2001 until 2007, before joining the ...

;2016 : 1st Jersey green

Mountains classification,

Vuelta a Andalucía The Vuelta a Andalucía (Tour of Andalusia) or Ruta del Sol (Route of the Sun) is a regional Spanish road bicycle race first held in 1925. Since 2005, it has been a 2.1 category race on the UCI Europe Tour. The race became a part of the new UCI ...

: 1st Stage 1 ( TTT)

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 ...

: 4th Road race, National Road Championships : 5th Overall Tour des Fjords ;2017 : 1st Stage 1 ( TTT)

: 1st Stage 1 ( TTT)

: 2nd 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 ...

: 4th Road race, National Road Championships : 4th Overall

Tour du Haut Var The Tour du Haut Var ( en, Tour of the Haut Var) is an early-season two-day road bicycle race in the Var department region in the south of France. Until 2008 it was run as a one-day race, part of the UCI Europe Tour. In 2009, the race transformed ...

: 9th Overall

Tour La Provence The Tour de la Provence is an early-season bicycle stage race in the Provence region of France. It is organized by southern French newspaper La Provence, which serves as the race's title sponsor for its first three years. It is held in February, ...

;2018 : 1st Stage 3 ( TTT)

: 2nd Overall

::1st Stage 1 ( TTT) : 3rd Bronze medal blank

Team time trial,

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 ...

: 5th Overall

Critérium du Dauphiné The Critérium du Dauphiné, before 2010 known as the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, is an annual cycling road race in the Dauphiné region in the southeast of France. The race is run over eight days during the first half of June. It is par ...

: 5th Overall

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 t ...

;2019 : 9th

;2020 : 1st

Circuito de Getxo The Circuito de Getxo ( en, Getxo Circuit) is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in July in Getxo, 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 bicycle ...

: 10th Road race,

: 10th Overall

;2021 :

::1st Stage 9 ::Held Jersey blue polkadot

after Stages 9–13 : 2nd Overall Giro d'Italia ::1st Stage 20 : 7th Overall

UAE Tour The UAE Tour ( ar, جولة الإمارات) is a road cycling stage race in the United Arab Emirates. It was first held in 2019 as part of the UCI World Tour. It was created as a result of the merging of the Abu Dhabi Tour and the Dubai Tour. ...

: 9th 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 ...

;2022 : 1st Jersey red

Overall Giro di Sicilia ::1st Jersey violet

Points classification ::1st Stages 2 & 4 : 4th Overall

: 6th Overall

: 7th Overall

General classification results timeline

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Caruso, Damiano 1987 births Cyclists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Cyclists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Doping cases in cycling Italian Giro d'Italia stage winners Italian Vuelta a España stage winners Italian male cyclists Italian sportspeople in doping cases Living people Olympic cyclists of Italy People from Ragusa, Sicily Sportspeople from the Province of Ragusa Cyclists from Sicily 20th-century Italian people 21st-century Italian people

Career

Bahrain–Merida (2019–present)

Major results

General classification results timeline

See also

References

External links