Mario Cipollini was an Italian professional road cyclist who was regarded as one of the top sprinters of the 1990s. He was born in San Giusto di Compito, Capannori, Province of Lucca on March 22, 1967. Cipollini began his professional cycling career in 1989 with the Del Tongo team. Throughout his career, he won a total of 189 races, including 57 stages at Grand Tours, the 2002 World Championships road race, and the Milan-San Remo classic.
Cipollini was regarded as a pure sprinter with an exceptional sprinting technique that enabled him to win mass sprints. He won 42 stages in the Giro d’Italia, shattering the record for most stage victories in a single race. In addition, he won 12 Tour de France stages and three Vuelta a Espaa stages.
In 2002, Cipollini won Milan-San Remo, Gent-Wevelgem, six Giro d’Italia stages, and the World Championships in Zolder, Belgium. He was a member of the Saeco squad, whose sprint train was known as the “red train” (treno rosso).
In addition to his excellent profession, Cipollini was recognized for his eccentric personality. He was punished for wearing unorthodox cycling uniforms, such as muscle suits, zebra or tiger prints, and techno-skinsuits, in violation of team dress guidelines. In 1999, he and his staff celebrated Julius Caesar’s birthday by donning antique Roman attire.
In 2008, Cipollini tried a comeback with the Rock Racing team after retiring from professional cycling in 2005. Nonetheless, his contract was terminated in March of that year. The Italian publication La Gazzetta dello Sport accused Cipollini of doping, and he was among the cyclists listed in a French Senate report on EPO use in the 1998 Tour de France.
Cipollini’s private life was not devoid of controversy. In 2009, he was found guilty of tax evasion and given a prison sentence of 22 months and a fine of 1.9 million euros. In 2010, he was later exonerated of the accusations. In 2022, he was convicted of threatening and abusing his ex-girlfriend and her new spouse, leading in a three-year prison term and a fine of 85,000 euros.
Following are some of Cipollini’s most notable accomplishments:
| Year | Achievement |
|---|---|
| 2002 | World Championships road race |
| 2002 | Milan-San Remo |
| 2002 | Gent-Wevelgem (for the third time) |
| 1997 | Maglia ciclamino (Giro d’Italia points classification) |
| 1996 | Italian National Road Race Championships |
| 1993 | E3-Preis Flandern |
| 1992 | Gent-Wevelgem (for the second time) |
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