1. Gilberto Simoni is a native of Palu di Giovo, and was considered a climbing specialist.
16 Facts About Gilberto Simoni
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Gilberto Simoni was born in Palu di Giovo, in Trentino, and began competing as an amateur with the goal of someday winning the Giro d'Italia.
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Gilberto Simoni confirmed his potential in 1993, when he won both the amateur version of the Giro d'Italia and the Italian Road Cycling Championship.
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Gilberto Simoni briefly quit cycling and worked as a bicycle mechanic for 1984 Giro d'Italia winner Francesco Moser.
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Gilberto Simoni cemented his reputation as a climbing specialist by winning the dramatic Alto de El Angliru stage of that year's Vuelta a Espana.
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Gilberto Simoni started the 2001 Giro d'Italia as Lampre's undisputed leader and hope for the general classification, which he won with a comfortable margin.
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Gilberto Simoni's pursuit was documented in the film The Quest.
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Gilberto Simoni's performance was lacking, although he was able to gain a stage win.
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Gilberto Simoni failed to defend his title in the 2004 Giro d'Italia with the emergence of his teammate Damiano Cunego.
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However, Gilberto Simoni failed to dislodge Paolo Savoldelli in the last mountain stage, even with an epic performance which saw him and Danilo Di Luca work together to gain time on Savoldelli.
11.
Gilberto Simoni was slated to join Giancarlo Ferretti's Sony-Ericsson team, which was supposed to be the continuation of the Fassa Bortolo team.
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Gilberto Simoni quickly garnered impressive results by winning the Italian National Championship for Mountain Bike Marathon.
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Gilberto Simoni was embroiled in public row with fellow Italian Ivan Basso of Team CSC.
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Gilberto Simoni alleged that Basso offered him a stage win in the 2006 Giro d'Italia into Aprica five kilometers from the finish after the two cyclists had broken away from the main field.
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Gilberto Simoni finished 69th overall, 2:40:14 behind two-time winner and compatriot Ivan Basso.
16.
Gilberto Simoni was characteristically frank about his last bid for glory, which poignantly saw him beaten in the sprint for the Cima Coppi KOM prize by the Swiss Johann Tschopp, at the summit of the Passo di Gavia in the penultimate Giro stage.