Ercole Baldini

**Ercole Baldini**
Personal information

Full name	Ercole Baldini
Date of birth	26 January 1933 (1933-01-26) (age 75)
Country	Italy
Team information
Role	Rider
Major wins
1958 Giro d'Italia, 1956 Olympic Road Race gold
Infobox last updated on:

Ercole Baldini (born January 26, 1933) is an Italian former professional road racing cyclist. The highlight of his career was his overall win in the 1958 Giro d'Italia.

[edit] Biography

Baldini was born at Villanova di Forlì (Emilia-Romagna).

At 21 he set the Hour record for amateur racers, with 44.870 km, gaining the nickname of Forlì train. His best year was 1956, in which he won a gold medal in the road race at the Summer Olympics of Melbourne, and, in September, stripped Jacques Anquetil of the overall Hour record, racing 46.394 km at the Velodromo Vigorelli in Milan.

In 1957 he become professional and won six important races, including the Trofeo Baracchi alongside Fausto Coppi, and became Italian Champion.

In 1958 Baldini won the Giro d'Italia, beating Charly Gaul on the latter's favourite terrain, climbing. He was again Italian champion and was also victorious in the World Cycling Championship.

Baldini finished 6th overall in the 1959 Tour de France

His career ended after surgery to a leg.

Sporting positions
Preceded by Rik Van Steenbergen	World Road Racing Champion 1958	Succeeded by André Darrigade
Preceded by Gastone Nencini	Winner of the Giro d'Italia 1958	Succeeded by Charly Gaul
Records
Preceded by Jacques Anquetil	UCI hour record (46.394 km) 19 September 1956-18 September 1957	Succeeded by Roger Rivière

v • d • e

Cycling at the Summer Olympics | Olympic Champions in Men's Individual Road Race

Persondata
NAME	Baldini, Ercole
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Olympic cycling gold & Giro d'Italia winner
DATE OF BIRTH	1933-01-26
PLACE OF BIRTH	Forlì
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH

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