Claudio Chiappucci

Claudio Chiappucci rose to prominence in the 1990 Tour de France. He instigated a break after only 4 miles of the opening stage and, in company with Steve Bauer, Frans Maassen and Ronan Pensec, gained 10 minutes by the end of the stage. Maassen won the stage, as first Bauer and then Pensec took the leader's jersey, but it was "Chiappa" finally held onto it. He lost no time through the Alps, but a disasterous day through the Tarn saw his lead cut to two minutes - but for this day, he may have well held on to win overall. As it was, he emerged from the Pyrenees still leading, and Lemond was able to take the jersey from him only in the closing time trial. Thereafter, Chiappucci was a bona-fide star, but perhaps he started to believe too much in his own reputation for epic attacks. When they worked (as at Milan - San Remo, in 1991, when he went with 200 kilometres to go), or at Sestrieres in the 1992 Tour de France, when a five-col attack almost saw Indurain unseated, Chiappucci was a hero; more often they gained little more than public adulation.

Though best remembered for his battles with Indurain in the Tour and Giro, "il Diabolo" was more than just a big stage race rider; as well as that victory in Milan - San Remo, he also had top four positions in classics as diverse as Lombardy, Flanders, Liège and the Amstel Gold Race, as well as finishing runner-up to Luc Leblanc in the 1994 World Championship. His last years were marred by two failed haemoatocrit tests, and, it has to be said, he probably rode a couple of seasons too long. But, like Christophe, Vietto and Poulidor before him, his name will go on long after riders with ostensibly better palmarès have faded from public view.