Franco Ballerini

Franco Ballerini (11 December 1964 – 7 February 2010) was an Italian road racing cyclist.

Franco Ballerini

Ballerini at the 1993 Tour de France
Personal information
Full name	Franco Ballerini
Born	(1964-12-11)11 December 1964 Florence, Italy
Died	7 February 2010(2010-02-07) (aged 45) Pistoia, Italy
Team information
Discipline	Road
Role	Rider
Professional teams
1986–1987	Magniflex–Centroscarpa
1988	Del Tongo
1989	Malvor–Sidi
1990–1991	Del Tongo
1992–1993	GB–MG Maglificio
1994–1998	Mapei–CLAS
1999–2000	Lampre–Daikin
2001	Mapei–Quick-Step
Major wins
Grand Tours Giro d'Italia 1 individual stage (1991) One-day races and Classics Paris–Roubaix (1995, 1998) Omloop Het Volk (1995)

Born in Florence, his greatest exploits as a rider came with his two victories in the cycling classic Paris–Roubaix, riding for the Mapei cycling team. In 1993 he was beaten on the line by Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle in an exciting Paris–Roubaix finale. Also on his palmarès or list of accomplishments there are other one-day races such as Omloop Het Volk and Paris–Brussels.

Ballerini then became manager of the Italian national cycling squad, winning the 2002 World Championships with Mario Cipollini and the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens with ex-teammate Paolo Bettini. In 2006, 2007 and 2008 he won the World Championships with Paolo Bettini and Alessandro Ballan.

On 7 February 2010, Ballerini, a rallying fan, was seriously injured during a race in Larciano where he was participating as co-driver/navigator for professional driver Alessandro Ciardi. He died of his injuries at the Pistoia city hospital at the age of 45.[1][2]

He was honored by race organizers in 2010.[3]