Ercole Baldini - 1964 - Salvarani

Description:
Ercole Baldini - 1964 - Salvarani - Jersey worn during the time trial in the Trophée Barrachi.

Ercole Baldini, who was born on January 26, 1933, in Villanova di Forlì, which lies in the historic regions of Emilia and Romagna. and died on December 1, 2022.

With an Olympic road race champion title, two world hour records, an amateur world pursuit championship, two medals at the professional world pursuit championship, a professional world road race championship, a Giro d’Italia, a GP des Nations and four Trofeo Baracchi to his name, one might imagine that his career has been long and brilliant? Not at all!

His first accomplishment as a rider came in 1954, when at the young age of 21, he set the amateur World Hour Record, earning him the nickname the Forlì Train.

Additionally, Baldini won Summer Olympic Gold Medal in the men’s road race in 1956, along with the world track title in the Individual Pursuit that same year, and stripped Jacques Anquetil of the World Hour Record, after covering 46.394 kilometers at the Velodromo Vigorelli in Milan.

Baldini turned professional from 1957 to 1964 winning numerous important races such as the Trofeo Baracchi alongside Fausto Coppi in 1957 and the Italian National Road Championships in 1957 and 1958.

It was in 1958 that Baldini truly accomplished himself as one of the best riders in the peloton, after claiming the Giro d’Italia, vanquishing both Jean Brankart and Charly Gaul in the mountain stages which heavily favored his rivals, while winning titles in both the Italian National Championships and the World Championships Road Race ahead Louison Bobet and Andre Darrigade of France.

The following year, he still finished sixth overall in the 1959 Tour de France. His last major victory was the Grand Prix des Nations in 1960.