Giovanni Gerbi (20 May 1885 – 6 May 1955) was an Italian

road racing cyclist Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The two most comm ...

. He was nicknamed the "red devil", due to his red jersey and his "never-say-die" attitude. In 1905, he won the first

Giro di Lombardia The Giro di Lombardia (), officially ''Il Lombardia'', is a cycling race in Lombardy, Italy. It is traditionally the last of the five 'Cycling monument, Monuments' of the season, considered to be one of the most prestigious one-day events in cycli ...

. In

1911 Events January * January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory are added to the Commonwealth of Australia. * January 3 ** 1911 Kebin earthquake: An earthquake of 7.7 m ...

, he finished third in the

Giro d'Italia The Giro d'Italia (; ), also known simply as the Giro, is an annual stage race, multiple-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Italy, while also starting in, or passing through, other countries. The first race was organized in 19 ...

. He held the world "6 hours" record in 1913 with 208.161 km. Between 1921 and 1925, he did not race. He began racing again in 1926. Failing to get a single result, he retired from racing. In 1932, he took part in the Italian Championships for veterans, which he won. He repeated this performance in 1933. Gerbi died in Asti in 1955. In 1982,

Paolo Conte Paolo Conte (; born 6 January 1937) is an Italian singer, pianist, songwriter and lawyer, known for his distinctly grainy, resonant voice. His compositions fuse Italian and Mediterranean sounds with jazz, boogie and elements of the French and ...

dedicated a song on his album "Appunti di viaggio" to him: "Red devil forget the road, come here with us to drink an orangeade, against the light all the time goes away..."

References

1885 births 1955 deaths Sportspeople from Asti Italian male cyclists Cyclists from Piedmont {{Italy-cycling-bio-stub