Former Italian professional cyclist Gianluca Pierobon, who claimed stage victories at the Giro d'Italia, Tour de Suisse and Tirreno-Adriatico during a decade in the professional peloton, has died aged 59 following a long illness.
The news was reported on Thursday by Italian cycling publication Tuttobiciweb. Born in Gallarate on 2 March 1967, Pierobon raced professionally between 1989 and 1998.
Giro d'Italia triumph and Tour de Suisse success
At the 1991 Giro d'Italia, Pierobon won the second half of stage two, a 7.7-kilometre individual time trial in Sassari. Riding for ZG Mobili, he completed the course in 10 minutes and nine seconds, beating Marino Lejarreta by five seconds, with eventual Giro winner Franco Chioccioli third.
Claudio Chiappucci finished eight seconds behind Pierobon, Gianni Bugno was ten seconds slower, and Greg LeMond, already a three-time Tour de France champion, could only manage eighth place, 13 seconds off the pace.
Three years later, Pierobon beat Tony Rominger by four seconds to win the opening prologue of the 1994 Tour de Suisse in Yverdon-les-Bains. The Swiss rider had won the previous year's edition, while Pierobon was now racing in the colours of Amore & Vita.
Pierobon spent two days in the race leader's jersey before Pascal Richard took control of the general classification. He eventually finished third overall, one minute and four seconds behind Richard and just two seconds behind runner-up Vladimir Pulnikov, while also winning the points classification.
In 1995, Pierobon added a stage victory at Tirreno-Adriatico, winning from a breakaway after beating fellow Italian Stefano Colage in a two-man sprint. He also won stages at the Vuelta a Aragon in 1994 and Ruta Ciclista Mexico the following year.
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From Italian junior champion to the Tour de France
Pierobon won the Italian junior road race title in 1985, four years before making his professional debut with Atala. He subsequently rode for several Italian teams, including ZG Mobili, Mecair-Ballan, Amore & Vita and Refin.
His career also extended into cyclocross, where he represented Italy internationally. In 1992, he finished 15th at the World Championships in Leeds and third at the Italian national championships.
Pierobon made his only Tour de France appearance in 1997 with Batik-Del Monte, recording a fourth-place finish on stage 16 from Morzine to Fribourg, behind Christophe Mengin, Frank Vandenbroucke and Richard Virenque.
He completed that Tour in 133rd overall before returning for one final professional season with Kross-Selle Italia in 1998, finishing 12th at both the Giro di Romagna and Trofeo Matteotti.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- He has the Twin combo of being vulnerable to germs and prone to crashes on top of not heeding the complaints from his body. Thats just crash and burn career.abstractengineer05-11-2026
- You can't complete a journey without taking next step. He has to do that or start looking for another job. I hope he can get his act together. It's a make or break next season for him. I wish him well.Cyclingsbestfan05-11-2026
- does anyone really think he is taking a next step?mij05-11-2026
- in the team’s defense, Bernal is 29. when he won his first TdF people were talking about him winning a record # of GTs. Where would they be if that crash had never happened. I’m not saying he would compete with Tadej, but he did podium Strade Bianche, and certainly could have won a GT that Tadej wasn’t in.mij05-11-2026
- "c'mon Jonas!"wrsty05-11-2026
- I see I missed a lot during my boycott.Jumpyjohn05-11-2026
- What kind of sauce is on that rice? Ketchup?Kbd05-11-2026
- 18 broken bones. 78 crashes, among 30 rider per year is a lot. so for a rider over 15 seasons, they will break their bones 7-8 times and crash 38 times.abstractengineer04-11-2026
- i dont think he is ready ot win against the top 2 or the 2nd rung of evenepoel, del toro , Almeida. In the third week in the TDF he was very very defensive, no attacks. i think he was exhausted. right now he needs time not the brutal Giro or the intense TDF.abstractengineer04-11-2026
- Rota is an excellent rider to get in a break with because he always does his turnchapmanesque04-11-2026
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