Fiorenzo Magni was the rider who bridged the era of the pioneers and that of the great champions. He claimed his first Giro del Piemonte victory in 1942, at the height of the Second World War, shortly before becoming directly involved in the conflict while serving in the Italian army. During one period of leave, granted so he could compete in a race, his artillery unit was shipped to Albania aboard a vessel on which he had been due to travel. The ship sank with no survivors. Magni would go on to win the Giro del Piemonte twice more, in 1953 and 1956, completing a remarkable span of 14 years between his first and last triumph. His name sits alongside many of the greatest champions to have won the Piedmont Classic during those decades, including Gino Bartali, two-time winner Felice Gimondi, Eddy Merckx, Roger De Vlaeminck – who won the first edition organised by La Gazzetta dello Sport in 1977 – Francesco Moser, Gianni Bugno, Gianbattista Baronchelli and Claudio Chiappucci. The 1951 edition, meanwhile, is remembered for one of the darkest moments in the race’s history: the death of Serse Coppi, Fausto’s younger brother, who finished the race after a crash but later succumbed to a cerebral haemorrhage caused by his injuries.