Eagle of the Canavese

In capturing the 1962 Giro 22-year-old Franco Balmamion displayed extraordinary courage, but his story remains ignored by the cycling world. In his quest to recover Balmamion's memory Herbie Sykes rediscovers the romantic, parochial community of Italian cycling in the 60s. This is a book about courage, deceit, joy and the sadness of lost careers.

In the early 1960s Franco Balmamion won successive editions of the Giro d'Italia, an achievement no Italian cyclist has been able to emulate in almost half a century since. In the post-war era only Balmamion and the three great champions Coppi, Merckx and Indurain, have successfully defended the fabled maglia rosa, the pink jersey of the Giro winner. And yet virtually nothing is known of this rider whose Giro record surpassed all but the very best, and who, with a fraction of the support others enjoyed, might well have won not only a third Giro, but also the Tour de France.