Mario Gaioni, also written as Mario Gajoni, (20 November 1880 – 9 December 1946) was an Italian professional road racing cyclist during the 1900s and early 1910s. He won the Erba–Lurago–Erba race in 1905, set a record for the "Giro d'Italia" in 1907 and finished 14th overall in the 1909 Tour de France.
Biography
Born in Milan in 1880, Gaioni began competing in major Italian road races with Bianchi in 1905. That season he won the Erba-Lurago-Erba race and finished runner-up in the Corza Nazionale and sixth in the cycling classic Milano–Torino.
In 1906 he placed fourth in the cycling monument Giro di Lombardia and would have another top-10 finish the next year finishing ninth. That year he also had a podium finish in the 1907 Giro del Piemonte.
In December 1907, Gaioni set a new record for completing a Tour of Italy over a prescribed route. Contemporary sources referred to the achievement as the "Giro d'Italia", although it predated the establishment of the Giro d'Italia stage race by two years. Riding unpaced on a Soriani bicycle fitted with Corona tyres, he departed Milan on 5 December and followed a route through Turin, Genoa, La Spezia, Parma, Bologna, Florence, Perugia, Rome, Foligno, Macerata, Ancona, Forlì, Ravenna, Ferrara, Padua, Vicenza, Verona and Brescia before returning to Milan. Despite encountering heavy rain and hail during the journey, he completed the ride on 16 December, lowering the previous record, held by Alberici, by two days.
Gaioni competed for Legnano–Pirelli in the 1909 Tour de France, riding as one of six members of the team. He finished 14th overall, the highest-placed rider from Legnano–Pirelli, and recorded a tenth-place finish on stage 12 from Nantes to Brest.
His final major appearance came in the 1911 Giro d'Italia, where he finished twenty-second overall.
Major results
1905 1st Erba–Lurago–Erba 2nd Corza Nazionale 6th Milano–Torino
1906 4th Giro di Lombardia 6th Giro del Piemonte
1907 "Giro d'Italia" record broken 3rd 3rd Giro del Piemonte 3rd Milano–Bergamo–Como 7th Italian National Road Race Championships 9th Giro di Lombardia
1909 14th Overall Tour de France 10th stage 12
Grand Tour and classic results timeline
Grand Tour 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1911 Tour de France — — — — 14th — Giro d'ItaliaNot held — 22nd Monument 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1911 Milan–San RemoNot held 11th DNF 26th 33rd Giro di Lombardia —4th9th — — — Classic 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1911 Milano–TorinoNot held — Giro del Piemonte Not held — Not held —
References
External links Image of Gaioni