The Giro d'Italia will arrive in Lucca on Tuesday for the start of the tenth stage - the time trial that will take the riders to Pisa - and this is the right occasion to relive the successes in the Pink Race of the only Lucca team of such high level, the team led by Ivano Fanini.

Pushing through a thousand difficulties, in 1984 Fanini founded the first professional team in Lucca and for 37 years his team has been a protagonist on the world's roads. And obviously, many pages have been written in the history of the Pink Race.

And it's a story that begins right in 1984: since then there have been 15 Giro participations by Fanini with his teams. In 1985 came his first success thanks to a stunning solo ride by Franco Chioccioli in the 14th stage, the Frosinone-Gran Sasso d'Italia with Maggi-Fanini. A success matured after defeating the resistance of Australian Matthew Wilson and Francesco Moser, who finished second and fourth respectively in the Giro led up to that point and then won by the great Bernard Hinault.

From a solo success to a sprint victory. Ivano Fanini's second joy in the Giro was in 1987 when he won the 14th stage from San Marino to Lido di Jesolo with the Remac Fanini thanks to Roman Paolo Cimini, who surprisingly beat Paolo Rosola, the sprinter of the moment.

In 1988, a Pisan triumphed in the Giro: Alessio Di Basco, Fanini's own protégé. It was the year when, for the first time in professional cycling, a cycling society raced and won with two teams. Di Basco, wearing the Seven Up-Fanini colors, won the 9th stage from Pienza to Marina di Massa, beating great sprinters like Guido Bontempi and Urs Freuler, while at the same time the Pepsi-Fanini was winning in other classics. Di Basco was the protagonist of a controversial finish in the 20th stage: in the Arta Terme-Lido di Jesolo stage, he was preceded at the finish line by Paolo Rosola, but the latter was declassified for allegedly receiving a push from Pagnin. After a few hours, the jury accepted the Bianchi team's complaint, returning the victory to Rosola.

The 1988 edition allowed the Lucca cycling world to win the final classification of the white jersey for the best young rider, awarded to Stefano Tomasini (Fanini-Seven Up), who finished ninth in the general classification.

The Amore e Vita era begins, and in the 5th stage of the 1990 Giro from Sora to Teramo, Fabrizio Convalle scores: the Carrara rider makes the 233 km truly grueling stage his own, climbing first at 1,395 meters of Rocca di Cambio and at 1,295 meters of Passo delle Capannelle.

The Fanini cyclist who has won the most Giro d'Italia stages is Swede Glenn Magnusson with three victories signed with the red and black jersey like Milan and called Amore e Vita-Forzarcore: the first in 1996 when he won the 2nd stage from Elusi to Lepanto in Greece, the second in 1997 in the 13th stage from Varazze to Cuneo of 150 km and the third in 1998 in the 9th stage from Foggia to Vasto.

For the first time in 1996, the Lucca team won two stages in the same edition; after Magnusson, Danish rider Bo Larsen won the 17th stage from Lausanne to Biella.

But the link between Fanini and the Giro d'Italia is also found in the first steps of Mario Cipollini, the record holder for victories in the Pink Race, who raced for 12 years in the Lucca patron's youth teams. Or in another great sprinter like Jonathan Milan, whose father Flavio made his professional debut precisely with Fanini. And on Tuesday, among the many applauses for the riders, you can bet that Lucca will also pay a warm tribute to Ivano Fanini.

STAGES AND JERSEYS WON IN THE GIRO HISTORY BY TEAM FANINI
1985 May 31, 14th stage (Frosinone-Gran Sasso d'Italia Km. 195) 1st Franco Chioccioli (Maggi-Fanini)
1987 June 5, 14th stage (San Marino-Lido di Jesolo Km. 260) 1st Paolo Cimini (Remac-Fanini)
1988 May 31, 9th stage (Pienza-Marina di Massa Km. 239) 1st Alessio Di Basco (Fanini-Seven Up)
1988 General Classification Best Young Rider (White Jersey) 1st Stefano Tomasini (Fanini- Seven Up)
1988 June 11, 20th stage (Arta Terme-Lido di Jesolo Km. 212) 1st Alessio Di Basco (Fanini-Seven Up)
1990 May 22, 5th stage (Sora-Teramo Km. 233) 1st Fabrizio Convalle (Amore e Vita)
1996 May 19, 2nd stage (Elusi-Lepanto-Greece Km. 235) 1st Glenn Magnusson (Amore e Vita-Forzarcore)
1996 June 4, 17th stage (Lausanne-Biella Km. 236) 1st Nicolaj Bo Larsen (Amore e Vita-Galatron)
1997, May 30 13th stage (Varazze-Cuneo Km. 150) 1st Glenn Magnusson (Amore e Vita-Forzarcore)
1998, May 25 9th stage (Foggia-Vasto Km. 169) 1st Glenn Magnusson (Amore e Vita-Forzarcore)