Andrea Drei, 53 years old from Reda, has passed away in Faenza. He was born on January 9, 1973 in Faenza (Ravenna). He is survived by his mother, wife and son. The funeral service will be held on Thursday in Reda at 9:15 a.m.

Among amateurs in 1995, at 22 years old, he raced for the Addax-Italfine team. One of his most important victories was the second stage of the 1996 Giro della Valsesia. In 1997 he achieved several placings, including fifth place in the final standings of the Giro del Friuli-Venezia Giulia, just 32 seconds behind the winner. In the 1998 Italian elite road championship without contract, he finished fifth.

The most important result of his career came in 1996, when he won the second stage of the Giro della Valsesia, with the finish in Foresto, in Piedmont. That same year Drei raced for G.S. Podenzano-Italfine-Addax-Tecnostamp, a high-level team, alongside Alessio Girelli, Massimiliano Napolitano, Valter Pedroni and Davide Taroni, among others.

1997 was his most significant season in terms of number and quality of placings. On February 22, 1997, at the Trofeo Attilio Strazzi, 28th edition, Drei finished second, behind Alessio Girelli. The race measured 153 km and Girelli won in 3h51' at an average speed of 39.948 km/h.

That same year he also achieved two second-place finishes at the Corsa/Sei Giorni del Sole: in the fourth and fifth stages, in one of which he finished second behind Moldovan Ruslan Ivanov, ahead of Roberto Bianchini. In 1997 he moved to G.S. Juvenes-Italfine-Addax-Podenzano.

The most prestigious result of 1998 was fifth place at the Italian elite road championship without contract. It is a particularly interesting placing because it came in a category in which many of the best Italian elite amateurs who were not professionals competed.

That year Drei was registered with Rinascita Oboe, a team that also included Juri Alvisi, Flavio Farneti, Cristian Sambi, Eddy Serri and other athletes.