Luigi Ganna (1 December 1883 – 2 October 1957) was an Italian professional road racing cyclist. He was the overall winner of the first Giro d'Italia, held in 1909, as well as the first Italian winner of the classic MilanâÂÂSan Remo earlier that year. Further highlights in his career were his fifth place in the 1908 Tour de France and several podium places in Italian classic races. In 1908, he set a new Italian hour record, which he held for six years.
He was born in Induno Olona, near Varese, in Lombardy. Before becoming a professional cyclist, he worked as a bricklayer, commuting up to 100 km to work by bike.
In 1912, he started a bike brand named Ganna which was still around in 2012. In 1913, he started the Ganna Cycling team where he rode for the final three years of his career. His company sponsored the team until 1953 when they could no longer meet obligations and NiveaâÂÂFuchs took over.
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