Faces from the peloton: Luigi Malabrocca (1920-2006)

Although nowadays Luigi Malabrocca is remembered by the unheroic fight for the maglia nera, the last place of the Giro d'Italia, he also managed to earn some real victories during his professional career between 1945 and 1958.

Malabrocca, usually one of the domestiques for Fausto Coppi during road cycling races, was a two-time Italian cyclocross champion (1951 and 1953). He also managed to win a few one-day races, like Paris-Nantes (1947)  Coppa Uno Agustino (1948). He won also a stage-race in Yugoslavia in 1949.

Malabrocca's eagerness to win the maglia nera, the special prize for the last place in the general classification was rather unheroic, becase he was basically a good rider, although with very little chance to earn some success during a grand tour. His riivals, on the other hand,  were usually riders in really bad shape (either after a crash, or because they were selected for the race last minute and were just not on the required level for a grand tour rider) were really struggling to remain in race.

Nevertheless, Malabrocca managed to win the maglia nera twice (1946 and 1947) . To achieve this, he was hiding in bars, barns, and behind hedges, or even by puncturing their own wheels.

After his professional career, Luigi Malabrocca lived the ususl life of a retired cyclist. He opened a bike shop. Later he was working as a fisherman, also opened a restaurant.