Guido Carlesi

Guido Carlesi (7 November 1936 – 2 October 2024) was an Italian professional road bicycle racer. He was nicknamed Coppino because of his physical resemblance to Fausto Coppi.^[1][2]

Guido Carlesi

Carlesi in 1956
Personal information
Full name	Guido Carlesi
Nickname	Coppino (the small Coppi)
Born	(1936-11-17)17 November 1936 Vicarello di Collesalvetti, Italy
Died	2 October 2024(2024-10-02) (aged 87) Pisa, Italy
Team information
Discipline	Road
Role	Rider
Major wins
2nd place 1961 Tour de France

Life and career

Born in Vicarello di Collesalvetti, the son of a blacksmith and a housewife, Carlesi grew up in Titignano, Cascina, and at a young age, he started working as a carpenter.^[1] An amateur cyclist, he was noticed by Fiorenzo Magni in a local race, and in 1956 became professional with Magni's team Nivea-Fuchs;^[1] the same year he won the Giro delle Alpi Apuane [it].^[3] He had his breakout in 1958, when he won a stage at the Giro d'Italia and one stage at the Vuelta a España.^[3]

During his career, Carlesi won 35 races,^[2] including two stages in the Tour de France and seven stages in the Giro d'Italia.^[3] In 1961, he finished 2nd in the general classification of the 1961 Tour de France.^[3] In 1965, he moved to the Filotex team, in which he served as a domestique of Franco Bitossi.^[3]

After his retirement, Carlesi managed a furniture fabric company together with his sons Luca and Marco.^[2] He died in Pisa on 2 October 2024 at the age of 87.^[3]

Major results

1956

Tour des Alpes Apuanes

1958

Cotignola

Giro d'Italia:

Winner stage 13

1959

Giro d'Italia:

8th place overall classification

1st Coppa Collecchio

1960

Giro della Provincia di Reggio Calabria

Modena

Trofeo Longines (with Silvano Ciampi, Emile Daems, Rolf Graf, and Alfredo Sabbadin)

Giro d'Italia:

6th place overall classification

1961

Baasrode

Bort-les-Orgues

GP Saint-Raphael

Tour de France:

Winner stages 11 and 15

2nd place overall classification

Giro d'Italia:

5th place overall classification

1962

Firenze

Giro di Toscana

Jeumont

Sassari - Cagliari

Giro d'Italia:

Winner stages 13 and 21

9th place overall classification

1963

Genève

GP Cemab

Giro d'Italia:

Winner stages 4 and 20

8th place overall classification

1965

Giro d'Italia:

Winner stages 2 and 11