The cycling world mourns the loss of Stefano Casagranda , former Italian professional cyclist, who passed away at the age of 52 after a long battle with cancer.

Born in Trentino, one of the cradles of Italian cycling, Casagranda raced professionally from 1996 to 2004, always riding for Italian teams. His career began with the prestigious MG Maglificio-Technogym team, where he teamed with champions such as Michele Bartoli and Gianni Bugno.

The high point of his career came in his first year as a professional at Paris-Nice, where he took a memorable stage victory in Millau after a 100-kilometer solo breakaway in snow and torrential rain, beating the group of eventual winner Laurent Jalabert by 27 seconds.

An epic victory in extreme conditions

That stage, which on paper was supposed to be the easiest of the race, turned into an epic battle against the elements. Jalabert himself commented, "It was a day of pure survival," while Chris Boardman recalled being unable to bend his arms because of the cold.

In addition to his success at Paris-Nice, Casagranda collected stage victories at the Giro del Trentino (now the Tour of the Alps), the Vuelta a Castilla y León, and the Tour of Denmark. He participated in eleven Grand Tours, distinguishing himself as a loyal domestique to his teammates. His final professional season was with Saeco, where he was a teammate of two-time Giro d'Italia winner and fellow Italian Gilberto Simoni.

The Veloce Club Borgo ASD, of which he was president, bid him farewell with a touching message: "Thank you for everything, Champion, it was an honor to have you as president."