Francesco Moser, nicknamed "Lo sceriffo", is an Italian former professional road bicycle racer. Moser was dominant from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s and won the 1984 Giro d'Italia, the 1977 world road racing championship and six times in three of the five monuments. He turned professional in 1973, showing a cultured pedaling style. But his powerful build meant he wasn’t a gifted climber. His 273 road victories puts him behind Eddy Merckx and Rik Van Looy, but ahead of Rik Van Steenbergen and Roger De Vlaeminck. He was also an accomplished track rider, riding up to six Six-Day races almost each winter throughout his career. He rode 35, 14 of which with René Pijnen, winning 15. A nephew, Moreno Moser, is an Italian professional racer, and Francesco's son Ignazio Moser enjoyed success at the junior and amateur levels before retiring at the age of 22.
Palmarès
Classic races
After finishing second in 1974 behind Roger De Vlaeminck and in 1976 behind Marc Demeyer of Belgium, Moser finally won Paris–Roubaix, his favorite race, three consecutive times. Moser had seven podium finishes in Paris–Roubaix; only De Vlaeminck, with nine, has more. In 1978, he beat De Vlaeminck and Jan Raas of the Netherlands; in 1979, he beat De Vlaeminck and Hennie Kuiper of the Netherlands; and in 1980, he beat Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle of France and the German, Dietrich Thurau. Moser came in third in 1981 behind Bernard Hinault and Roger De Vlaeminck, and was also third in 1983 behind Hennie Kuiper and Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle. He rode Paris–Roubaix in his final season as a cyclist in 1987. Other victories include the 1975 and 1978 Giro di Lombardia and the 1984 Milan–San Remo.
Moser had some success in the three-week grand tours. He rode the Tour de France in 1975, and although he won two stages, led the race for seven days and won the young rider competition, he never rode the Tour again; the mountains did not suit him. However, he won the 1984 Giro d'Italia, in front of Laurent Fignon of France and Moreno Argentin of Italy. Taking advantage of an unusually flat course, Moser used time-trialing ability to overcome what others had gained in the mountains. He also won the points classification in the Giro d'Italia in 1976, 1977, 1978 and 1982.
Moser started a bike company, Moser Cicli, constructing race bikes in a workshop in Trento. Production is 2,000-3,000 frames annually. He was the first chairman of the CPA, a union for professional riders of TT/I and TT/II league of teams. He held the position from 1999 until 2007. Moser also became a viticulturist, cultivating different varieties of grapes. He continued his father's winery with his children Francesca, Carlo and Ignazio on the family estateMaso Villa Warth in Val di Cembra, on the hills just north of Trento. He is also a passionate hunter and was the host of the television series "A Caccia con Moser" on Sky Italia's channel Caccia TV.
