Gianni Savio is nicknamed “The Prince” for his seemingly classy attitude despite all the troubles he has experienced. Often confronted by doping controversies, he’s been cleared of accusations made by one of his former riders, Luca De Angeli, but the most recent polemic he has faced was the misbehaviour of his sprinter Roberto Ferrari who took Mark Cavendish to the ground in stage 3 of the Giro d’Italia in Horsens, Denmark. As always, Savio handled the matter in a very diplomatic way.
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The stage victory of his Colombian rider Miguel Angel Rubiano Chavez in Porto San Elpidio has put his Androni Giocattoli-Venezuela team back on a positive note. The 27-year-old from Bogotà was also close at some stage to deliver Savio’s first pink jersey.
“But I’m a young team manager and I have big hopes for the future," said the 64-year-old who came from the world of football when he created his first professional cycling team: Santini-Galli, in 1984.
Savio is an expert in South American cycling and talked to Cyclingnews the same way he does every summer for Colombian radio RCN. He apologized for his supposedly poor English despite being married to an English language teacher.