2014 Giro d'Italia stage 4

LOCAL HERO
Success in cycling has always been a subjective matter. For a tiny minority only winning the maglia rosa will suffice, but for the mortals of the peloton simply getting round is a monumental achievement in itself.

Take Bari's Francesco De Fano. You've never heard of him, but that's not to say he wasn't an absolute warrior. Growing up in 1920s Puglia he was far from the cycling heartlands of the north both literally and figuratively. Back then cyclists from the Mezzogiorno were about as common as asphalted roads, which is to say there weren't any. When, aged just 20, he announced that he was going to Milan to ride the Giro as an independent, his mum and dad were incredulous that he might be so misguided as to even attempt such a thing.

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