# Francesco Casagrande

Francesco Casagrande (born 14 September 1970 in Florence) is an Italian former professional road racing cyclist. Casagrande was a professional cyclist between 1992 and 2005.

## Biography

He was a proven performer in the Grand Tours and the major one-day races. He wore the leader's jersey into the penultimate stage of the 2000 Giro d'Italia, but faltered badly and wound up 2nd to fellow Italian Stefano Garzelli. Casagrande did, however, win the mountains classification, wearing the corresponding green jersey on the podium.
In major one-day races, he has won the Clásica de San Sebastián in 1998 and 1999, followed by the 2000 editions of the La Flèche Wallonne and Subida a Urkiola. Also in 1999, he placed 4th in the World Cycling Championships Road Race behind Óscar Freire, Markus Zberg, and Jean-Cyril Robin.
In his early career, Casagrande won the 1996 Tirreno–Adriatico and Tour of the Basque Country — both one-week stage races. In 1998, Casagrande tested positive for doping with testosterone during the Tour de Romandie, and consequently was fired by his team Cofidis. He was originally given a six-month sentence, later extended to nine months by the UCI. He returned to racing at the 1999 Tour de Suisse, a race that he won, taking the leader's jersey away from Laurent Jalabert on stage 9. Casagrande also scored victories at the 2001 and 2002 Giro del Trentino and the 2002 Settimana Ciclistica Internazionale Coppi-Bartali. In the 2002 Giro d'Italia, Casagrande was expelled from the race, after knocking down another cyclist. In 2003, Casagrande won two mountain stages in the Tour de Suisse, but lost the leader's jersey in the penultimate day's time trial to Alexander Vinokourov. He was unable to start the last stage due to urethritis. Casagrande was barred from competing in the 2004 Vuelta a España a day before its start due to a high hematocrit level, indicating the use of erythropoietin (EPO), a popular doping product. As a consequence, the Lampre team released him from his contract, allowing him to move mid-season to Vini Caldirola–Nobili Rubinetterie. In 2005, Casagrande retired.

## Major results
### 1991

    1st Overall Girobio

### 1992

    2nd Gran Premio Industrie del Marmo

### 1993

    1st Stage 5 Giro di Puglia
    2nd Tre Valli Varesine
    4th Giro di Toscana
    6th Overall Giro del Trentino
    7th Giro della Romagna
    7th Giro del Veneto
    7th Giro dell'Appennino
    8th Giro di Campania
    10th Trofeo Melinda

### 1994

    1st Milano–Torino
    1st Giro di Toscana
    1st Giro dell'Emilia
    1st Firenze–Pistoia
    1st GP Industria & Artigianato di Larciano
    2nd Road race, National Road Championships
    2nd Overall Vuelta a los Valles Mineros
    2nd Coppa Sabatini
    2nd Coppa Placci
    2nd Coppa Bernocchi
    2nd Trofeo Melinda
    2nd Trofeo dello Scalatore
    4th Overall Tour of the Basque Country
    4th Trofeo Matteotti
    5th Overall Tirreno–Adriatico
    5th Overall Settimana Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali
    6th La Flèche Wallonne
    7th Overall Critérium International
    8th Giro della Romagna
    8th Monte Carlo–Alassio
    10th Züri-Metzgete

### 1995

    1st Giro dell'Appennino
    1st Coppa Placci
    1st Firenze–Pistoia
    2nd Overall Tour de Romandie
    2nd Grand Prix Pino Cerami
    2nd Gran Premio Città di Camaiore
    3rd Overall Escalada a Montjuïc
    3rd Milano–Torino
    3rd Coppa Agostoni
    3rd Giro della Romagna
    4th La Flèche Wallonne
    4th Coppa Sabatini
    5th Liège–Bastogne–Liège
    6th Overall Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme
    6th Coppa Bernocchi
    7th Giro di Lombardia
    8th Trofeo Pantalica
    10th Overall Giro d'Italia

### 1996

    1st Overall Tirreno–Adriatico
    1st Overall Tour of the Basque Country
       1st Stages 2 & 5b (ITT)
    2nd Overall Giro di Puglia
       1st Stage 3
    2nd GP Industria & Artigianato di Larciano
    3rd Overall Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme
    4th Overall Hofbrau Cup
    4th Tre Valli Varesine
    4th Coppa Agostoni
    5th Milano–Torino
    9th Clásica de San Sebastián
    10th Trofeo Laigueglia

### 1997

    1st Giro della Romagna
    2nd Road race, National Road Championships
    3rd Giro di Lombardia
    3rd Trofeo Laigueglia
    3rd Giro del Lazio
    4th Overall Escalada a Montjuïc
    4th Milan–San Remo
    4th Giro dell'Appennino
    4th Trofeo Matteotti
    4th Coppa Placci
    5th Overall Tour Méditerranéen
    5th Trofeo Melinda
    5th Gran Premio Bruno Beghelli
    6th Overall Tour de France
    6th Overall Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme
    6th Gran Premio Industria e Commercio di Prato
    6th GP Industria & Artigianato di Larciano
    8th Coppa Sabatini
    9th Overall Tirreno–Adriatico
    10th Overall Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana

### 1998

    1st Clásica de San Sebastián
    1st Trofeo Matteotti
    1st Stage 1 Tour Méditerranéen
    2nd Classique des Alpes
    3rd Overall Tour de Romandie
    3rd Overall Giro del Trentino
    4th Liège–Bastogne–Liège
    4th Gran Premio Città di Camaiore
    5th Overall Tour de Suisse
    8th Tour du Haut Var

### 1999

    1st Overall Tour de Suisse
       1st Stage 8
    1st Clásica de San Sebastián
    1st Trofeo Matteotti
    2nd Giro del Veneto
    2nd Giro del Lazio
    2nd Gran Premio Città di Camaiore
    3rd Tre Valli Varesine
    3rd Giro della Romagna
    3rd Coppa Agostoni
    3rd Coppa Placci
    3rd Gran Premio Industria e Commercio di Prato
    4th Road race, UCI Road World Championships
    5th Giro dell'Emilia
    9th Milano–Torino

### 2000

    1st La Flèche Wallonne
    1st Coppa Placci
    1st Subida a Urkiola
    2nd Overall Giro d'Italia
       1st Mountains classification
       1st Stage 9
    2nd Giro di Lombardia
    2nd HEW Cyclassics
    2nd Giro del Veneto
    3rd Züri-Metzgete
    3rd Gran Premio Città di Camaiore
    4th Giro del Lazio
    5th GP Industria & Artigianato di Larciano
    9th Liège–Bastogne–Liège
    10th Road race, UCI Road World Championships
    10th Overall Settimana Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali
    10th Amstel Gold Race

### 2001

    1st Overall Giro del Trentino
       1st Stage 1
    1st Coppa Agostoni
    1st Trofeo Melinda
    2nd Clásica de San Sebastián
    2nd Giro dell'Emilia
    2nd Gran Premio Industria e Commercio di Prato
    2nd GP Industria & Artigianato di Larciano
    4th Overall Route du Sud
       1st Stage 4
    4th Liège–Bastogne–Liège
    4th Giro del Veneto
    4th Züri-Metzgete
    5th Trofeo Pantalica
    5th Firenze–Pistoia
    6th Overall Tour of the Basque Country
    6th La Flèche Wallonne
    6th Gran Premio Città di Camaiore
    8th Giro della Provincia di Siracusa

### 2002

    1st Overall Giro del Trentino
       1st Stage 2
    1st Overall Settimana Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali
    2nd Trofeo Melinda
    2nd Firenze–Pistoia
    3rd Road race, National Road Championships
    3rd Gran Premio Città di Camaiore
    3rd GP Industria & Artigianato di Larciano
    4th Giro del Veneto
    5th Giro di Lombardia
    5th Grand Prix of Aargau Canton
    6th Trofeo Pantalica
    7th Overall Vuelta a España
    8th Liège–Bastogne–Liège
    9th Overall Tour de Suisse
       1st Stage 5
    10th La Flèche Wallonne

### 2003

    1st Coppa Agostoni
    1st Trofeo Melinda
    Tour de Suisse
       1st Stages 3 & 5
    2nd Overall Settimana Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali
       1st Stage 1b (TTT)
    2nd Overall Brixia Tour
    3rd Overall Euskal Bizikleta
       1st Stage 4a
    4th Clásica de San Sebastián
    5th Liège–Bastogne–Liège
    5th Giro dell'Emilia
    5th Giro di Toscana
    5th Coppa Placci
    5th Gran Premio Industria e Commercio di Prato
    5th GP Industria & Artigianato di Larciano
    6th Amstel Gold Race
    7th Gran Premio Città di Camaiore

### 2004

    2nd Giro dell'Emilia
    2nd Subida a Urkiola
    3rd Milano–Torino
    8th Coppa Sabatini
    9th Trofeo Matteotti

### 2005

    5th Overall Settimana Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali

### Grand Tour general classification results timeline

| Grand Tour | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 |
| Giro d'Italia | 40 | 22 | 10 | 31 | — | — | — | 2 | DNF | DSQ | DNF | — |
| Tour de France | — | — | — | — | 6 | DNF | — | — | DNF | — | — | — |
| / Vuelta a España | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7 | — | DNS |
Legend :
| — | Did not compete |
| DNF | Did not finish |
| DSQ | Disqualified |