Dario Cioni

Dario David Cioni (born December 2, 1974 in Reading, Berkshire, England) is an English-born Italian professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTour team .

Career

Mountain bike career

Cioni began his career as a professional mountain bike racer at the age of 19. He found success early with victory in the Italian Winter Championship and second place at both the Italian Cup and Italian Championships. Selected to represent Italy at the World Championships, Cioni finished tenth. He continued with similar results through his mountain bike career, with several top five placings at World Cup events including second at St. Wendel in 1996. Cioni also rode some Cyclo-cross towards the end of the nineties.

Road racing career

In 2000, Cioni was selected for the Mapei-Quick Step Pro Development Team, alongside, amongst others, Filippo Pozzato, Fabian Cancellara, Michael Rogers and Charlie Wegelius. His intention was to use the training on the road to help his mountain bike career with the specific aim of riding for Italy at the 2000 Summer Olympics. However, he was not selected for the Olympics and it was at this point that Cioni decided to concentrate on road racing. In his first season, Cioni won a stage of the Tour of Slovenia and was second in a stage of the Tour de Normandie. He also rode his first Vuelta a España. In 2001, Cioni won his first stage race, the Vuelta Minho in Portugal. Cioni moved to Fassa Bortolo in 2003, where he was used as a domestique for Alessandro......
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