// Workers AI · dad joke modeIs Wilmo Francioni a great artist? No, he's a draw-back.

Wilmo Francioni
	Francioni c. 1973
Personal information
Born	8 November 1948 (age 77); Empoli, Italy
Team information
Discipline	Road
Role	Rider
Rider type	All-rounder
Professional teams
1970–1972	Ferretti
1973	G.B.C.–Sony–Furzi
1974	Sammontana
1975–1978	Magniflex
Major wins
	Grand Tours Giro d'Italia 4 individual stages Stages 6 and 15 (1972) Stages 12 and 20 (1977) One-day races and Classics Trofeo Matteotti (1971, 1977) Trofeo Laigueglia (1972) Coppa Sabatini (1974)

Wilmo Francioni (born 8 November 1948) is a retired Italian professional road cyclist. A professional from 1970 to 1978, he competed in all three Grand Tours and represented Italy at the UCI Road World Championships in 1971, 1972 and 1977. During his career, Francioni won four stages of the Giro d'Italia, the Trofeo Matteotti twice, the Trofeo Laigueglia and the Coppa Sabatini. He achieved one of the most notable results of his career with a second-place finish at Milan–San Remo, and recorded his best Grand Tour general classification result with tenth place at the 1977 Giro d'Italia.

Career

Francioni began his professional career in 1970 with the Italian Ferretti team. During his nine-year professional career, he competed in all three Grand Tours, riding eight editions of the Giro d'Italia, the 1971 Tour de France, and the 1975 and 1977 Vuelta a España. He also represented Italy at the UCI Road World Championships in 1971, 1972 and 1977.^[1]

In 1971, Francioni won the Trofeo Matteotti. The following year, he won the Trofeo Laigueglia, finishing ahead of a field that included Eddy Merckx, Luis Ocaña and Roger De Vlaeminck. He also won stages 6 and 15 of the 1972 Giro d'Italia.^[1]

In 1973, while riding for G.B.C.–Sony–Furzi, Francioni achieved one of the most notable results of his career when he finished second in Milan–San Remo. Near the summit of the Poggio di San Remo with approximately 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) remaining, Francioni attacked the peloton, with Roger De Vlaeminck the only rider able to follow. The pair descended into Sanremo ahead of the chasing group and contested the finish on the Via Roma, where De Vlaeminck defeated Francioni. Felice Gimondi, who led the chase behind, finished third. Francioni finished two seconds behind De Vlaeminck and two seconds ahead of Gimondi.

In 1974, while riding for Sammontana, Francioni won the Coppa Sabatini.^[1]

Francioni had one of his most successful seasons in 1977 while riding for Magniflex. He won stages 12 and 20 of the 1977 Giro d'Italia and finished tenth in the general classification, his best overall result in a Grand Tour. He also won the Trofeo Matteotti for a second time and finished third in the Trofeo Pantalica. Later that year, he represented Italy at the 1977 UCI Road World Championships in San Cristóbal, Venezuela.^[1]

Francioni retired from professional cycling in 1978.