Alfo Ferrari

Alfo Ferrari was a prominent figure in amateur cycling in the last part of the 1940s. His brightest moment came on 2 August 1947 when, at Reims, he became road world champion after defeating his teammate Silvio Pedroni and Gerard van Beek of the Netherlands by 40 seconds.

In addition to being Italian champion that same year, his sprinting ability earned him many wins such as the Gavarry Cup, the Metam-Talbot Cup, the Magistroni Cup, and the Casablanca Tour, all in 1947, and the Caldirola Cup in 1948. On the eve of the Olympic road race, in the Windsor Great Park, he was among the favorites, but he lost the decisive breakaway and finished only 9th, just ahead Pedroni. He remained amateur for another two years, won two more national titles, and came in third at the 1950 Road Worlds in Moorslede, behind the Australian winner and Olympian Jack Hoobin and the Frenchman Robert Varnajo.

At the end of 1950 Ferrari turned professional, but experienced limited success with only two wins, the 1952 Gran Prix Calvatore and the Sospiro’s circuit in 1957. He also rode the Giro d’Italia twice (1952-53), but withdrew in both cases. In the most important one-day races, he was 15th at the Milano-Sanremo of 1952 and 7th in the Tour of Lombardy 1950. After his death, his hometown Sospiro erected a memorial in his memory.