Born in Derby to an Italian father and English mother, Max Sciandri left England for his father’s home country at an early age. After turning professional in 1989 he went on to win the Giro della Romagna as a néo-pro and would collect three stage wins at the Giro d’Italia between 1991 and 1994. Sciandri also collected stage race victories at the Tours of Britain and Luxembourg whilst competing in Italian colours. After missing selection for the Italian World Championship team he switched nationalities in 1995 and took out the option of British citizenship. His stage win at the 1995 Tour de France was the first win by a British rider on a flat, non time-trial stage for 20 years. At the Atlanta Olympics Sciandri was involved in a three-man breakaway but was outkicked in the final straight by Pascal Richard and Rolf Sorensen and had to settle for the bronze medal. He won the Giro de Lazio in 2000 and continued to ride at the highest level of the sport until his retirement in 2003. Sciandri then took a position with British Cycling as head of its’ Italian based training programme for young riders. After seven years in this post he left to become an assistant directeur sportif with the BMC professional team.
Great Britain