Claudio Vandelli was an Italian road cyclist, cyclo-cross rider and mountain biker, who rode professionally from 1986 to 1989. In 1984 he competed in numerous national and international competitions, with the highlight being his performance as part of Italian team that won the gold medal at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in the 100 km team time trial, alongside Marcello Bartalini, Marco Giovannetti and Eros Poli.
Vandelli rode the Giro D’Italia three times after turning professional but accomplished little except a third place on stage 13 in 1988 and achieved little in the rest of his road career. Vandelli did however record some good results in cyclo-cross, becoming national champion in 1990 ahead of his younger brother Maurizio and representing his country at the 1988 and 1989 World Championships.
From 1990, Vandelli devoted himself to mountain biking, and was successful on the national scene but also made a final appearance at the World Cyclo-cross Championships in 1996 where he finished 15th. In 1985 Vandelli was awarded the Gold Medal of the Italian Olympic Committee for his Olympic achievements and he was given the Collare d’Oro in 2015.
In September 2013 Stefano Pelloni published a book dedicated to Vandelli’s personal and competitive cycling life entitled Un sogno olimpico – Vita di Claudio Vandelli.
Italy