Enrico Gasparotto

Career

Born in Sacile, Gasparotto turned professional in 2005 with Liquigas–Bianchi and stayed with the team for three years. At the 2007 Giro d'Italia, Gasparotto led his Liquigas squad to a stage 1 team time trial win and wore the pink jersey the following day.

Gasparotto achieved his first Classics victory at the 2012 Amstel Gold Race; he won the race in an uphill finish, after Óscar Freire was caught 90 m (300 ft) before the finish line, and Gasparotto out-sprinted Lotto–Belisol's Jelle Vanendert and Peter Sagan of Liquigas–Cannondale. One week later, he took part in Liège–Bastogne–Liège, finishing third by beating a small group to the sprint in a race won by fellow Astana teammate, Maxim Iglinsky.

At the Vuelta a España, bad luck hit Gasparotto and the Astana squad on the very first stage, a 16.5 km (10.3 mi) Team Time Trial held in Pampeluna. His teammates Paolo Tiralongo, Alexsandr Dyachenko, Andrey Zeits and Gasparotto himself crashed in an accident that was not picked up by the television cameras. His teammates could pick themselves up and continue, as did Gasparotto, but it was revealed that his collarbone was fractured in three places and he had to abandon the Spanish race.

Gasparotto took a second Amstel Gold triumph when he won the 2016 edition of the race, defeating Michael Valgren in a two-up sprint after the pair broke away from the main group in the closing stages of the race. It was Gasparotto's first win since his 2012 victory, and he dedicated it to Antoine Demoitié, his teammate who had died after a crash at Gent–Wevelgem the previous month.