Domenico Pozzovivo

Domenico Pozzovivo (born 30 November 1982) is an Italian professional road racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI ProTeam.

His very small stature confers him with the qualities of a pure climbing specialist.

In 2008, Pozzovivo finished on the third step of the podium of the Giro del Trentino, which had a race categorization of 2.1.

The first place went to Vincenzo Nibali of while Stefano Garzelli from the took the second place.

He then participated in his third Giro d'Italia.

While he was not considered a favorite for the overall rankings prior to the race, he managed to finish in ninth position of the general classification.

He notably took the second position on the fifteenth stage, a mountain affair finishing atop the Category 1 Passo Fedaia, which was featured for the first time in Giro history.

He was bested only by his team-mate Emanuele Sella, who eventually tested positive for the blood booster MIRCERA and was later disqualified.

In 2009, Pozzovivo took the fifth stage of the Settimana Ciclistica Lombarda, his first major victory since 2004.

He also finished second in the general classification of the mountainous Brixia Tour, more than a minute behind the winner Giampaolo Caruso.

He placed in the top ten of three stages in that race, including third on the second stage, three second in arrears of Leonardo Bertagnolli.

The 2010 season saw Pozzovivo take a great stage victory in the Giro del Trentino, where he edged a surging from behind Riccardo Riccò of by 3 seconds.

Pozzovivo finally took the third place overall, with the Kazakh Alexander Vinokourov of taking the top honors.

Pozzovivo came in second place of the 2.1 categorized Giro dell'Appennino, where he attacked on the daunting Passo della Bocchetta, with only Robert Kišerlovski being able to follow him and crest the climb with him.

The pair collaborated well to the finish, where Pozzovivo was bested by the man in the sprint, therefore taking second place.

In July, the diminutive Pozzovivo won the Brixia Tour, winning two mountain stages in the process.

He prevailed in the overall classification of the five stage race by a margin of one minute and fifty seconds over 's Morris Possoni.

He is most known for a victory in stage 8 of the 2012 Giro d'Italia, an overall victory in the 2012 Giro del Trentino, and is notable for his educational attainments.

Pozzovivo has a degree in economics and wrote a thesis entitled "Southern politics from the unity of Italy up to the present day".

His educational attainments have earned him the nickname "Dr. Pozzovivo" in the peloton.

He stated that his fields of interest outside cycling are history, technology, economics, politics and weather forecasts.

He plays piano and speaks French fluently and stated that a jump into politics would interest him after his cycling career.

In 2012, Pozzovivo won the prestigious Giro del Trentino.

He was victorious in stage 3 of that race, which led the riders from Pergine to Brenzone sul Garda, finishing after a steep climb, the Punta Veleno.

Team cars were not allowed on that climb since it was very steep and the tarmac was inappropriate.

Motorbikes were the only resource available for riders suffering a mechanical problem.

The victory on that hard stage granted him the leader's jersey, which he managed to hold on to the following day on the fourth and final stage, which was disputed in snowy weather conditions.

He finished that stage in third position.

He also won the mountains classification jersey.

Later that year, he sailed to victory in stage 8 of the Giro d'Italia, attacking on the slopes of the Colle Molella, 7 km away from the finish.

His nearest pursuant, Spaniard Beñat Intxausti of, completed the stage with a 23 seconds deficit on Pozzovivo.

He finished the Giro eighth overall, being always very competitive in the mountain stages.

In June, Pozzovivo prevailed in the queen stage of the 2.1 rated Tour of Slovenia, a 219 km course peppered with climbs.

Pozzovivo broke away with Janez Brajkovič of and somewhat surprisingly, beat Brajkovič in the sprint.

With that operation, he took the overall classification leader's jersey thanks to a six-second lead over Brajkovič, but lost it the next day in the individual time trial, where Brajkovič bested him by ten seconds.

Pozzovivo had to settle for the second place of the Tour.

In the fall, Pozzovivo took part in the Italian Classic Giro dell'Emilia and launched an attack in the steepest part of the final climb, while he was part of a small leading group of three riders.

Nairo Quintana resisted in his wheel to place an attack of his own, which would prove to be the decisive move as the Colombian sailed to victory.

Pozzovivo was passed by two competitors in the final meters and took the fourth place.

Days later, Pozzovivo abandoned during the Giro di Lombardia, a race which suited him well in the past.