Gianni Savio has Passed Away

Gianni Savio passed away on Monday. The Italian was a well-known figure in the cycling world as a team manager for decades. He was 76 years old.

Savio started his career in 1986, when he was team manager at Santini. Six years later, he took over the team as manager from Dino Zandegù. He then joined the new Glacial–Selle Italia in 1996. That team seemed to change names every year: Selle Italia, Colombia-Selle Italia, Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni, Androni Giocattoli, Drone Hopper and currently GW Shimano–Sidermec, with Savio running the ship.

Savio was also known as an expert on South American cycling. He was national coach of both Colombia and Venezuela, had many contacts in those regions and discovered some great talents: José Rujano and Egan Bernal were scouted by him and they made a name for themselves in Europe. Some other riders who rode for his teams were Andrea Tafi, Romāns Vainšteins, Iván Parra, José Serpa, Michele Scarponi, Kenny van Hummel, Johnny Hoogerland, Franco Pellizotti, Iván Ramiro Sosa, Fausto Masnada and Mattia Cattaneo.

In 2022, Savio’s team, then called Drone Hopper-Androni Giocattoli, was still riding as ProTeam. But in 2023, the team, now called GW Shimano-Sidermec, took a step back to Continental level. That was also the last year that Savio was actively involved with the team. His health deteriorated. The Italian passed away after a long illness on Monday, December 30, 2024.

Kenny Robert Van Hummel (Androni Giocattoli) – Gianni Savio – Johnny Hoogerland (Androni Giocattoli) pictured during photoshoot Team Androni Giocattoli – Venezuela 2014

Ed Hood wrote this about Gianni Savio a few years ago:

Gianni and Ed

The eloquent – ‘we are not the vassals of WorldTour teams!’ and dapper – Gianni Savio comes in at # 57 and whilst some may question mentioning a man whose team jerseys each year struggle to accommodate all the sponsor’s names, he provides contracts for riders and staff year after year. This year his prime sponsor is ‘Drone Hopper’ a Spanish aerospace company that designs and makes drones.

‘Swiss Tony’

And we know he’s a ‘Jack the Lad’ figure – as they say in England to describe a man who always has an ‘angle’ and irons in several fires; remember, this is the man who ‘sold’ Egan Bernal to Sky and wrote into the deal that if the slight Colombian won the Tour de France in their colours then there was a healthy bonus for Sen. Savio. But also remember that despite the controversies about riders paying to get a ride with his teams – which has long been common practice – he’s been putting squadra on the road for three decades, since Sella Italia Vetta in 1991. He’s well connected in South America and it’s via his teams that the likes of Bernal and Ivan Sosa have had their introduction to Euro racing. Not all riders are Remco Evenepoel or Cian Uijtdebroeks who can pick and choose their WorldTour team. . .

Three decades of ‘Wheeling and Dealing’

Rest in peace – Gianni Savio.

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