Alberto Balocco, the president and CEO of Italian confectionery giants Balocco, has died after being struck by lightning while mountain biking in the Italian Alps.
Balocco's company produces a range of biscuits and panettone, and was a sponsor of the Giro d'Italia from 2013 to 2015, with the brand logo printed on the maglia rosa and displayed on advertising boards at the race.
The 56-year-old died while mountain biking with a friend, David Vigo, in the mountains of the Assietta area of Pragelato when they were both struck and killed by lightning.
Obituaries have flooded the Italian press this morning since the news broke, telling the story of Alberto and his sister Alessandra heading the company, founded by their grandfather in 1927 out of a small pastry shop in Fossano, Cuneo.
Alberto became involved with the Giro after being inspired by a day at the race and switched the company's sponsorship of the Juventus football team to the country's premier cycling event in 2013.
"The Giro is without a doubt one of the most iconic events in our country, and thanks to its international coverage, shows wonderful images of our Italy around the world. Our sponsorship of the maglia rosa is therefore a fantastic way of reaffirming our Italian pride and increasing our global profile," the CEO said at the time.
In July, Aldo Balocco, Alberto's father, inventor of the Mandorlato panettone and main architect of the business's early growth, also passed away.
In 2017, Balocco reached a turnover of €185 million, a figure which topped €200 million by 2022, and expanded export of products out of Italy to 12 per cent in the same year.
Images: RCS Sport
Cycle lanes are very expensive. Said by the Dutch bloke and the presenter. No challenge and no concept of how much a road or roundabout costs....
Well it pretty much does, a 70kg rider on an 11.6kg bike will need to put out 384W to climb a 10% gradient at 15km/h, to do it at the same speed on...
Prompted by this thread, I've just bought a pair of the Swrve's. A couple of comments - ...
You can add them to the original forum post, but you need to host the images elsewhere (e.g. Imgur) and then provide a direct image link between to...
Conclusion: If you want to simplify tyre maintenance tasks, stick to hooked rims and inner tubes. I'm a pro' bike mechanic, and I wouldn't choose...
Unless you know it's having an effect then it is as useful as Hirsute's little prayer. I'd put more faith in defensive riding, a shoulder check, an...
A few observations...
It's interesting that evading the police was considered dangerous driving but the driver that seriously injured Mr Pike in the link below was only...
Thank you, everyone, for your suggestions and support. ...
I often wonder if these councillors and campaigners realise how little "infrastructure" could be provided for the money available. In civil...