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Rinaldo Nocentini

Key Stats

Nationality: Italian
Born: September 25, 1977
Hometown: Montevarchi, Italy
Height: 5-foot-10
Weight: 148 pounds
Strengths: attacking
Turned Pro: 1999

Palmares

Career Highlights:

2009
1st, stage 7, Tour of California
16th overall, Paris-Nice
9th overall, Critérium International
10th, Waalse Pijl
15th, Liège-Bastogne-Liège
7th, GP Plumelec-Morbihan

2008
1st, Gran Premio di Lugano
2nd overall, Paris-Nice
2nd, Tour du Haut Var
4th, Tour Méditerranéen

2007
1st, GP Indurain
1st, stage 4 Tour Mediterranean
6th, Flèche Wallone
7th, GP Ouest France

2006
1st, Coppa Placci
1st, Giro del Venete
1st, Giro dell’Appennino

2005
1st, Subida al Naranco

2004
1st, stage 5, Tour of Poland

2003
1st, Giro di Toscana

1999
1st, stages 9 and 10, Tour de Langkawi

Biography

Recruited by mega-team Mapei in the late 1990s, it took Nocentini a while to find his place in the peloton. Since taking the Giro di Toscana in 2003, he’s consistently served up a few wins each season. A puncheur but not a pure sprinter, he can take down opponents in small bunches and escapes. His sixth at Flèche Wallone in 2007 showed new depth which he will hope to build on for 2008.