Bruno Loatti

In his early years as a cyclist, Bruno Loatti was both a road and track racer. His strong final sprint was a key to Loatti’s cycling, and after racing at the Bologna Velodrome, started attracting the attention of leading coaches. He also competed in tandem races and, with Carlo Leguti, finished fourth in the tandem sprint at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, breaking the Olympic record in the quarter-final

Loatti spent the 1937 season trying to improve his style at the Velodrome d’Hiver in Paris where he raced against, and often beat, the Dutch world champion Johan van de Vijver. He won the Italian sprint title that year but, at the 1938 worlds in Amsterdam, could only finish second to Van de Vijver

Loatti turned professional in 1939 but was largely inactive during World War II. After the War, he moved to Argentina where he won a lot of track races and in 1946 competed in the World Championships. He finished third in the Italian championship in 1948.