Davide Cassani was born in Faenza in 1961 and started training at 14. He notched up about 30 victories in the junior category. His professional debut came in 1982 with the Termolan Galli team. In 1983 he had his first victory (at the Partinico racetrack, Province of Palermo) and was selected for the National squad. Over the next two years he raced for Santini, and though he won only at Formigine he gained numerous podium places.
In ’86 he transferred to Boifava’s Carrera and won the Giro d’Italia twice and one Tour, but above all he began to get a taste of big victories. In ‘87 he won the first Sanson GP trial and the team time trial both at the Giro and the Tour.
There followed two seasons with Argentin’s Gewiss, with no lack of victory and podium places, but it was in 1990 with the move to Ariostea that he was transformed into the winning man. Ariostea had no leader for stage races, in the paceline everyone could run their own race and Davide soon stood out, winning the Bernocchi Cup and the Giro dell’Emilia. He got plenty podium places, also abroad, and was inevitably reselected for the national squad.
1991 was his golden year: 7 victories including a stage of the Giro d’Italia, the Agostoni Cup and the Giro dell’Emilia. Selection for the national team was obligatory and this time, in spite of the usual duties of responsibility in serving the leaders, he took ninth place in the gruppetto that arrived 11 minutes after the first four, led by Bugno in the final sprint.
By now he was at his peak and enjoyed repeated successes in the years that followed: 4 in ‘92 and two important victories in ’93: a stage of the Giro d’Italia and the second Agostoni Cup.
In ’94 he moved on to the MG team but the results did not change in spite of his 33 years of age: 5 victories, with the icing on the cake of the final placing in the Giro del Mediterraneo. In 1996 he decided to give up following an accident that left him with a fractured humerus.
In 14 years as a pro he took part in 11 Giro d’Italia events (4 withdrawals), 9 Tours de France (3 withdrawals) and 9 World Championships.
Since 1996 he has been cycling race commentator for RAI TV.
