ciclista???

[nrepole]

Hi everyone
I just noticed a little strange note on my relative's WW2 record. It seems to list a second profession to his first (contadino)...ciclista. Have I read this right?? This seems unusual as he lived in a little country town in Southern Italy (Rapone, Basilicata) and worked on his family's land. Is this just recogntion that he could ride a bike??

Kind regards as always
Nick

[Tessa78]

Perhaps he was a competitive cyclist.

T.

[PippoM]

My GF, from the province of Salerno was named "Giovanni 'o ciclista", as he rent and fixed bikes.
That might be a dialect influenced word.

[darkerhorse]

That makes more sense.

[nrepole]

Thanks so much for the help everyone...much appreciated.

Nick

[mjclayton1]

But wouldn’t it be cool if this person was a competitive cyclist? Maybe check the historical rosters of Italian cycling teams. Maybe he rode in the Giro!

[nrepole]

Hi mjclayton1 ! You are right! I just found out from an aunt that the relative in question did ride in a competitive race on at least one occasion with some success (he crashed out while in 2nd place). It was not the Giro, but a local race...still impressive I think. The young man loved to cycle, and later acquired a motorbike.
Regards
Nick