Former Italian cyclist Vito Taccone has died of a suspected heart attack aged 67, the Italian media reported yesterday.

The climber was King of the Mountains of the Giro d'Italia in 1961 and 1963, when he won five race stages, including four in succession.

Taccone chained himself to the railings of a court in his home town of Avezzano earlier this month to protest his innocence after being arrested in June on suspicion of involvement in the trade of stolen or fake brand-name goods.

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