Wladimiro Panizza was an Italian professional road bicycle racer. Panizza came from a Communist family and was named after Lenin. During his long career (1967–1985), he helped Felice Gimondi and Franco Bitossi. His best grand tour was the 1980 Giro d'Italia, where he placed second in the overall classification. He holds the record for number of starts and number of completions in the Giro, completing the race 16 times out of 18 starts.

The 1980 Giro d'Italia was the 63rd running of the Giro. It started in Genoa, on 15 May, with a 7 km (4.3 mi) prologue and concluded in Milan, on 8 June, with a 114 km (70.8 mi) mass-start stage. A total of 130 riders from thirteen teams entered the 22-stage race, that was won by Frenchman Bernard Hinault of the Renault–Gitane–Campagnolo team. The second and third places were taken by Italians Wladimiro Panizza and Giovanni Battaglin, respectively.