THIS WEEK IN PRO CYCLING
Michael Barry's Diary: Italian icons
Fausto Coppi and Gino Bartali are Italy’s two cycling icons. The duo have become legends because of their heroics on the bike, the mystique and contrast of their lives, the intrigue of their rivalries, the beauty evoked in the images taken of them — black and white; sweat and dust — and the courage and passion they gave to a post war Italy.
The past week I was racing in Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali, a five-day race on the Adriatic Sea and in and around towns with internationally famous names such as Modena and Maranello. The posters promoting the race that are taped up on store fronts in each town we pass through have a photo of the two Italian icons the race is named after, riding side by side: Coppi with his hand on Bartali’s back giving him a friendly pat as both of their eyes focus on the road ahead. On their backs over their unbranded wool collared jerseys are tubular tires in case of a puncture; it is a romantic classic photo that evokes everything cycling is about: the effort, the camaraderie, the journey, and the environment. In the photo there are elements that remain the same in the sport today while others compose a complete contrast.
The peloton in Settimana Internazionale was large with twenty four teams of eight riders, dozens of nationalities, and what seemed to be hundred-strong motorcade of motorcycles, cars and ambulances, as well as everything that passes before the race that we, the cyclists, never see. Not many of the cyclists in the peloton today know, or care, much about the history of the sport, about Coppi and Bartali, or even more recent champions such as Pedro Delgado or Charly Mottet. Today’s generation is distant from the sport’s rich history and somehow, that history has been somewhat lost in science, money and numbers — perhaps a reflection of today’s society and our generation.
Marco Pinotti, my teammate on High Road, was my roommate in Italy. Marco is a rare personality in cycling, nicknamed “the Professor” as he is always talking about the science of the sport, he is one of the few cyclists in the peloton that has a degree (engineering) and always seems to have a book on training on the bedside table. But he also devours anything about the history of the sport and will argue on results, a rider’s age, or a race until someone brings out hard facts to prove him right or wrong. One night, around the dinner table we were discussing the sport, how it had changed, and why.
Marco spoke of his former teammate on Saunier Duval, Leonardo Piepoli: Piepoli doesn’t train with a power meter but by feeling, only riding when he feels good while using the terrain to intensify his training. It is a formula that has worked yearly throughout Piepoli’s long career and it will likely work again this season as he trains for the Giro. Marco, more than half of the peloton, and I have become accustomed to riding with a power meter to the point where it feels abnormal not to look down to see a number on the screen. It is a fantastic device but also one that perhaps needs to be used simply as a tool and not a gauge of how good a cyclist is, or isn’t — which now seems a common way to select riders for races or teams. I have gone to races thinking I was flying fit only to be disappointed; and, conversely when I have expected poor fitness but once I get going everything flows smoothly and I feel fit, fine and perform well. A balance needs to be found.
As with most technology, such as race radios, a certain feeling is lost in the pursuit of making things easier and more efficient. Len Pettyjohn, director of United Pro and Coors Light, had a great quote in an article by John Wilcockson in VeloNews, “I’m seeing many differences in today’s generation of riders. Not only are they more passive in terms of tactics, but they seem to have stopped thinking for themselves. I think it’s because they are so used to being told what to do all the time. I would like to see earpieces banned.”
This is evident in the way the races unfold but also at the dinner table and in the peloton. Riders are categorized, the director plans their day and the race for them, and essentially all that is left to do is pedal fast when we are told to. As the peloton has grown and evolved true leaders have disappeared — Lance Armstrong was perhaps the last of them — and there seems to be less respect and solidarity amongst the riders in an era where we need it the most and we have become complacent.
In Italy our results didn’t show the effort the team put forth. We started the race two men short due to injuries and illness and fought all week in attacks and breakaways. On the most mountainous stage of the race I attacked repeatedly to form a breakaway and fought until the end in the mist and hail, with the hope that it we might make it to the line for a stage victory.
With panache, Marco Pinotti and our teammate Morris Possoni attacked early into the final stage to attempt the Hail Mary, a victory or podium for Morris in the overall classification. They rode impressively fast off the front for 160 kilometers and were only caught with 9 km to go. The peloton that caught them was quartered and the riders left were empty from the chase.
Panache is what made the Coppi and Bartali icons. Panache is what makes cycling a heroic and appealing sport. Panache is Marco and Morris attacking from the start, in an uncalculated move, in an attempt to win it all, with pure guts and legs.
