OfGian Paolo Ormezzano
A journey through the history of the Giro d’Italia through anecdotes, stories and memories
Alexandria. Without the province of Alessandria, Piedmontese cycling would be bereft of Coppi, Girardengo, Cuniolo and even Zancanaro. And in another Rivera sport, Ferrari. Baloncieri, Rava. And in Armani’s bob (shame on those who say “Armani who?”).
Balmamion. When Franco’s uncle Ettore competed he was Balmamion, then Franco won two Giri d’Italia as Balmamion. Now someone remembers him by re-giving him the hyphen, a small stretch of his life path backwards.
Conternal From Turin, first Italian to win (1956) a Tour of Spain. He had a tuft of graying hair and was White Feather. Today he would suffer vetoes and criticism from the Black Feathers, whether dear Alpine soldiers or painful journalists.
Defilippis. Dialect nickname Cit, little one. In 1956 he won a stage of the Tour in his native Turin, the municipal stadium was full, the bellies of his journalist friends to whom Cit’s father, an eminent happy pasta maker, gave cartloads of agnolotti.
Esterophilia. State of psychosubjugation whereby it is believed that outside your country, understood as a nation, everything is better. As Italian cyclophiles now think of Pogacar and C.’s Slovenia, even if they don’t know where the hell Slovenia is.
Felline. Local cyclist with an ideal surname for even banal puns. Good but always waiting for a Feline to join him to make him win.
Ganna. One from Verbano, a Piedmont where many dream of Milan and feel Swiss. He has even overcome the uffa-no: he is not related to that Luigi Ganna who won (1909) the first Giro d’Italia.
H2O. The water formula, which cyclists love if in a water bottle, hate if it rains. They say that cycling once lived on bread and water, then doping arrived. But the racing cyclist has always taken drugs and dreams of being Coppi.
Ignolin. When, in 1961, the Tour arrived in Turin, the people of Savoy were the first to reach the finish line and he was French. The memory of Defilippis from five years earlier swelled like the cooking of Cit’s father’s agnolotti.
Longo Borghini. She won important women’s races, she is from Verbano and she too risked Balmamion syndrome: Longo Borghini or Longoborghini? It doesn’t matter, it still reads “long live her”.
Monument. Turin has created, in front of the Motovelodromo, a monument to Coppi who never won a race here. And Fausto in bronze raises his arms victorious to the sky, he who has never crossed a finish line like this. Call them, if you want, poetic license.
Novara. Two Piedmontese cyclists were Novara’s post-war idols: Pasquale Fornara, a great time trialist, won four Tours of Switzerland; Pippo Fallarini, with a cheeky face like the characters in Charlie Brown, won little but smiled a lot, which was good.
Olympics. Turin had it in winter in 2006, it will have it again – third time – soon Paris which, as we know, is a small Turin. The Piedmontese Ganna will be looking for medals in cycling, track and time trial, while our entire cycling team will desperately be looking for a Ganna.
Pantani. For him, the 1995 Milan-Turin was the race of broken bones coming down from Superga and getting into a car. At the hospital complex surgery, and there began a health mystery that involved a short, glorious and sad life.
Quarna. He and she with the surname Coppi left from the small village on the Verbano to become farmers in the Alessandria area. One of their descendants was born in Castellania and is the greatest poster of cycling.
Restaurant. Piedmontese cycling has always lacked a beloved, classic, ritual restaurant. However, Lombard cycling has had too many of them, to nourish and inspire Gianni Brera and C.
Superga. The Giro that goes up to Superga, a tribute to the Grande Torino, is an idea of Cairo which has Toro, has the Giro and has a great desire to move us. This May 4th will be special, a cocktail or rather a potion of life and death: hearts be warned.
Tortona. Coppi died (2-1-60) in Tortona hospital, perhaps from unidentified malaria. Tortona is full of basketball, it was full of football. Lots of sport, but never too much.
Uniqueness. Cycling is the only sport that doesn’t charge anything to see its champions on the roads. Other sports definitely charge entry so you don’t see anything. Who thought of football?
Velodrome. The Giro came to us and a lot of other cycling, then they played rugby and American football and soccer on it, and they used it for garage sales and that’s it.
Zikipaki. Mario Fossati, a great Lombard journalist, rejected the Cit for Defilippis, and proposed Zikipaki, who Nino liked, he left with him, and here we only need him for the letter zeta.
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May 3, 2024
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