That time, at the 1923 Tour de Francethe other (French) runners of his (French) team, pointing to him, say to each other “we will be late in the evening waiting for him”. That time, at the 1924 Tour de France, he won the yellow jersey at the finish line of the first stage and wears it all the way to the podium after the last stage, the first in history. That time, at the Tour de France in 1924, when the race touches Italy, he asks and obtains from the organizers to replace the yellow jersey with the purple one of his team and so running incognito, it seems he feels threatened by the black shirts. All those times that, before sprinting and leaving the others, as if to justify himself he says “a vae mi”, I move on, then we’ll see each other.
To celebrate Ottavio Bottecchiathe Pordenone cultural association named after him organized “A vae mi… 100 times Bottecchia”three days of events for that man of few words and many pedals, of valiant triumphs and mysterious death, who emerged from poverty to riches, became a journalistic case and literary material, this year re-emerged thanks to the anniversaries: the 130th anniversary of his birth , the 100th anniversary of victory at the Tour (the first, the second in 1925, the first double in history).
We start this morning, Friday 7 June, at 8with the departure of around twenty historic cyclists, wool sweaters and iron bikes, from the Bottecchia velodrome in Pordenone. Three days, three stagesthe scheduled arrival on Sunday 9th still at the velodrome.
We continue tomorrow, Saturday 8th, the departure between 8 and 9.30, always from the velodromor, this time it is a manifestation of two days and two stages, with gravel; And at 3pm there is a family bike ride, therefore with children, in collaboration with Fiab Pordenone Aruotalibera; meanwhile he is in Palazzo Gregoris an exhibition opened (respectful, affectionate, in-depth) in which Bottecchia’s life and career are illustrated, with historical panels, newspaper and magazine clippings, photographs and caricatures, reproductions of bikes and jerseys of the time; at 5.30 pm, at Cinemazero (piazza Maestri del Lavoro 3) Claudio Gregori (author of the biography “Il corno d’Orlando”, 66thand2nd: I don’t blame the other authors, but Gregori’s work is truly extraordinary both in the depth of the research and in the inspiration of the text) tells the story of Bottecchia, from bricklayer to runner, from isolated to professional, from gregarious to champion, from poverty to riches; at 6.30 pm, again in Cinemazero, the screening of the documentary film “Ottavio Bottecchia, the furlan de fero”, with director Franco Bortuzzo, Rai journalist; finally at 9.30 pm, in the velodrome, the theater show “1924 – Ottavio e la strada” with the Amici di Cesco group.
“A vae mi… 100 times Bottecchia” ends on Sunday 9th with the bike+train combination: but the train is historic, steam-powered. At 7 am the meeting at the velodrome, at 7.30 am the departure by bike towards the station, at 8 am the departure on the train, destination Gemona, then a 30 kilometer ride to the Peonis stone, then refreshment and the return, always with the Fiab Pordenone Aruotalibera. And that’s not all. At 8 another gravel from the velodromethe exhibition is always open, between 3pm and 4pm the arrival of all the cyclists, the last appointment is the inauguration of the mosaic in honor of Bottecchia.
