‘How much you made me work uphill…’, it is the greeting with which Roberto Conti was welcomed by Jan Ullrich, smiling and in great shape. It happened in Cesenatico, where last Friday the Yellow Night took place, a bit to wait for the Tour which next Sunday will start again from the Adriatic Riviera with the second Italian stage, a little to remember the local hero, Marco Pantani, the last to score a double on the roads of Italy and France.
Promoted by local authorities and supported by the Pirata family, with mother Tonina in the front row together with father Paolo and sister Manola, the evening saw former companions of the Romagna champion, big cycling names and entertainment artists parade on the stage in Piazza Andrea Costa. After the videos dedicated to Pantani’s exploits, the first to answer Davide De Zan’s questions were the former athletes of Mercatone Uno, from the faithful Roberto Conti, Marcello Siboni and Fabiano Fontanelli to Giusvan Piovaccari and Maurizio Caravaggio. Then it was his turnformer world champion Mario Cipollini it’s at Ivan Gotti telling the Pirate as seen by those who didn’t run in his team, finally the German took the floor Jan Ullrichwinner of the ’97 Tour and second on five other occasions, who donated an autographed photo of the Albertville sprint to the family of the deceased championwhich he won in the photo finish on Marco in ’98, and another image that portrays him next to the Romagna player on stage. The impersonator Claudio Lauretta, the comedian Maria Pia Timo and the singer Francesco Baccini cheered up the evening.
In the photo from left: Andrea Agostini, Roberto Conti, Jan Ullrich, Fabiano Fontanelli, Marcello Siboni, Davide De Zan, Francesco Baccini, Dimitri Konyshev, Mario Cipollini, Maria Pia Timo and a friend of Cipollini. Bottom left Giusvan Piovaccari, Maurizio Caravaggio, Ullrich’s companion, Claudio Lauretta and Ivan Gotti. In the center Tonina Belletti, mother of Marco Pantani.
