INITIATIVES | 06/25/2024 | 08:04
by Carlo Malvestio
No business deal, no ulterior motive, Christian Prudhomme came to visit the “Ottavio Bottecchia” Museum of San Martino di Colle Umberto (TV) out of pure interest and curiosity.
Just a few days before the start of the Tour de France 2024 and the historic Italian Grand Départ, the director of the Tour de France strongly wanted us to spend a few hours in the places and on the roads that belonged to the great Botescià, the first Italian to win the Grande Boucle exactly 100 years ago, in 1924.
«We are talking about a gesture of great sensitivity by Prudhomme – he admitted Tiziana Gottardipresident of Pro Loco of Colle Umberto, who wanted and promoted the museum -. The streets of Bottecchia were not included in the route of these first stages of the Grand Départ, but the director of the Tour still wanted to pay homage to our champion, our hero, by coming to visit the museum. For us it is a gesture that means a lot.”
But how did the “Ottavio Bottecchia” Museum arrive in Prudhomme? Galeotta was a dinner organized by the great Luciano Gasparotto who brought together Tiziana Gottardi and Davide Cassani, in which the President of the Pro Loco of Colle Umberto had expressed her desire to have the Tour director visit the museum. Cassani moved immediately, contacted Prudhomme and a few days ago received a call from number 1 of the Grande Boucle: ” There is something we had to visit together…”. Word kept and broken on San Martino di Colle Umberto. The welcome for him was obviously really warm.
The museum was inaugurated last February and is located inside an ancient mill-forge, belonging to the Bottecchia family. There are identifying pieces, photographic material and prints, all objects jealously guarded by the great-grandchildren for many years, as well as an interactive part.
It is not the first time that Christian Prudhomme has shown sincere interest and admiration for the history of Italian cycling. At the beginning of January he had been at Casa Coppi, in Castellania, to pay homage to the Campionissimo.
museoottaviobottecchia.it
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