Photo of the day - 9: Thinking of Il Lombardia (the Tour of Lombardy)

 

As we head into the Autumn and the road cycling season approaches the red kite, representing the final kilometre of the race, I am thinking more and more about The Tour of Lombardy, or Il Lombardia, as it is commonly known - not least because I've been writing a feature about it. In recent days I have spoken to quite a few people, including Norma Gimondi, daughter of the late great Felice Gimondi. 

Today I spoke to the head honcho at RCS Sport, organisers of this event and other big Italian events like the Giro d'Italia and Strade Bianche. It was great to finally get to speak to Mauro Vegni and talk to him about the race and its history. They are putting on quite a few races in the coming weeks - Tour of Sicily, Milan-Turin, Gran Piemonte as well as Il Lombardia. So I felt quite honoured that in this busy period he took the time out to talk to me. 

All this talk of the race, and cycling in the Lombardy region leaves me thinking that I really should go there. I must admit, I have gotten used to doing things over the phone or in video chats. Travelling seems such a faff, especially at this time where you end up having to think about Covid tests and health passes to go to different places - or even the government suddenly deciding to put the country you are visiting onto a red list, or add in other special measures. 

But, I must say I have fond memories of the couple of years I spent in Milan, and I really loved riding around the various areas in the Lombardy region - Como, Bergamo, Lecco, Intelvi, Lugano (in Switzerland), and also going South to Pavia and Oltrepo Pavese. I managed to get in a trip to Lombardy in February of last year, right before the coronavirus pandemic hit. It was only a brief trip up a couple of climbs near Bergamo - before I went on to do some skiing in Courmayeur and Chamonix - but it was lovely. So yes, all this talk of Il Lombardia has me salivating and thinking, maybe I should go there, and meet some of the folks I spoke to, other professional riders, as well as some friends I know there too. I'm holding that thought.

Photo of the day - 6: Talking to Norma Gimondi about Felice

 

As part of the work that I am doing on a feature article about the Tour of Lombardy I had the pleasure of interviewing Norma Gimondi on the phone. She is the daughter of the man above, Felice Gimondi, one of Italy's greatest bike racers. 

Felice won all three of the Grand Tours (Tour de France, Giro d'Italia, Vuelta a Espana) in the 60s and 70s, including winning the Giro three times. He also won the World Championships in 1973, and the Tour of Lombardy twice. The great man sadly passed away at the age of 76, a couple of years ago after suffering a heart attack while on holiday. 

I have good memories of interviewing Felice Gimondi in Bergamo in 2012, when I took part in the eponymous cyclosportive (Gran Fondo) held in his honour. So it was good to speak to Norma today. She had lots of stories to tell about her father's days racing, and she spoke with a lot of pride. She mentioned how much he enjoyed riding up the Madonna del Ghisallo climb, and how he got the hunger knock and left with nothing to eat he had to pick figs off the trees. She also mentioned how upset Eddy Merckx was when Felice beat him at the Tour of Lombardy. Even in 2014 at gala event, almost 50 years after the event, Eddy didn't want to be reminded of the day and refused to autograph a photo she had of her dad crossing the finish line ahead of Merckx. 

Norma said it always makes her feel happy to talk about Papa, as she calls him. Based in Bergamo, where the family is established, Norma is a lawyer by trade, and she is also vice president of the Italian Cycling Federation. For her, it is important to preserve the Gimondi name in cycling, and that is one way that she can do it - through being involved in Italian cycling. I really enjoyed my chat with Norma Gimondi, and hope I get to meet her in person in the not-distant future.

Sport after a life-changing injury

Recently two elite athletes were badly injured in cycling accidents. The circumstances of the incidents were slightly different, but the outcomes will have been equally traumatic.

Edo Maas

On 6 October 19-year old Edo Maas was hit by a car that strayed onto the course while he was competing in the Mini Tour of Lombardy (Il Piccolo Lombardia) Under-23 cycle race.

As he was coming down from the Madonna del Ghisallo climb between Asso and Canzo a car whose driver had ignored the "stop" signs that there was a race, drove onto the course.

Edo, who was travelling at 70kph (38mph) per hour had nowhere to go and couldn't brake in time collided with the vehicle and crashed to the ground leaving him unconscious with a broken back and neck, plus lesions to his face.

A prompt emergency response saw the Dutch youngster air-lifted and operated on at Niguarda Hospital in Milan and doctors were able to save his life. However, the doctors were unable to repair the damage to key nerves in his back, and they said that it is unlikely that Edo will ever regain the use of his legs.

The woman driving the car is now being investigated for causing serious injuries by dangerous driving.

Team Sunweb, the team that Edo races for made the emotional announcement two weeks ago, and they, along with the Maas family have urged the UCI to give higher priority to rider safety during cycle races.

Last week, we then learned of the news that Claire Danson, a European Triathlon Champion at the 30-34 Age group championships, and sister of Team GB Hockey player Alex Danson has been permanently paralysed.

Claire Danson

In a post she wrote on her Instagram account Claire revealed that on 28 August she suffered multiple fractures and punctured lungs following a collision with a tractor while riding her bike.

Claire's injuries are healing, except for the injury to her spinal cord at the T9 vertebra, which has left her paralysed from the waist down.

These incidences occurred just over a year after the German World Keirin Track Cycling Champion Kristina Vogel lost the use of her legs after a high-speed collision with another rider while training at the Cottbus Velodrome near Berlin in June 2018. The then 27-year old severed her spinal cord a the T7 vertebra leaving her permanently confined to a wheelchair.

I feel so sorry to hear these pieces of news. All of these athletes were in their prime, at the top of their game, and sport was a central part in their lives. Then to suddenly suffer these traumatic injuries must be so heart-breaking.

Kristina Vogel

Kristina gave a heart-rendering interview to the BBC last year a few weeks after her injury.

Naturally, Kristina had cried a lot and had to come to terms with her new situation but the quote that stood out for me was when she said: "I still love my life. So nothing changed, really. Just how I move. I'm going to do a lot of things in my wheelchair. It's different, but it's still my life, so why not be happy."

I, and many people were so impressed and inspired by her strength, courage, and positive attitude in the wake of this life-changing injury.

This takes me back to when another athlete who suffered paralysis after an accident. In 2001 in the days when I did triathlon, Paula Craig, an age-group triathlete was the woman to beat in my age-group. The detective sergeant who was part of the Metropolitan Police triathlon team, was doing one of her last bike rides the week before doing the Bournemouth Triathlon World Age Group Championships qualifier race when she was hit by a car on a country road. The car, travelling at 60 miles per hour was driven by an 84-year old man who admitted he was not wearing his glasses.

From one moment to the next Paula went from being a triathlete to a para-triathlete when she was confined to a wheelchair.

Paula Craig MBE (with Dame Cressida Dick,
Metropolitan Police Commissioner)

This was quite shocking for all of us in what was quite a close-knit community. Paula spent five months in hospital, and during that time she bought herself a handcycle and slowly began to do light exercises as part of her recovery.

A year after her accident Paula competed in the wheelchair race at the London Marathon and is the first person to have competed as an athlete and a para-athlete in that event. (As an able-bodied athlete she had done 2h 57 in the London marathon.) She also competed in the World Para-Triathlon Championships and won that.

As well as keeping her job at the Metropolitan Police which saw her promoted to Detective Inspector at the Homicide Squad and the Terrorism Squad, Paula became a motivational speaker, and in 2005 she was awarded an MBE for services to the police.

Paula's story goes to show how she has made something positive out of a life-changing situation and I feel inspired by her. I hope that I can have the same attitude as she does in very difficult life-changing circumstances. I also wish Kristina, Claire, and Edo all the best.

Ciao Felice Gimondi - tribute to an Italian legend

On Tuesday it was the funeral of one of the greats of professional cycle racing, Felice Gimondi. "The Phoenix" died of a heart attack last Friday at the age of 76 while swimming on the beach, on holiday in Sicily.

Enjoying meeting a legend in Italian cycling

Gimondi was one of the top cyclists in his day, only bettered by Eddie Merckx.

He is one of only seven cyclists to have won the major Grand Tours - Tour de France, the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a Espana.

The other riders are Jacques Anquetil, Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Alberto Contador, Vicenzo Nibali, Chris Froome.

I had the chance to meet Felice Gimondi in 2012 when I was in Milan. I was taking part in the Gran Fondo Gimondi, a cyclosportive in and around Bergamo, near his home village, and on a sunny Saturday afternoon the day before the event, I interviewed him at the event HQ.

Gimondi seemed a very down-to-earth and charming man, and liked a joke and a laugh. We started the interview in Italian, though my Italian was not completely fluent. He then drifted into French, which put me pretty much in my element, so we carried on that way. I wondered if he would slip into Spanish or English, but we stuck with French. He didn't know any English, since it was not the common language in the days he cycled in the 60s and 70s.

My memory of the interview was how friendly he was, and how much time he had to speak. He was a bit surprised to see young black lady taking part in the event, and gave me tips on tackling the various climbs. The next day I rode the 140km cyclosportive in weather that was a complete contrast to the lovely conditions of the previous day.

The rain came down from first thing in the morning and never stopped. Many people, mainly local Italians handed in their timing chips having decided not to ride.

But I continued, and so did Gimondi, who did pretty well considering he was almost 70 at the time. He saw me after the ride and congratulated me on completing the event. I repaid the compliment!

I had hoped to get back to the Gran Fondo again, or even the Tour of Lombardy, but time passed by and it didn't happen. Gimondi was always active in cycling - being involved with different road and mountain bike racing teams, so I just thought I would see him again. Sadly, that is not be.

I am glad to have had the chance to meet Felice Gimondi, and it was a real pleasure to talk to him.

Here's my interview with Gimondi from that day:

Do you get out on your bike much nowadays?

Normally I ride twice a week, each time for two hours and mainly on a mountain bike.  

So you are involved in mountain biking now?

Yes, I really like mountain-biking. There is a lot more traffic on the roads nowadays and it’s getting a bit dangerous. It is not the same as when I was riding on the roads many years ago, and I am not as sharp as I was at the age of 25 or 30!

But mountain biking is quite technical?

It is, but it is an easier environment to cycle in. Of course there are lots of traffic-free cycle paths but these are more for family rides rather than for training on.  Also, when we take youngsters mountain-biking it’s easier to learn about cycling off road. 

Parents aren’t necessarily in favour of taking their children out on the roads at a young age, but they don’t mind them going out on mountain-bike rides. I haven’t completely given up riding on the road – I still get out and ride the local routes.

Do you have any favourite routes on the roads local to where you live in Bergamo?

My favourite routes are in the Brembilla area, north of Bergamo. These routes are included in my Gran Fondo event. I enjoy riding a loop around the Val Taleggio. It is 60km and when I was preparing for the Giro d'Italia many years ago I would go round that route 3 times, doing it 3 times a week.

Is Lombardy your favourite area to ride?

Of course – I was born and bred in this province, and I still live here now. I won the Tour of Lombardy twice, and the Milan-San Remo. These are my favourite routes! I have put my name to a Gran Fondo event and a Mountain-bike Marathon which are held in this area.

As President of TX Active-Bianchi

There is a Felice Gimondi Mountain-bike Marathon?

Yes. As well as the Gran Fondo Felice Gimondi in May, there is the Gimondibike which is a mountain -bike race. I think that in the future there will be more off-road Gran Fondo events as it is easier to get the permission to organise those. 

Gran Fondo events on roads are being subjected more and more to last minute route alterations and it is becoming more difficult to get the authorisation from the relevant bodies. 

I understand that you are involved in team management now.

Yes, I still work with Bianchi who sponsor three road racing teams – Androni Giocattoli, Vacansoleil-DCM, and Columbia Coldeportes. I will have worked with Bianchi for 50 years next year - as an amateur racer, as a professional, and now as a team manager of different teams.  

I am also president of Team TX Active-Bianchi, a mountain biking team. We have a young guy, Gerhard Kerschbaumer, who won the Under-23 Italian National Mountain Biking Championships and European Championships. (He finished in 13^th place at the London 2012 Olympics.) 

You have also competed in the Olympics. How was it for you?

Yes, I raced in the Tokyo Olympics in 1964. There was a racer who got away and I joined him in the breakaway. But then about 1.5km from the finish line, we were brought back by the peloton, led by Eddie Merckx and I had no chance of winning.

You went on to have numerous victories in the years afterwards though.  

Yes, I won around 150 professional races including the Tour de France and Tour de L’Avenir (amateur), Vuelta a Espana, three times the Giro d’Italia, Paris-Roubaix, Milan-San Remo, World Championships, twice the Grand Prix des Nations Time Trial, twice the Tour of Lombardy and twice Paris-Brussels, which is no longer as important as it was back then. In those days it was as high profile as the Paris-Roubaix, but without as many cobbles, though it was quite long - 311km.

What motivated you to keep going?

Just the hunger to win. I trained very hard. When you are preparing for big races nothing is too much! As a professional racer it was about taking everything I did into consideration. I was completely committed in mind, body and spirit to my performance. You have to be fully committed if you want to achieve your goals – as much in your training as in your state of mind. I couldn’t go to sleep at night without knowing what training I would be doing the following day.

When I won the Tour de France it was my first year as a professional cyclist. At that time I hardly knew anything about professional racing. I didn’t know the other racers. On my cycling mitts I’d written the names and race numbers of the riders who were possible challengers, as well as their ranking in the General Classification. So when a racer attacked I could quickly look down at my hands and check their credentials. 

Back then, mitts were plain and light-coloured so I could easily write on them. With racing kit having logos of sponsors all over them nowadays it wouldn’t have been possible to write anything down if I were racing today!

You form part of an illustrious group of riders from the 60s and 70s like Eddie Merckx, Raymond Poulidor, Luis Ocana, and Tom Simpson. What was it like in those days racing against these big names?

I enjoyed those times. There was strong rivalry but my contemporaries were very professional. 

I have good memories of Tom Simpson. He wasn’t just a brilliant racer but he was also a great man. You always felt good when you were with him, and he always liked to joke. 

I remember that day on Mont Ventoux in 1967. There were 5 or 6 racers who got into a breakaway. Tom was with them, and that was the last time I ever saw him. Jan Jansen went on to win the stage to Avignon. I didn’t know exactly what had happened as I was just learning French so couldn’t understand everything. 

It was later on when I was receiving a massage in the hotel that I found out that Tom had died on Mont Ventoux.

During the 60s and 70s you would have been the best Italian racer at that time. How did it feel being the best in the country?

It was a nice feeling, but in many races my nemesis was Eddie Merckx, and I wanted to get near him in the competition. He was just too good though. For me, he was the best rider of all time, full stop!

What was the rapport like between the two of you?

During the races there was a strong rivalry, but his behaviour was very correct, and we had a lot of respect for each other. He had an engine that was just bigger than everyone else’s and everyone knew it! Aside from that, he was a man of good character, and was altruistic. Merckx was a true professional.

In the peloton today, do you think we have the big personalities like we had in the past?

It is difficult to have that nowadays because we don’t get the duels all year round like we used to have. It always seems to be arranged that while one big name is doing the Giro d’Italia, the other is focusing on the Tour de France or the classics, or the World Championships. 

Gimondi reminisces about what has changed in cycling since his day

Back in our day great rivals would race against each other many times a year, including in the big races. 

It was easier to keep those names in mind, whereas nowadays someone becomes well known in one Grand Tour, and then when the next big race comes round he is forgotten and the focus is on someone else for a few months. 

It therefore becomes more difficult for the public to keep a specific racer’s name in mind and so it is harder for a racer to develop into a big personality like it was in the past.  

In your opinion how has racing changed since the time when you raced?

I think the passion for racing has not changed. Perhaps it’s more difficult nowadays because there are more distractions, especially with things like earpieces and race radio. What is missing is the rider who is open in his style of racing and more instinctive. 

Nowadays each rider is told what his job will be during in a race, and that doesn’t allow for racing on instinct. For example, a racer may be told that his job is to control the race and then help set up his team mate for the sprint 10km from the finish line. That is what has changed from the time when I raced.

Also today’s racers are shaped to be just specialists in one thing. A team may want a 60kg rider who can become a climbing specialist, or they may want a powerful sprinter. It is not like before where a racer was an all-rounder and could win Paris-Roubaix, then the Tour of Italy, and still finish well in the Tour de France and the World Championships.

Who are your favourite racers?

I like Andy Schlek, though he needs to work on his time trialling. I remember his father as I raced against him many years ago as an amateur and a professional. He was quick, but not as quick as his sons though!

I also like Cadel Evans. There are riders in my team who raced against him in mountain bike races in Australia.

I must also add to that list, Alberto Contador. It is a shame what happened to him. I don’t agree with imposing a ban on a rider two years after the offence.

You should do the test on day one, the B sample (contra analysis) after 2 or 3 days, with the final decision being made no later than 10 days afterwards. I don’t understand why there was a two-year wait to make such a ruling, and I don’t think that it is correct. 

Riders have new contracts to sign, which are based on their performance in the big races. Sometimes we are talking about one million euros. How can we proceed with anything if someone will lose, or even gain the Maglia Rosa after two years! It must have been quite a strange situation for Michele Scarponi as well. In any case, I think Contador still has a good future ahead of him and he will continue to win further titles.

I understand you will be honoured, on your birthday at the end of September during the Tour of Lombardy. You must be quite pleased about that.

Yes, the Tour of Lombardy will start from Bergamo and will celebrate my many years in cycling. I will be 70 years old on the day of the race! It is a great honour to be given this recognition, and at my favourite event. It will be a special occasion for me. 

I won it in 1966 and in 1973 and they were big victories for me. I know the roads very well, and I still ride them on my regular club runs. I will be at the start of the race, but sadly I won’t be able to race it all! 

May 2012 

Interview was conducted in French

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