MEALTIME. THE HARD, INTIMATE AND ULTIMATELY FUNNY TRUTHS - BY FLAVIO GIUPPONI
BOOKS | 16/12/2024 | 08:15 di Marco Pastonesi It's a genuine book. That time - Giro d'Italia 1986 - on the Passo San Marco with Gianni Bugno "both visibly struggling. His team's support car passed us, and his sports director Franco Cribiori came out with an eloquent 'what a piece of sh*t'". It's an honest book. That time - Giro di Lombardia 1987 - when Vincenzo Torriani, the patron, slipped and fell inside the support car "causing his driver to be distracted, who lost control of the steering wheel and ended up rear-ending me, making me fall, fortunately without consequences". It's a sincere book. That time - Tour de France 1990 - "I was managing the prizes", Chiappucci "was also a bit stingy" and "still asked to be included in the division, even though wearing the yellow jersey for eight days and finishing the Tour in second place, thanks to the entire team's work, had already brought him enough fame and economic return to opt out of the split". It's an intimate book. That time - Gavia stage at the Giro 1988 - "just after crossing the finish line, some volunteers supported me, took my feet off the bike and wrapped me in blankets. I was freezing, almost paralyzed. I know it took me a long time to recover. I even lost some sensitivity in my hands: even now, 36 years after that terrible day, I feel hot and cold with a delay". " I (Almost) Won a Giro" is the book where Flavio Giupponi tells his story to Paolo Marabini (Bolis Edizioni, 102 pages, 16 euros, with a preface by Ildo Serantoni), and he does it in a genuine, honest, sincere, and intimate way. In that Italian generation first sacrificed in the Moser-Saronni rivalry, then squeezed between Bugno-Chiappucci, Giupponi was one of the protagonists. Only two individual victories (the Corvara stage at the Giro 1989 and Giro dell'Appennino 1990), plus a team time trial (Giro 1988), a mountain classification (Tour of Switzerland 1994) and the Bonacossa Trophy (1989), but above all that almost victory at the Giro d'Italia 1989 behind Laurent Fignon, plus a fourth place in 1988 and a fifth in 1987. Giupponi tells his story from his kilometer zero ("Born on the mat of a Fiat 600", the one with which Papa Giupponi, a bricklayer and truck driver, took Mama Giupponi to the Bergamo hospital "taking it relatively easy") up to the threshold of sixty ("Just at the entrance of the final climb"). There are joys (his first coach at Sporting Club Almè "said we needed to solve the bicycle problem, because it had become too small. Shortly after, he went to Gimondi, who had just ended his career and whom he knew well, and came back with a brand new Bianchi for me"), but also disappointments ("Never had a good relationship with the National team", "although on more than one occasion I deserved to be considered"). There are stages (after the Corvara victory "I still remember the headline that 'La Gazzetta dello Sport' dedicated to me the next day: Giupponi, a giant"), but also behind-the-scenes moments ("Giro 1988, uphill time trial at Valico del Vetriolo, 'coming down from the finish line, amid the confusion I couldn't find where the anti-doping control was'", "the available time was running out and I panicked", "I finally found the spot, but I was over the time limit", however the 10-minute penalty "was then converted into a fine"). I ncluding meetings with the diabolical Dr. Michele Ferrari ("Never met a scientist as prepared, meticulous, and innovative as him") and team manager Franco Gini ("A bit of a particular character, let's say not exactly transparent, who would subsequently cause me serious tax troubles"). There are also group stories. That time - perhaps the Grand Prix des Nations 1984 - when Visentini "cut his bike into twelve pieces and put them in a bag. He handed them to Boifava and said: 'I'm quitting'". That time - after the Gavia at the Giro 1988 - when the same Visentini "called Torriani and told him: 'Vincenzo, is that you? Remember that when you die, I'll provide the coffin'. For those who don't know, Roberto's family had a funeral home business..." And so it's also a fun book.
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