THE TIME OF THE PAST. GLAUCO SANTONI, THE BIRTHDAY OF THE TEAM-MAN

HISTORY | 19/01/2025 | 08:14
di Marco Pastonesi

He was such a team player that his only two professional victories were won with the team: the team time trial in Brugnera in 1982 (in the Famcucine-Campagnolo with Moser, Torelli, Masciarelli and Amadori) and the team time trial at the Tour of Switzerland in 1985 (in the Carrera-Inoxpran with Breu, Chiappucci, Perini, Ghirotto, Bordonali and Rossignoli). The other victories, many, very many, were those of his captains: from Gimondi to Basso, to name two, from Bitossi to Zilioli, to name two others.


Glauco Santoni had learned teamwork in his family: "Second of seven brothers and six sisters, total thirteen, plus the dad, a bricklayer, and the mom, a jack-of-all-trades". In Villa Verucchio, about twelve kilometers from Rimini, with other teams: "School, up to middle school, and the town band, five-six years, me on the trumpet". Until between school and band, he chose the bike: "To move around, there was nothing else. We didn't have a car at home". Glauco was fourteen years old: "Cycling alone or around with friends, then in a society. From a small warehouse, they pulled out a very used bike. Don't ask me the brand, I don't remember, I didn't look at it, or maybe it wasn't there anymore, faded by time and scratched from use". The first race? "In the area they organized small circuits. Cesenatico, Gatteo, Bellaria... It ended with a sprint. And in the third race, third place. It was 1965, that day on TV they were celebrating Gimondi's victory at the Tour de France, and I would never have imagined that one day I would race with him and for him".


Cycling was Disneyland: "At home they didn't obstruct me, and when I could, I would still go help my father at the construction sites. Especially since some results were coming. Every Sunday was a beautiful celebration. I had no thoughts for tomorrow, what arrived was a gift. And the passion multiplied". Until he turned professional: "It was a different world, more difficult, another world. Few teams, each team formed by ten-twelve riders, only the strongest, and all riders raced all races, and almost all raced to win, and all races, even those called minor, were no less than 250 kilometers".

Santoni was a good climber-rouleur: "My task was to stay next to my captains. So, a race at the front. I held on, didn't give up, if I had to pull I pulled, if I had to chase I chased, I stayed with them as long as I could, then I continued and arrived nearby, also getting some placements". Third in a Giro dell'Emilia (1976), fifth in a Coppa Placci (1982), fifth in a Giro dell'Appennino (1980), sixth in a Tre Valli Varesine (1980). Also in stage races: sixth in a Giro di Puglia (1980), sixth in a Giro del Trentino (1981). "Racing to help is not like racing to win. And it doesn't teach you to win, indeed, when perhaps a possibility could be glimpsed, I no longer even noticed the right moment".

There were always the captains ("Gimondi who would look for me even after we had stopped racing, Moser who was, let's say, more exuberant..."), training companions ("Vandi and Savini, almost neighbors"), training rides ("Montefeltro, Val Marecchia, Carpegna before it became Pantani's climb, but it was tough, we did it occasionally"). Eight Giri d'Italia, four Tours and a Vuelta ("Tougher the Tour, because of the heat, because of the different way of racing, everyone was flying"), Sanremo and Lombardy ("The most beautiful Sanremo for the champions, a kind of yellow, the Lombardy tougher, at the end of the season"). There were always the climbs ("Never did Gavia and Mortirolo, but Stelvio yes. And Gran Sasso was certainly no less tiring"), sometimes the snow ("At Trentino, at Tirreno-Adriatico..."), often the bonks ("Sooner or later they happened to many, if not to all. Once a hunger crisis hit me, we were in central Italy, I attached myself to an advertising van, doughnuts, I devoured them until I regained energy"). And the water bottles: "Zilioli asked me to stop and get him a drink. Where?, I asked him. At a bar, he said. I don't go to bars, I replied. And Zilioli never asked me again".

Santoni left two wheels for the ten of a truck. A team player, always. So much a team player, Santoni, that even now, at seventy-three years old (today, January 19, his birthday, congratulations), he rides his bike in a group: "Departure from a bar, several friends, then the young ones charge ahead, without respect, and since I don't want to break my neck anymore, we others let them blow off steam and go ahead at our own pace".


Copyright © TBW
COMMENTI
Hai dimenticato i tuoi dati, clicca qui.
Se non sei registrato clicca qui.
TBRADIO

00:00
00:00
Due vittorie, due podi e altri interessanti piazzamenti per l’Ale CX Team che nelle gare di ciclocross del fine settimana ha svolto una doppia attività gareggiando con le categorie internazionali in Friuli allo Zoncolan, mentre il settore giovanile era di...


Una sferzata di gioventà in arrivo per la GreenEDGE Cycling: Ben Wiggins, Wil Holmes, Jed Smithson e Adam Rafferty entreranno a far parte del Team Jayco AlUla nel 2027. Nel corso dell'ultima stagione, tutti e quattro hanno fatto parte dell'Hagens...


Eurosport annuncia oggi l'estensione dell’accordo con l'European Broadcasting Union (EBU) per trasmettere almeno fino al 2032 tutte le principali corse organizzate da Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) e Unipublic, tra cui il Tour de France, il Tour de France Femmes, la...


Come il suo grande rivale Jonas Vingegaard, anche Tadej Pogacar ha ripreso ad allenarsi dopo l’incidente di cui è stato vittima alla Vuelta e che lo ha costretto a saltare l’intero finale di stagione. E come il suo grande rivale,...


Vingegaard è tornato in bici a Maiorca e il Tour 2027 è già nel suo mirino come obiettivo principale. Dopo la caduta a luglio alla Grande Boucle e l’operazione alla clavicola, Jonas Vingegaard è tornato ad allenarsi. Secondo immagini circolate...


La fine della stagione segna anche il momento di stilare le classifiche, fare i bilanci e applaudire i protagonisti di un 2026 che ha regalato emozioni in tutte le categorie. E naturalmente la fine della stagione segna anche il momento...


Pedali e ruote delle biciclette da strada si stanno fermando ma il ciclomercato è in continuo movimento. Si muoverà verso il World Tour l’australiana Emily Dixon, promossa dalla CANYON//SRAM Generation alla “prima squadra” del team tedesco. Dopo aver colto diversi...


12 Settembre 2026: il termine che il MIT (Ministero infrastrutture e Trasporti) aveva indicato, a noi di ZEROSBATTI e ad altre associazioni coinvolte, per inviare la risposta alla richiesta di consultazioni per la stesura del nuovo codice della strada. Non più...


Splendida vittoria di Roberto Carlos González nella seconda e ultima tappa della Clásica Provincia de Chiriquí, che regala al Team Solution Tech–NIPPO–Rali un grande finale di  stagione! Sul percorso di 149 km con partenza e arrivo a David, la corsa...


In alto le biciclette, girino le ruote, scroscino gli applausi e si  levi un grido: «Viva Elena, grazie!». E noi applaudiamo una campionessa come Elena Cecchini che ieri, sulle strade dell'Eneco Tour, ha chiuso la sua carriera. Proprio come ci...


TBRADIO

-

00:00
00:00





DIGITAL EDITION
Prima Pagina Edizioni s.r.l. - Via Inama 7 - 20133 Milano - P.I. 11980460155




Editoriale Rapporti & Relazioni Gatti & Misfatti I Dubbi Scripta Manent Fisco così per Sport L'Ora del Pasto Le Storie del Figio ZEROSBATTI Capitani Coraggiosi Piede a Terra