GRAZIANO GASPARRE AND THAT OUTSTRETCHED HAND FROM IVANO FANINI, A STORY OF FRIENDSHIP. GALLERY

INTERVIEW | 21/01/2025 | 08:14
di Valter Nieri
The Unione Ciclistica Bergamasca of then team manager Antonio Bevilacqua, a former rider for Ivano Fanini, was his springboard to professionalism. We are referring to Graziano Gasparre, born in Codogno, now 45 years old and a member of the Piacenza-based Geocart Cooperative, one of the most successful Italian cyclists in 2000, when he also won the European Under 23 Road Race Championship in Kielce, Poland, ahead of Swedish rider Stefan Adamsson and Lorenzo Bernucci.
He was a promising cyclist in the youth categories, equipped with good technique that allowed him to excel in sprints and breakaways, characterized by good performance across various durations.
He reached his peak performance in 2000 as an Under 23, a season rich with successes. In addition to winning the European championship, he won the 3rd stage from Pescia to Cutigliano and the final classification of the Giro delle Regioni. That season, he also triumphed in the MP Filtri Trophy and the second and third stages of the Ronde de l'Isard d'Ariège. At the international level, he also won the 1st stage of Volta a Catalunya de l'Avenir.
These achievements could not go unnoticed by a great team like Mapei, which made him a professional in 2001 and subsequently with De Nardi, with whom he achieved his third professional victory by winning the 1st international half-stage of Coppi e Bartali in Riccione. At 26, he had talent and was considered a one-day classics cyclist.
"Unfortunately," Gasparre told Gazzetta di Lucca, "I didn't train as I should have, I would have certainly done more kilometers with less effort, but a rider's life is sacrifice and consistency, and in those years I was too detached from cycling, which is why I didn't achieve even better results that were within my reach."
In 2005, Gasparre signed a contract with Universal Caffè, and what happened?
"The team remained on paper and never took off. It was just an illusion: during the period of greatest development in a cyclist's results, I lost a year because I found myself without a team."
And then?
"In December 2005, Ivano Fanini contacted me. I signed with Amore e Vita, where I raced from 2006 to 2009. They were four wonderful years. Fanini managed to transform and improve me as a person, even in private life. First of all, he helped me overcome my weaknesses and fragilities. Between us, a fraternal friendship was established, built precisely during races where Ivano never failed to support me. At the start of the season, around March 2006, I also returned to winning."
After two years, Gasparre returned to success by winning the fourth stage of the Settimana Ciclistica Lombarda in Roncadelle.
"I will never forget that victory. Together with President Fanini, I burst into tears of happiness: it was an embrace full of affection. We have similar characters, and that's why we sometimes clashed, but then we would end up understanding each other and loving each other. I subsequently won some circuits and, since Amore e Vita was a young team, I dedicated myself to helping my teammates achieve more team successes. For me, Fanini means family. I named my son Cristian after Ivano's son, whom I wanted as godfather at the baptism. It's been two years since I've been to Capannori, a municipality that, thanks to Fanini, means cycling in the world, but whenever I get the chance, I gladly go to visit this great family that helped me so much."
Gasparre retired from competitive activity at the end of 2009. He started working as a gardener in San Giovanni alla Vena and then moved to Piacenza, where he lives happily with his new partner Gloria and his two children Alessandro and Martina. Now he is a member of the Geocart Cooperative, a Piacenza-based company that deals with green management, environmental hygiene, and socio-rehabilitation.
As someone who has experienced what hard work means, he doesn't shy away from working more hours and satisfying President Sergio Bernini and Vice President Cristina Caviglioni. "I owe my happiness today to their understanding," Gasparre concludes, "while yesterday's happiness is called Ivano Fanini."

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