It's July 18, 1995, in the Pyrenees, the fifteenth stage of the Tour de France is being raced, the Saint Giron-Cauterets of 206 kilometers. Miguel Indurain is in the yellow jersey and the Italians are great protagonists of the race. The world applauds the performances of "Blue Pedal" in the first two weeks of the Tour: the two days in the yellow jersey of Ivan Gotti, the victory of Gewiss-Ballan in the team time trial, the stage wins by Mario Cipollini (2), Marco Pantani (2) and Fabio Baldato. Indurain is a king difficult to attack, but Great Italy is present.

In the initial part, stage number 15 involves the passage over the Col du Portet d'Aspet and the subsequent descent towards Boutx. On the descent, at kilometer 34 of the race, Dante Rezze goes off the road, Dirk Baldinger (current manager of the women's Ceratizit) falls and breaks his femur, Johan Museeuw, Erik Breukink, Giancarlo Perini ("Duke of Benidorm") and Fabio Casartelli, from Como in the Motorola jersey, also crash. Perini, Museeuw, Breukink and Perini get back up and continue the race.

Unfortunately, Casartelli cannot get back on his bike: in the curve fall, he hit his head against a square-based guardrail and remains unconscious. Dr. Gerard Porte, the Tour de France doctor, intervenes. It is immediately clear that Fabio is in serious condition, and Dr. Porte calls the helicopter. The Italian rider is transported to the hospital in Tarbes, doctors multiply adrenaline injections, but there's nothing to be done. At 2 pm on July 18, '95, the communication arrives from the Tarbes hospital: Casartelli has died, the tragedy is complete. The race continues through the cols of Menté, Peyresourde, Aspin, Tourmalet and the final climb, with riders unaware of what has happened. Richard Virenque wins the stage in Cauterets, 2nd is Alex Zulle, 3rd is the Devil Claudio Chiappucci. However, the result fades into the background: Casartelli is lifeless in Tarbes. Fifty meters past the finish line, RAI reporters communicate to the Italian riders that Fabio didn't make it. The boys burst into tears.

The day after, the protagonists of the Grande Boucle travel the 267 kilometers of the sixteenth stage, Tarbes-Pau, at a tourist pace, to pay homage to Fabio. The first to cross the finish line are his Motorola teammates. Andrea Peron, being Italian, is delegated to cross the line in first place. The stage was neutralized. On July 21, '95, stage number 18 of the Tour ends in Limoges, and Lance Armstrong, captain of Motorola, crosses the finish line victoriously. The Texan points to the sky: Fabio is up there.

Thirty years have passed since those days and the Tour is still in the Pyrenees. Casartelli is still in the heart of all fans, cycling societies have been founded in his name. Between Viareggio and Camaiore, there is a cycle path with a futuristically designed bridge dedicated to Fabio. In Forlì, the city of his wife Annalisa, there is a street named after Fabio. Many initiatives are linked to the unfortunate rider from Albese, including a gran fondo. On August 16, 1991, his birthday, Fabio triumphed at the Gran Premio di Capodarco in Fermo, in the Marche region. Gaetano Gazzoli, other enthusiasts, and local authorities have dedicated a monument to the Albese rider, an archetype of classic line races.

It's beautiful to rewind the tape of Fabio's career, born in Como on August 16, 1970. His cycling cradle was the Alzate Brianza society, a nursery that has been prominent for many years. As a junior, Fabio raced for the Breccia Sports Group, while his repeated successes among juniors enriched the trophy cabinet of the Unione Ciclistica Comense 1887. Fabio continued his series of victories as a second-category amateur with Verynet, among the "firsts" with Diana Colnago, teams with Mario Cioli as main sponsor and Olivano Locatelli as DS. At the beginning of 1991, all of Locatelli's best riders moved to Domus '87. The fast-paced Fabio Casartelli won the Montecarlo-Alassio in '91 and '92 (the only one to boast 2 wins in the early season classic). In the 1990-92 three-year period, his victories were 14. Naturally, the most important was on August 2, 1992, in Barcelona, on the Montjuich circuit: he gave Italy the Olympic gold medal. First Casartelli, second the Dutchman Dekker, 3rd the Latvian Dainis Ozols, and in 5th place the emerging German Erik Zabel, an unforgettable Olympic race. Fabio is the last amateur to triumph in the Olympic road race: from the 1996 Atlanta edition, professionals raced.

Fabio became a professional with Ariostea in January 1993, under manager-DS Giancarlo Ferretti. In April of that year, Casartelli won the queen stage of the Settimana Bergamasca (later becoming Settimana Lombarda) in Flero, near Brescia. His only victory as a "pro".

However, the harmony between Casartelli and Ferretti was not total: the Albese rider preferred to move to ZG-Bottecchia under DS Dino Zandegù in January 1994, and the following year to Motorola. Fabio, we send you a big greeting. Rest assured, no one here will ever forget you.