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Voted the most popular Italian sportsman of the twentieth century, Fausto Angelo Coppi was the campionissimo - champion of champions. The greatest cyclist of the immediate post-war years, he was the first man to win cycling's great double, the Tour de France and Tour of Italy in the same year - and he did it twice. He achieved mythical status for his crushing solo victories, world titles and world records. But his significance extends far beyond his sport. Coppi's scandalous divorce and controversial early death convulsed a conservative, staunchly Roman Catholic Italy in the 1950s. At a time when adultery was still illegal, Coppi and his lover were dragged from their bed in the middle of the night, excommunicated and forced to face a clamorous legal battle. The ramifications of this case are still being felt today. In Fallen Angel, acclaimed cycling biographer, William Fotheringham, tells the tragic story of Coppi's life and death - of how a man who became the symbol of a nation's rebirth after the disasters of war died reviled and heartbroken. Told with insight and intelligence, this is a unique portrait of Italy and Italian sport at a time of tumultuous change.
Herbie Sykes's Coppi is a beautiful, unique evocation of global cycling legend Fausto Coppi. Built around an extraordinary collection of hand-picked, never before seen images, the book also features testimony from those who knew him intimately. Fausto Coppi remains the most iconic cyclist in the history of the sport. For twenty years either side of the war his extravagant talent, allied to a unique charisma and human frailty, captivated sports fans across Europe. Moreover, he revolutionised the sport of bike racing itself, laying the foundations for the generations who would follow. Coppi was Il Campionissimo, his greatness so unequivocal that his celebrity transcended mere sport. As such bo...
Born in Italy, the son of humble Piedmont peasants, Fausto Coppi knew the hardships of life as well as the glories. On January 2nd 1960 - one of the greatest cycling champions of all time died of malaria. The king of the peloton, the campionissimo dazzled and amazed the cycling world with his style and melancholy personality while advancing the sport technically and socially.
Death wanted him intact - under this newspaper headline on the 3rd January 1960, the editor in chief L'Equipe and boss of the Tour de France signed an obituary with this poignant sentence: Fausto Coppi will race no more.
The story of Italian cycling is the story of Italy in the twentieth century.
Born of tumult in 1909, the Giro d'Italia helped unite a nation. Since then, it has reflected it's home country—the Giro's capricious and unpredictable nature matches the passions and extremes of Italy itself.A desperately hard race through a beautiful country, the Giro has bred characters and stories that dramatize the shifting culture and society of its home. There was Alfonsina Strada, who cropped her hair and raced against the men in 1924, or Ottavio Bottecchia, expected to challenge for the winner's "Maglia Rosa," the famed pink jersey, in 1928, until he was killed on a training ride—most likely by Mussolini's Black Shirts. And what would a book about the Giro d'Italia be without Fa...
An Italian SCHINDLER'S LIST, this is the inspirational story of Gino Bartali, who made the greatest comeback in Tour de France history and secretly aided the Italian Resistance during the Second World War. ROAD TO VALOUR is the inspiring, against-the-odds story of Gino Bartali, the cyclist who made the greatest comeback in Tour de France history and still holds the record for the longest gap between victories. Yet it was his actions during the Second World War, when he secretly aided the Resistance, rather than his remarkable exploits on a bike, that truly cemented his place in the hearts and minds of the Italian people. Based on nearly ten years of research, and including fascinating new interviews, this is the only book written that fully explores the scope of Bartali's wartime work. A breathtaking account of one man's unsung heroism and his resilience in the face of adversity, this is an epic tale of courage, comeback and redemption, and the untold story of one of the greatest athletes of the twentieth century.
Eddy Merckx. Fausto Coppi. Jacques Anquetil. Bernard Hinault. Beryl Burton. Marianne Vos. A sole cyclist battling over a pass high in the mountains is one of the most romantic of sporting images. In the past 150 years road cycling has been dominated by a series of iconic people who have redefined endurance and fortitude. Every decade has pushed human limits, until limits were extended by inhuman pharmacology. And these battles have not been fought over just one race, but an annual series beginning with the Spring Classics and then culminating in the three great tours - the Giro d'Italia, Vuelta d'Espagne and the Tour de France - before the cyclists retire to lick their wounds and start on an...