Friday, December 31, 2010

Felice Anno Nuovo! and Reader Contest Update



felice anno nuovo!

With the new year begins our reader contribution contest. Why? One of my goals for the Italian Cycling Journal is to make it a place where people can find and read stories of cycling trips and cycling adventures in Italy. Share your story. Write a story about your cycling trip, or an aspect of your trip, in Italy. Or, it can be about a granfondo experience, a special encounter, your favorite ride, etc. The period for story submissions for prizes will be January 1-February 15, 2011. Prizes will be awarded on a random basis, stories will not be judged on which is the "best" one. Nevertheless, it should be a good story for the enjoyment of all readers. Photos accompanying the story are most welcome. If you have any questions email me at veronaman@gmail.com

Thanks to some special people we have many very nice prizes. The latest prize is made available from Simon from La Gazzetta della Bici whom has contributed a set of his massage oils for cyclists, ready to be mailed anywhere in the world.


VERDE HAS BEEN ESPECIALLY DEVELOPED TO USE AS A PRE RIDE MUSCLE PREPARATION OIL.


LA GAZZETTA DELLA BICI ROSSO OLIO DA MASSAGGIO PER CICLISTI DOPO GARA (POST RIDE)



ROSA PER DONNE (DEVELOPED FOR WOMEN TO USE AS A POST RIDE MASSAGE OIL.)

OTHER PRIZES WE HAVE ALREADY WRITTEN ABOUT:

-From cycling tour company CycleItalia: A couple of beautiful pullovers and several Campagnolo 75th annversary pinsCycleItalia has also sent a socks, caps, and more...I just need to photograph it all.


-BicycleGifts.com, the premiere site for gifts and merchandise for cyclists, has contributed a very nice 18 x 24 inches giclee reproduction poster. The posters are printed on heavy acid free fine art paper with 100+ year fade resistant inks. You will be able to choose one of your choice from any of these three:




-Chamois cream from Enzo’s ButtonHole Chamois Cream for the ultimate protection during those long or grueling cycling rides.


-Jennifer of FreeBirdVelo has contributed two of her Italian themed T-shirts. Two winners will be able to choose their designs from among these:

"Am I riding too fast for you?"
"You're not as fast as you look."
"Which way to the podium?"
Jennifer sells these and other products on ETSY, take a look here.


From Strada Hand Built Wheels we have received these beautifully machined Titanium (Ti) Quick Releases. They are machined from alloy with a titanium shaft and brass cam socket for durability, and anodised in black with the Strada logo laser etched onto the lever. These QRs weigh a super light 43g a pair and lock firmly into position. The alloy lever is easy to grip in a hurry or with cold hands.


--My friend over at Velo-Retro donated this custom musette (feed bag):


From Albabici a boxfull of goodies including LIMAR sunglasses, SCI'CON saddlebags, and Team Liquigas and Francaise Des Jeux skull caps (for summer).


Have a great 2011! Thanks in advance for your contributions.

Auguri.

Thursday, December 30, 2010

More Gino Bartali Secrets Revealed


Gino Bartali's participation in the resistance during World War II was only revealed after his death in May, 2000. On April 25, 2005, he was posthumously conferred the "Medaglia d’Oro al Merito Civile" by the President of the Italian Republic.

This plaque in the honor of Gino Bartali, unveiled on June 17, 2008, in the presence of his wife Adriana and his son Andrea, celebrates the heroic efforts of "il pio" during the war (read previous story here). The plaque is located at the railway station in Terontola.

Now, another secret of Bartali's efforts to save Jews during World War II has emerged. The following was reported in road.cc:

"Now, however, the Italian Jewish newspaper Pagine Ebraiche, its findings reported in La Gazzetta dello Sport, has revealed that Bartali’s efforts – and the consequent risk to himself and his family – went much deeper (than carrying messages and documents hidden within the frame of his bike on behalf of an underground network that was pledged to supporting the country’s Jewish population).

The Goldenberg family had moved to Fiesole, in the hills overlooking Florence, in 1940 after being hounded out of their home by fascists in the Adriatic coastal town of Fiume, then part of Italy but now in Croatia, where it is named Rijeka.

According to 78-year-old Giorgio Goldenberg, daily life in Fiesole was as normal as circumstances would allow. Each day, he would travel from the apartment he shared with his parents and sister Tea to attend a Jewish elementary school in Florence.

Then, one evening, the youngster found Bartali and his cousin Armandino Sizzi in the living room of the family apartment. “I don’t remember how he and my parents met,” he says 67 years on, “but one thing I know for certain is that they saved our lives.”

Once German forces had occupied the city in 1943, Bartali and Sizzi sprung into action to help save the Jewish family. Giorgio was placed in the care of nuns at the Santa Marta school in Settignano, while his parents and sister were hidden in Bartali’s cellar in his home in via del Bandino on the outskirts of the city.

The young boy would join them the following spring after it was decided that Settignano was no longer secure, and the family would remain hidden in Bartali’s cellar until Florence was liberated in August 1944.

“The cellar was very small,” recalls Giorgio. “A door gave way onto a courtyard, but I couldn’t go out because that would run the risk of me being seen by the tenants of the nearby apartment buildings. The four of us slept on a double bed. My father never went out, while my mother often went out with two flasks to get water from some well.”

Giorgio well remembers the moment that he and his family were liberated by British troops. “Everyone was shouting that the British were arriving,” he says. “I went out and saw a British soldier with the word ‘Palestine’ and the Star of David embroidered on his shoulders, I went up to him and started to hum the Hatikwa,” the song that would later become the national anthem of Israel.

“He heard me and spoke to me in English. I understood that we were free, thanks to Gino and Armandino.

Bartali died ten years ago, but his son Andrea has expressed surprise and emotion at this latest revelation of his father’s wartime activities.

“It’s a lovely piece of news that demonstrates once again the great heart of my father and that I hope will help us soon plant that tree in Israel,” he commented, referring to the trees planted at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem that record the Righteous Among The Nations.

ICJ Reader contribution contest will run 1 January to 15 February, 2011. Details here. Are you ready?

Follow on Twitter: ITALIANCYCJOURN

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are very welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 1,600 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also an Italian weather widget along the right side and a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page. What I'm riding.

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Colnago for Pope John Paul II




During this holiday season it is timely to mention the golden bike made by Colnago for Pope John Paul II. In the words of Ernesto Colnago, "We built this golden bike for the Pope in 1979. It was a special day when we went to the Vatican to present it to him. Very emotional for me. I went with my entire family; my brother Paolo and his son Alessandro. We heard that the Pope liked to ride a bike and that he did a ride of 38km two times a week when he was in Krakow and he continued to ride when he was in Castel Gondolfo (the Pope's summer residence outside of Rome).

The Pope picked up this bike and told me it was marvelously light and that he wished he had one like it a long time ago!

I remember that the Pope said to me that "you are in the midst of all the cyclists and the sport and I want to bless cycling and all the riders." That really touched me deeply when the Pope said that.

I don't believe that Pope John Paul II actually rode this bike so after a year or so the Vatican contacted us to give this bike back and the Pope requested a sports type bike with regular flat handlebars so we built him one, a white one. That's the bike he rode in Castel Gondolfo."

This bike is on display in the Colnago museum in Cambiago.

ICJ Reader contribution contest will run 1 January to 15 February, 2011. Details here. Are you ready?

Follow on Twitter: ITALIANCYCJOURN

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are very welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 1,600 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also an Italian weather widget along the right side and a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page. What I'm riding.

Season's Greetings from Bianchi

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

"Dedicated to Coppi"


The year of Coppi is coming to an end, twelve months full of events dedicated to Fausto Coppi on the fiftieth anniversary of his death. At the end of this intense journey the Museo dei Campionissimi di Novi Ligure (Museum of Champions in Novi Ligure) has already prepared a new surprise.

On January 2, 2011, the day when the death of the champion is remembered, the exhibition "Dedicato a Coppi" ("Dedicated to Coppi") will be inaugurated. The photographic exhibition is of the monuments that admirers of Coppi have dedicated to his memory.

Throughout Italy, and overseas, scattered plaques, monuments, and memorials have been dedicated to Coppi. On carved stone, marble, and bricks the memory of Coppi has been preserved. Now, as they have been for cyclists to discover and visit, they have become focus of this exhibition. This is the same subject matter that often contributor to ICJ, Jac Zwart has written about in a book. His book is currently available in the Dutch language book "Wielermonumenten - Reisgids door de geschiedenis van de wielersport" (Cycling Monuments - Travel Guide through the History of the Sport of Cycling).

The exhibition will also have the busts of Fausto Coppi and Costante Girardengo that have been located at the piazza Falcone e Borsellino (formerly the train station piazza). At the conclusion of the exhibition, planned for 30 March, the busts will be installed outside the museum.

ICJ Reader contribution contest will run 1 January to 15 February, 2011. Details here.

Follow on Twitter: ITALIANCYCJOURN

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are very welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 1,600 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also an Italian weather widget along the right side and a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page. What I'm riding.

Monday, December 27, 2010

"Two of My Favorite Things...."


Barbara Pedrotti and a MCipollini bike on the cover of the January issue of CICLISMO.

ICJ Reader contribution contest will run 1 January to 15 February, 2011. Details here.

Follow on Twitter: ITALIANCYCJOURN

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are very welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 1,600 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also an Italian weather widget along the right side and a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page. What I'm riding.

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Cycling Monuments, Memorials, Plaques, etc., Part IX


Jac Zwart, author of the Dutch language book "Wielermonumenten - Reisgids door de geschiedenis van de wielersport" (Cycling Monuments - Travel Guide through the History of the Sport of Cycling), contributes his seventh article, this time about a Fausto Coppi plaque at the Passo Abetone.

"The year 2010 moves to an end. It has been the year in where people have commemorated that fifty years ago the great Fausto Coppi has passed away. I am pretty sure that the number of memorial signs for this almost mythical person has increased for this reason. However, a monument that exists since 1977 can be found near the summit of the Passo Abetone. This pass, with its height of 1388 meters, is located north of the town of Pistoia. In a curve of the SS12, near the road mark 82 VII (approximately 5.9 km from the top of the pass), there is a bronze plaque. In 1940 Fausto Coppi laid here, during this climb in the stage from Firenze to Modena, the fundamentals for his first victory of a series of 58 stage victories in a Giro d'Italia in total.

Coppi was just twenty years old and still completely unknown, except by insiders. He was a 'gregario' in the Legnano team, led by Gino Bartali. In the fifth stage Bartali encountered some problems, caused by a fall three days before. While some riders attacked, Coppi asked the team management for permission to follow. He managed to join the leading group, but later on he lost precious time due to a fall whereby his bike got damaged. The eleventh stage appeared to become the most important one, with the climb over the Passo Abetone which was included in the Giro for the first time ever. Coppi attacked there and despite the rain and the hailstorms he succeeded in winning this stage. His lead in time was that large that he obtained the pink jersey, for the first time in his life. It was much to the disgrace of Bartali who appeared to have had mechanical problems. His opinion was that Coppi had betrayed him and he even threatened to leave the Giro. However, the team management of Legnano persuaded him to continue and asked him to help Coppi to defend the pink jersey. And so it happened. During a mountain stage Bartali helped Coppi to overcome some difficult moments and showed himself a loyal team mate. In the Dolomites, in a stage where the Falzarego, the Pordoi and the Sella passes had to be conquered, they escaped the bunch and arrived together in the town of Ortisei, where Bartali won the sprint. That stage decided the 28th edition of the Giro.

Coppi kept the pink jersey, arrived in Milano with a time advantage of 2'40" on Enrico Mollo and 45'9" on Bartali, who was classified as ninth and became king of the mountains. Years later, in 1947, Coppi also won a stage with the Passo Abetone and won the Giro for the second time.

The region of the Abetone is a well-known skiing area in Italy. Two of the ski runs honor the name of Fausto Coppi, who wrote cycling history here in 1940.

I wish you all a very healthy and sportive 2011."

Photo: by Mr. Teus Korporaal, published with permission.

ICJ Reader contribution contest will run 1 January to 15 February, 2011. Details here.

Follow on Twitter: ITALIANCYCJOURN

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are very welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 1,600 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also an Italian weather widget along the right side and a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page. What I'm riding.

Friday, December 24, 2010

Season's Greetings from Eros Poli


My friend Eros Poli has a few slots open on his "Le Tour de France and the Pyrenees" tour from July 7 to July 15, 9 days and 8 nights. As his website is currently being updated and may not be available at this moment contact him for additional information at lesamisDOTerospoliATgmailDOTcom. His website is www.eros-poli.com
.
Why not ride in the Pyrenees with someone that has ridden 6 Tour de France?


I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Holiday Greetings from Cinelli

Pinarello, Mavic, Limar, Diadora for Gran Fondo New York, Part III


Last we heard from the Gran Fondo New York organizers the sponsorship for the event was still being worked on. In this press release we learn that Pinarello, Mavic, Limar and Diadora have signed on as sponsors:

Gran Fondo New York announces event sponsorship from Pinarello as Official Bike, Mavic as On-Course Support and Limar and Diadora as Official Suppliers for the inaugural event held on May 8, 2011.

On May 8, 2011, an international field of 8,000 athletes will take part in the inaugural Gran Fondo New York, a 105-mile bike ride traveling along New York’s classic cycling routes. Participants will compete for King and Queen of the Mountains titles while cycling over four timed climbs on the course between New York City and Bear Mountain.

The cumulative time for the four climbs will be added and the man and woman with the lowest combined times will win the King and Queen of the Mountains titles. Other competition categories include age groups 18-39, 40-49, 50+, cycling team competition, corporate challenge and him&her competition. Prizes will be awarded to the top three participants in each category.

The stakes for the Gran Fondo New York King and Queen of the Mountains competition are high. Winners of the King and Queen of the Mountains titles will receive Pinarello road bikes as prizes. Prizes for 2nd and 3rd place finishers will also be enviable. With sponsors like Mavic, Limar and Diadora, athletes across all categories will receive racing wheels, cycling shoes, helmets and sunglasses as prizes.

Pinarello – Think Assymetric
With its 60 years of racing experience at the highest levels of the sport, Pinarello is renowned not only for its striking design, but also its technologically innovative features. Through rigorous research and testing, Pinarello pioneered leading-edge bicycle frame fabrication with carbon fiber and magnesium. It also blended its knowledge of fit, handling and Italian style into each bike frame. Gran Fondo New York’s King and Queen of the Mountains will each receive a Pinarello road bike as his and her award.

Mavic – High-end Bike Systems
Since 1973, the Tour de France trusts Mavic to provide neutral technical support for the peloton. In 2011, the iconic yellow Mavic support vehicles will also be present at Gran Fondo New York. Mavic will provide support to participants at the start and on the course. Athletes will not just benefit from Mavic’s expert care of their wheels, tires and tubes, but also full bike assistance, as needed. The French company is also providing race wheels to top competitors at Gran Fondo New York.

Limar – The Helmet Specialist
The Italian helmet specialist Limar has created the world's lightest helmet. The Ultralight helmet weighs just 160gr in size Medium, but does not compromise on strength or safety. Athlete praise Limar helmets not just for their comfort, but also for their design. Limar also produces a wide range of sport sunglasses and offer polarized as well as photochromic lenses. Limar is the Presenting Sponsor of the Him+Her category.

Diadora – Better Than Ever
Diadora has been making high quality shoes in Italy since 1948. Diadora's expertise in cycling shoes comes from their focus on the latest technologies to make the most comfortable, well fitting, light and long lasting shoes possible. It's no surprise that they are the shoes of World Champion Cadel Evans. With a renewed focus on the US market, Diadora is poised to make a big presence in 2011.

“Gran Fondo New York is proud to partner with revered brands such as Pinarello, Mavic, Diadora and Limar. Each of these companies has a long-standing tradition of producing high quality products, which is in line with the quality of event that the inaugural Gran Fondo New York will be” said Lidia Fluhme, the event’s organizer. “Gran Fondo New York will be a cycling event worthy of the world’s greatest city.”

Besides offering prizes for winners, ten companies to date have committed to also offering raffle prizes that will be awarded to participants drawn at random according to their participant number. Competition and raffle prizes have a retail value of over $100,000. All participating athletes are automatically entered into the raffle drawing and are eligible to win prizes.

Sponsors and vendors will have the chance to present their products and services at the 2-day Gran Fondo New York expo, which will take place in midtown Manhattan at Roseland Ballroom May 6-7, 2011. The free and open to the public expo is also the location of mandatory athlete check-in and bag pickup.

For more information please email info@granfondony.com, call 1.212.933.4033 or visit
www.granfondony.com.

ICJ Reader contribution contest will run 1 January to 15 February, 2011. Details here.

Follow on Twitter: ITALIANCYCJOURN

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are very welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 1,600 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also an Italian weather widget along the right side and a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page. What I'm riding.

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Basso and Nibali Autographed fi’zi:k Saddles


Today, fi’zi:k began offering 50 Antares saddles personally autographed by both Ivan Basso and Vicenzo Nibali. All of the proceeds from the sale will be donated to the association "Insieme si può…" ("Together we can..."). The association will use the funds to finish the Andrew Primary School of MASANAFU, an elementary school in a slum in Kampala, Uganda.

The cost of each saddle is 200 euro.

To order visit the fi’zi:k home page.

ICJ Reader contribution contest will run 1 January to 15 February, 2011. Details here.

Follow on Twitter: ITALIANCYCJOURN

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are very welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 1,600 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also an Italian weather widget along the right side and a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page. What I'm riding.


Season's Greetings from Campagnolo

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Detour: "Tour de France" Bicycles


Every once in awhile we detour from Italian cycling to another subject area...

I read earlier this year that the Tour de France organization had contracted with a U.S. company, Cycle Force Group, to market and provide Tour de France logo'd bicycle computers, helmets, water bottles, and those sorts of things. The Force Group is an Ames, Iowa, USA, based importer of bicycles (can you say Smith&Wesson, Nascar, Polaris branded bicycles as examples), parts, and accessories.

However, the announcement that I received today that the Cycle Force Group would be supplying "Tour de France" branded bicycles surprised me. I am sure it must be a very interesting story as to how the world’s most recognized bicycle race has teamed up with an Ames, Iowa company to launch a Tour de France bicycle brand.

However, the biggest surprise are the bicycles. Let's just say that they don't bring to mind any bicycle that you would actually see being raced at the Tour de France; see the catalog.

I have wondered if Director of the Tour de France Christian Prudhomme has seen any in person? Or, what does Bernard Hinault think about them?

At least the Giro d'Italia went to Cervelo for a "Giro d'Italia" (admittedly, it was a special edition for the 100th anniversary).
ICJ Reader contribution contest will run 1 January to 15 February, 2011. Details here.

Follow on Twitter: ITALIANCYCJOURN

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are very welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 1,600 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also an Italian weather widget along the right side and a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page. What I'm riding.

Masi History

The Associazione Velocipedisti Eroici Romagnoli (AVER) has kindly agreed to a mutual exchange of content with the Italian Cycling Journal. AVER is dedicated to lovers of the "heroic" age of cycling.

The following article, originally in Italian and which appeared in AVER in February 2010, is of the history of Masi.

"If Italy was considered the world capital for racing bicycles perhaps it is due to artisans such as Faliero Masi, who is now legendary. Faliero Masi was "il sarto" ("the tailor"). Since 1949, at the shop under the equally legendary Vigorelli velodrome in Milan, on via Arona, his welding torch was responsible for writing many memorable pages in the history of cycling.
Faliero built many custom bicycles for champions: Fausto Coppi, Fiorenzo Magni, Louison Bobet, Miguel Poblet, Rik Van Looy, Jacques Anquetil, Felice Gimondi, Vittorio Adorni (with a Masi bike he won the world championship in Imola in 1968) and Eddy Merckx.

Born in Sesto Fiorentino on May 11, 1908, Faliero Masi learned the art of building custom race bikes at the "Compostini" workshop in Sesto Fiorentino. It is with Cicli Compostini that Masi began to race, participating in two Giro d'Itala (1931 and 1932). His only prominent victory was the “Coppa Zucchi” of 1933. He continued to race until 1946.

After ending his professional career, Faliero successfully embarked on a career as a framebuidler. First in his native Sesto Fiorentino and then in Milan where he moved in 1949 at the the insistence and pressure of well-known sprinter Aldo Bini from Prato. Among Bini's victories were two editions of the Giro di Lombardia (1935 and 1942).

The first workshop wasn on Via Michelino da Besozzo, a few months later he transferred to the curve under the Vigorelli where the workshop stands today. Faliero had a maniacal passion for every phase of the construction of a bicycle, built by hand, one by one. The success of the Masi brand is known worldwide: each of his bicycles is unique and are considered a jewel by fans. The Masi workshop today:
After his death in Milan, on January 4, 2000, he passes the title of king of the Italian craftsmen of framebuilding to his son Alberto who still continues the mission of the family with the same care and passion inherited from his father. The Masi brand is a brand that in the world of cycling means care, attention, almost obsessive thoroughness; still building bikes one by one, without overdoing it but always giving attention to even the smallest and trivial of details. (ed. note: as noted in the previous blog entry the Masi name was sold in 1972. Alberto Masi, still building underneath the Vigorelli, sells his bikes under the "Milano" name. In the USA, Alberto Masi's bike can be acquired through Milano Sport). Alberto Masi with Aldo Bini's "Ganna" that was built by his father:
The Masi bicycles are unique because each is a made to measure, custom, frame for a client. Numbered pieces. Collectible bicycles, difficult to reproduce. Alberto is a kind of tailor, Stradivari's cycling, a Paganini (ed note: celebrated violin virtuosi) who leaves to go into the art of framebuilding, alone in his originality.

Cycling fans are willing to do anything to possess it. "There are people," Alberto explains in a recent interview, "which make great sacrifices to have one one day...". WINNING magazine likened Masi to a cult, like Ferrari or Rolls Royce.

Technique and experience: this is the secret that still makes Alberto Masi, master craftsman of the two wheels, grow. Small objects of worship which always make up the great two wheel world of the Masi archipelago.

Today Alberto Masi is 65 years. He began to frequent the workshop of his father Faliero at 8 years old. At 16 he debuted as the official mechanic of Fausto Coppi at the Giro d'Italia. In 1982 he built the "Volumetrica", the first race bike with oversized and ovalized tubing. Today Alberto Masi produces about 500 frames, of which 200 are complete bicycles." An Alberto Masi "Milano":

Photos: the photos that appear here did not accompany the original article

ICJ Reader contribution contest will run 1 January to 15 February, 2011. Details here.

Follow on Twitter: ITALIANCYCJOURN

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are very welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 1,600 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also an Italian weather widget along the right side and a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page. What I'm riding.

Monday, December 20, 2010

A Part of the Confente and Masi History

The following self-explanatory comments were left in a forum (unknown date) in response to a previous comment (also unknown):


"My name is Ted Kirkbride. I have been continuously involved with the Masi bicycle company since the Masi name was purchased in the early 70's. There have been been only 3 owners of the Masi trademark.

Faliero Masi of course, Roland Sahm who purchased the trademark when Faliero moved his company to the United States and finally I am the current owner. At the very beginning of the sale of the trademark, in 1972, I was a consultant for Roland Sahm for the establishment of a frame building operation in the United States.

I worked at the very start with Faliero in setting up the Carlsbad operation. The original intention was to train American frame builders but it soon became apparent that this could not be achieved in a short time frame. So, we brought 3 Italian frame builders who had built for Masi in Italy. After the factory was up and running, the only Italian builder who stayed in the US was Mario Confente. One of the first major innovations that came out of our U. S. frame shop was the fully investment cast lugs.

We sent Mario to Microfusione in Italy to have our original idea of investment cast lugs made. The Italian company, Microfusione, was not able to produce the lugs without the help of its US licensee who had the expertise to produce the thin walled technology. Mario advised that the lugs not be made in Italy since the ideas would most likely be copied by other Italian companies. His prediction soon came true as our $80,000 investment in developing the tooling to produce the lugs was soon being used by other major Italian manufacturers. We were the first company to put into production the fully investment cast lugged tubed frame. Our pioneering efforts soon became the industry standard.

In 1975, Mario Confente went out on his own to build his bicycles under his own name. In 1979, Mario Confente asked to come back and work for Masi. In the process of setting up his shop with us, he passed away. In fact, the morning Mario died of a massive heart attack he was scheduled to meet Rene Moser, the general manager of Masi at the time, to go pick up a new granite surface plate. Back to 1976. In this year, Mike Howard built frames and Brian Baylis painted the Masi frames.

It was in 1977 that the Carlsbad factory began a transfer to the San Marcos, California facility. During that time Albert Eisentraut built about 50 frames to fill a gap during our move. Keith Lippy became a principal frame builder from 1977 to 1978. Rob Roberson also built our frames during this time. One of the special bikes that we made during this time required several pairs of forks. This of course was the now famous bike ridden in the Oscar nominated movie "Breaking Away."

In 1978, I took full control of Masi frame building. Jim Allen took charge of the painting operation. Also in 1978, Dave Moulton and I became the main frame builders. It was around 1984/1985 that Joe Starck replaced Moulton as one of the principal builders.

I continued to build special team frames and oversee that the qualities and traditions of the Masi frames were maintained. During the mid 1980s, I became the owner of the Masi trademark. This is just a brief history of Masi USA frame building. The information on your page regarding serial numbers while some of it is correct the majority of the information is erroneous. On our web site, www.masibikes.com, we intend to produce more details and we will keep you posted.

With regard to the Italian Masi page. I would like to clear up a few errors. First of all, there were no "nefarious business dealings" on our part in acquiring the Masi trademark. Faliero Masi was paid $175,000 for the trademark, plus he was paid a salary to oversee the running of the operation and a royalty for every frame that was made. In today's dollars that would probably be a million dollar deal. In fact, the nefarious business dealings came from Italy. During the final negotiations for the trademark deal with Faliero Masi, Alberto Masi tried to prevent the deal by claiming the trademark as his own. In the end, the deal was a huge compensation for all the years of hard work Faliero put in to building a reputation that we here in the United States have done well to live up to. Finally, with regard to the Lokoshinx (correct spelling) team that rode our bikes to World and Olympic gold medals, it was I who specially built their bikes not Masi Italy.

I hope this information is helpful in your efforts to keep accurate information about classic bicycles. In the future, I'd be happy to verify any information regarding Masi bicycles built since 1973. Thank you very much.

Regards,
Ted Kirkbride"

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Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are very welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 1,600 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also an Italian weather widget along the right side and a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page. What I'm riding.

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Does Any Other Country Have A "Miss Ciclismo"?

The winner of the 2010 Miss Ciclismo pageant is Beatrice Giordano. One of the requirements to enter Miss Ciclismo is that the entrant use a bicycle at a non-competitive level. Clothing manufacturer Castelli became a sponsor this year.

Several pros were in attendance at the finale including Damiano Cunego (in white); Ms. Giordano is to his right wearing the crown.




Me? I would have voted for Alessia Franchi who definitely has the Italian style mastered:

ICJ Reader contribution contest will run 1 January to 15 February, 2011. Details here.

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Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are very welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 1,600 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also an Italian weather widget along the right side and a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page. What I'm riding.

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Gold Lugs by Formigli



This is a custom ordered Formigli "Classic" steel frameset. The lugs are real gold. Formigli works with a jeweler in Florence who after meticulously preparing the lugs dips them in 24k gold. Of course, the frame can be ordered with chromed lugs.

Also available in red:

It's not surprising to learn of this type of work taking place in Florence (Firenze in Italian). The "fiorino d'oro" of the Republic of Florencea, a coin struck from 1252 to 1523 was the first European gold coin struck in sufficient quantities to play a significant commercial role since the seventh century. As many Florentine banks were international supercompanies with branches across Europe, the florin quickly became the dominant trade coin of Western Europe for large scale transactions, replacing silver bars in multiples of the mark. Today, you can find many businesses specializing in gold.

Formigli information is available at www.formigli.it, and at www.formigliusa.com for USA

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Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are very welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 1,600 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also an Italian weather widget along the right side and a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page. What I'm riding.

Campagnolo Bicycle Assembling Stand

Thanks to reader Touriste-Routier who said, "In addition to their normal line of tools, they (Campagnolo) also made a repair stand, as shown in their catalog #16. It was not on offer for very long."

Here is a photo from the 1969 Campagnolo catalog #16 showing the work stand, which officially was called the "bicycle assembling stand":
ICJ Reader contribution contest will run 1 January to 15 February, 2011. Details here.

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Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are very welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 1,600 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also an Italian weather widget along the right side and a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page. What I'm riding.

Friday, December 17, 2010

Campagnolo Nutcracker in Gold



Did you know that Campagnolo made some other items other than bicycle components? Tennis racquets, wine bottle corkscrews, and nutcrackers. And, automobile rims.

I have seen Campagnolo nutcrackers but this was the first one I've seen in gold plating, dating from the 1970s:

I have yet to see a Campagnolo tennis racquet, these are mentioned in one of their catalogs.

Did Campagnolo manufacture anything else non-cycling related that I haven't already mentioned?

Photos: click to enlarge

ICJ Reader contribution contest will run 1 January to 15 February, 2011. Details here.

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Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are very welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 1,600 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also an Italian weather widget along the right side and a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page. What I'm riding.

Now The Riders Are All Robots

Moreno Argentin wasn't shy when he expressed his feelings in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport about the current state of affairs in cycling. He echoed similar sentiments as those recently expressed by Mario Cipollini.

Argentin, the Italian professioanl rider whose career spanned fourteen years from 1981 to 1994, won the Tour of Flanders, four editions of Liege-Bastogne-Liege and three editions of Fleche Wallonne. This is what he had to say in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport:

"I have to thank my parents that I was born when I was. I was born hungry. Now the guys seem soft without any character. A lot of people aren’t hungry for success and they’ve already earned a lot since they were a junior. I suppose things have changed and it’s a different generation that already has everything. That’s why when I watch races there seems to be a total lack of emotion. There aren’t any riders that get you excited these days.

Contador is a carefully calculated racing machine, made in a laboratory for one race: the Tour. It doesn’t seem to matter if he’s got personality or not. He and Schleck are the same. You know how they’re going to race; you know where to wait for them to do something. They haven’t got any originality.

Indurain dominated the grand tours in my time but I beat him at Liege-Bastogne-Liege. And he also rode Milan-San Remo because he understood the history of the sport. Now the riders are all robots. Punctures and crashes are part of the sport. But with radios the riders seem to be controlled by a joystick. The whole sport is in a mess.

I’m happy not to be involved in cycling anymore. These days if you don’t accept things, you can’t survive. I prefer to listen to my own conscience. These days the only thing that seems to matter is the UCI and its business. The sponsors and riders don’t seem have the right to say anything. There’s a fake form of democracy in cycling and no desire to change things. The track is dead and buried and the road is going the same way.

The Giro, the Tour and the monumental classics are the races that matter; they’re the history of the sport and get the people out along the roadside to watch them. But the UCI is bringing everything down to a same level. That’s why they went to war with the Giro and Tour organizers. Look how the rules, points and classifications have changed. It’s about income and business. The sponsors bring the cash and pay the riders but can’t have their say. They deserve more respect

The riders are spineless. They know that if they speak out they never race again. Look at Pellizotti. I met him the other day. He lost the whole season because of his suspicious blood values but won’t say anything, otherwise.....

The riders have to stop and rewrite the rules that are strangling them. From the points system to the anti-doping rules. The whereabouts system makes them seem criminals on bail. They’re unable to work together and think of the future. I was a pro for 14 years but these days how many off them reach half of that?"

By the way, Cycle Sport magazine had this recent look back at Argentins 3rd Liege-Bastogne-Liege victory in 1987:

There is no way it could happen these days, because each directeur sportif would have been yelling to the two leading riders that they were in danger of being caught. But in 1987, when they raced without the earpiece radios that are ubiquitous today, entering the closing kilometres of a big race was almost like stepping into a vacuum.

Just as the boxer is alone during the each round of his fight, so the cyclists had to proceed into the final battle with only their own wits to rely on. All the pep-talking and encouragement from outside the ring had been done. The crowd noise dulled to an indistiguishable rumble, all other signs of what was happening around them faded to a blur, as the two cyclists concentrated on each other. There wasn't even a big screen at the end of the finishing straight to give them a clue.

Stephen Roche and Claude Criquielion thought the race was theirs to call. They rounded the final corner into the Boulevard de la Sauvenière, right in the heart of Liège, believing they had plenty of time to toy with one another. La Doyenne, one of the monuments of the sport, was on the line and of these two - undoubtedly the strongest on the day - only one could be a winner. As it turned out, both were to feel the sting of defeat, and quite a humiliating sting at that. The question everyone wanted to ask, though few had the courage to put to them in the immediate aftermath, was: "How did you allow the race to slip through your fingers? How could you not have known they were coming up behind you?"

But the truth is they didn't know. The first thing they knew was when they saw ‘a bullet in rainbow colours' flash past them. That was Moreno Argentin, the Italian rider, who had sealed his third consecutive Liège-Bastogne-Liège win in the most unlikely of circumstances.

***

Stephen Roche, the 27-year-old from Dublin with the pedaling style as smooth as a perfectly poured pint of Guinness, was enjoying a great spring after a winter that spanned more than a year. Having finished third in the 1985 Tour de France, Roche was tipped as one of the men most likely to challenge Bernard Hinault and eventually to succeed him. But he took a heavy blow on the knee when he crashed on the Paris-Bercy track, while partnering Britain's Tony Doyle in a Six-Day event during the winter. People said that a Tour de France contender had no business riding the lucrative Six-Day meetings in winter, risking their bodies on the boards, but Roche enjoyed the racing, and the money, and felt it was a perfect way to keep in shape. The injury meant 1986, his first season with the Italian Carrera team, on a sizeable contract, they weren't slow to point out, was a disaster. The start of the new season, though, was like stepping into the sunshine. Victory in the Tour of Valencia was followed by a near-miss in Paris-Nice. Roche was wearing the leader's white jersey when a puncture during the road stage on the morning of the final day handed a sixth consecutive overall win in the race to Sean Kelly. Roche won the afternoon's time trial on the Col d'Eze. He was clearly in excellent shape and, finally, delivering the sort of results Carerra, an Italian company that made jeans and other denim clothing, had been paying for.

During the week before Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Roche had demonstrated how well he was riding by getting into the winning break at Flèche Wallonne. The move formed with 15 kilometres to go. With Roche were Criquielion, two French riders, Jean-Claude Leclercq and Yvon Madiot, Britain's Paul Watson, a German Rolf Golz and Norway's Dag-Otto Lauritzen. When the unfancied Leclercq attacked not far from the finish, everyone looked at Roche and Criquielion to chase. In turn, Roche looked at Criquielion, and the Belgian looked right back at him. Roche, who had done a lot of work earlier in the race, was first to react but he couldn't close the gap. Criquielion let him get on with it, then counter-attacked, although he was not able to bridge up to Leclercq. Roche was fourth.

The night before Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Roche's team manager, Davide Boifava, knocked on his hotel room door. "Stephen, you're riding too generously in these Classics," he said. "Look at Flèche Wallonne. You closed down breaks, you spent time on the front and then when you couldn't do any more, they jumped you. You're doing great rides but you're not banking the victories you should. It's right to race hard, and be aggressive, but don't do too much. In these Classics you have to be prepared to lose in order to win."

Roche considered the advice. "It sounded clever enough, you know, and I could see what Davide was saying. I had been strong in Flèche Wallonne, but I hadn't been prepared to let others take the initiative. If you're going to finish fourth anyway, maybe it's better to let others take the risk, but my style was always to ride hard if I felt strong."

***

Two years earlier, three riders arrived in the finishing boulevard to contest the 1985 Liège-Bastogne-Liège, having shaken off the rest. They were, Argentin, Criquielion and Roche. The Italian had made the race his own, defending the title in 1986, and was back, this time wearing the rainbow jersey having won the world championships in Colorado Springs the previous summer. Not for Argentin the traditional rainbow bands, instead Maurizio Castelli, the boss of the Castelli clothing company, designed a jersey with a twist. Instead of solid rings of colour, the bands were faded, something of a fashion in the late 1980s.

Although the season had started well for him, Argentin had been forced to pull out of Milan-San Remo. The groans of disappointment from the Italian press and tifosi were audible. Argentin and the Ardennes, though, went hand in hand. He had first raced at Liège-Bastogne-Liège when he was only 21 years old, in 1982. The directeur sportif of his Sammontana team, took a young, inexperienced bunch of Italians to Belgium to learn. "My build was suited to Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Flèche Wallonne, but the first time in Liège I finished 20 minutes back. I suffered with the raina nd the cold that year, but I started to understand how you have to race. I dragged myself across the finish line. My team-mate Alessandro Pozzi and I, we died together that day."

As defending champion, wearing the rainbow jersey, Argentin's confidence should have been bubbling that fresh April morning in 1987, but he confided his doubts to Dario Mariuzzo, a team-mate with the Gewiss team, that he felt he lacked the strength to shake people off. "I did not have a high level of fitness heading into the race but hopes are the last thing to die and if you are used to winning you always hope that today is the right day. It's normal to have doubts and fears, especially if you have not won a big race for a little while. Wearing the world champion's jersey only compounds it. The fear doubles because you are controlled and watched by everyone."

The race rolled out of Liège, bound for the hills of the Ardennes, the same steep, back-breaking climbs that causes the bunch to transform over several hours from a fat, bloated mass, into a snaking line of suffering.

Nothing unusual happened early on. Two riders, Switzerland's Serge Demierre and Finnish rider Karl Myyrylainen, broke clear and gained a lead of more than 10 minutes, but the hills caused them to tire, and as the race reached its final third, they were out of the way.

The climbs always come thick and fast. The Maquisart and Mont-Thieux were followed by La Redoute, where the race began to crystalise. A group of around 15 riders formed and Argentin had two team-mates for company, Emmanuele Bombini and Alberto Volpi. Knowing that a race like Liège-Bastogne-Liège is one long game of bluff, Argentin tried to keep secret the fact he was beginning to struggle. "You say ‘hello' to riders at the start or you talk to them in the race but many times you don't tell the truth. Riders will tell you they are going ‘male, male' [bad] even if they have been training well and are going strong. You always take what they say with a grain of salt. Never believe what a racer says."

Come the climb of Côte de Sart-Tilman, the one near the University of Liège, the final one of the race, Argentin could bluff no longer. The effort of trying to stop his shoulders from rocking could not be sustained and Argentin began to cramp. Sensing the opportunity, Criquielion attacked. Roche knew this was the move to mark and sprinted past Argentin to close up to the Belgian.

***

Claude Criquielion is a Walloon, born in Lessines, in the Hainault region of Belgium, south of Flanders and to the west of Brussels. The country's cycling culture is dividied into Flems and Walloons. Some of the most fanatical Flandrians say they would rather see a foreigner than a French-speaking Belgian win De Ronde Van Vlaanderen. Only Eddy Merckx had truly transcended the divide and was loved by both factions and even he had to walk a constant tightrope, avoiding any political gaffs, ensuring he was seen to speak as often in French as in Flemish, preferring neither over the other.

Criquielion was in a funny position. He was loved by the Walloons and was brought up a French-speaker, but he was born over on the west, on the doorstep of Flanders. And, a few weeks earlier, he had won the Tour of Flanders with a searing ride over the cobbles and bergs. That spring, the 30-year-old former world champion, was flying. He'd been second a few days earlier at Flèche Wallonne too, but Liège-Bastogne-Liège, his race, the one that his followers all craved, had continued to escape him.

When Roche and Criquielion got clear on the Côte de Sart-Tilman they didn't look back. They quickly opened a gap and before they knew it, their lead was a minute. Boifava drew alongside Roche in Carrera's Citrtoën CX team car and told him the gap was enough. He also reiterated his words from the night before. Don't do too much.

"Liège-Bastogne-Liège was a more interesting race then," says Roche. "Now they finish on the climb in Ans, and most years everyone waits until then, so you have a negative race. In 1987 we had to take our chances and when Criquielion attacked that was it. I had to go with it," says Roche.

But the Irishman was consicious that he and Criquielion had effectively marked each other out of Flèche Wallonne. "There had been aggro there because we'd marked each other and let the race go. He said a few words, I said a few words." But Roche and Criquielion didn't talk about it during the approach to Liège, they didn't need to. "He wanted to win, I wanted to win, and we worked quite well together and we had information that the lead was just over a minute and we were already on the outskirts of Liège," he says. The only time gaps came from the motorcycle official and his chalkboard. Boifava had no additional information, the manager's were not watching the race on television in the team car as they do today, but they were confident it was done.

"We'd ridden everyone else off our wheels and the book's closed," says Roche with absolute certainty. "Only Claudy and I can win now, we thought. The thing was, neither of us were particularly great sprinters so I was thinking that whoever leads off will probably lose. I didn't want to be the one to lead off, so I eased up and lead Claudy go in front."

As they headed to the centre of Liège, with about six kilometres to go, they began to go slower and slower. "After 260 kilometres, even a few minutes at a lower intensity can be a big opportunity to recover something for the sprint," said Criquielion. "We didn't think we had to keep going at the same speed because we thought we had time to spare."

The nearer to the finish they got, the slower they got. As they moved into the town centre they were rolling along at 25 kilometres an hour. Criquielion turned to Roche and said: "You've got to ride here." Roche had Boifava's words in his head. Be prepared to lose in order to win. Don't hand Criquielion the initiative. They were in for a shock.

***

With the climbing done, Argentin's cramps eased and he found himself in a group with Scotland's Robert Millar of the Panasonic team and Yvon Madiot of Systeme-U. "I had to skip a couple of pulls initially until my cramps passed," says Argentin. "I thought we were riding for third."

Both Millar and Madiot were strong. "In a race like Liège-Bastogne-Liège you have to be able to ride fast up hills after you have ridden 220 kilometres, so you see different people riding fast up hills at that point in the race compared to at 200 kilometres. My strength was to be able to do that.

"When Roche and Criquielion attacked, I was convinced we were riding for third or fourth place. Even Argentin had given up on the win - their attack was very hard. Those two were just stronger than anybody else that day, although I was surprised Argentin wasn't able to follow.

"We were still riding hard and my DS [directeur sportif, Cyrille Guimard] told me that the front pair were foxing and that we could catch them."

Madiot and Millar rode, while Argentin sat on, giving them only the occasional turn. Guimard had the scant information from race radio to rely on, but his insistence that the two leaders could be caught seems to be more a managerial technique to convince his rider not to give up than a belief it could happen.

Millar, the climber, would have known he'd have no chance in the sprint, so his decision to work hard on the chase group was a bit mystifying. He explained at the time: "The thing was, Peter Post [his Panasonic team manager] wanted as many points as possible for the World Cup [a season-long competition which was run for teams at that time] so we had to keep riding. Argentin wasn't doing any work. So we were riding along to keep away from the group behind us, not to catch Criquielion or Roche. If Post hadn't said it was important for his points for the World Cup I wouldn't have ridden, because Argentin wasn't working."

***

The leading two riders had no idea their advantage had been scythed away in great chunks. "There was nothing. People said ‘didn't you hear anything or see anything' but I didn't," says Roche.

Roche's Carrera team car, and Criquielion's Hitachi car had been pulled over, but the riders wouldn't have known that. Between them and the chasers were several motorbikes and cars, so even if they had glanced over their shoulders they wouldn't have been able to see the riders coming up. As they turned into the Boulevard de la Sauvenière, they were almost at a crawl, totally concentrated on each other and the outcome. It didn't even occur to Roche to look behind him. "I felt good, but I certainly wasn't confident of beating Criquielion. He was the local favourite, this was his race."

With about 500 kilometres to go, the gap had been closed. "It all happened very fast," says Madiot. "We were catching them in the last three kilometres but mentally I hadn't adjusted to be riding for the win. It happened too fast for me to change my tactics." Sitting on the back, Argentin was waiting for his moment. "

There wasn't much time for Argentin to think, he just had to react. There was hardly any time left, he was unsure how long he could sustain his sprint, but he knew he didn't want Roche and Criquielion to catch on that he was upon them. Swinging out from the slipstream of Madiot and Millar he sprinted across what was left of the gap, up to Roche's rear wheel. There, he paused for a moment, getting a bit of extra protection from their shelter, but was careful not to slow to their speed. He didn't want to lose his moment.

"I did my attack and Millar and Madiot were not able to hook onto my wheel," says the Italian. I dropped them right away, then when I got up to Roche and Criquielion I started my sprint straight away."

Argentin passed them and they did a double take as they saw him. Roche tried to react but it was too late. Criquielion knew he was beaten.


ICJ Reader contribution contest will run 1 January to 15 February, 2011. Details here.

Follow on Twitter: ITALIANCYCJOURN

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are very welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 1,600 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also an Italian weather widget along the right side and a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page. What I'm riding.