During the GP trip to Italy last year we were very fortunate to visit the cycling museum beside the Madonna del Ghisallo church in the hills above Bellagio on Lake Como.
Outside the little church there are two bronze heads, one being Gino Bartali and the other, Fausto Coppi.
These monuments were built out of respect for the two great champions of the sport, who to this day continue to divide Italy into two camps. You either support Bartali, the conservative, rural, religious man from Florence or Coppi, the more worldly, secular character from Turin, representing the industrial north.
Coppi and Bartali's rivalry started when they became teammates in 1940, at the Legnano team. Coppi was hired as a domestique for the leader and star of the team, Bartali. However, during that years Giro d'Italia Coppi attacked and raced ahead to win a stage and the race overall. From that moment on their rivalry became a national obsession.
It was an explosive relationship that resulted in epic cycling battles at the Giro, Tour de France, World Championships and one day Classics. To this day Italians still debate at the dinner table over who was the best rider. Coppi supporters say that he won more races, but Bartali fans say he lost his best years to World War II.
The debate continues, but shortly before Coppi died in 1959, he was seen on a national TV show with Bartali. Their competitive days on the bike behind them, they almost seemed friendly to one another...
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