Twelve rivalries in cycling recounted four-handedly by Gregorio and Pisaneschi, two journalists and sports commentators who know the champions and their stories intimately, and know how to reveal the humanity and harshness of their character.
Rivalries have been the salt of cycling since the beginning of its history. Without bothering too much about Coppi and Bartali, in this book the two authors have reread the history of the last sixty years of the great competitions (the Tour, the Giro, the classics) through the clashes between the champions. And so the cannibal Merckx bites and is sometimes bitten by Gimondi and Ocaña, Moser and Saronni do not stop poking at each other even after they have stopped racing. And then the pirate Pantani, an adversary above all of himself, up to the rivalries of recent years between Pogacar and Vingegaard, Van Aert and Van Der Poel, which have rekindled the enthusiasm of the fans for a sport where contact with the riders is very close.
A breathtaking photo finish at the end of the volume makes the reader relive all the rivalries he has just read about.
With a preface by Riccardo Magrini, cycling commentator for the legendary ‘Greg&Magro’ duo and author of Close to the Clouds. I grandi scalatori del ciclismo moderno (Hoepli, 2023).