Fausto Coppi: the hero of the century

After 5 years abroad, it is time to write about Italy, its contradictions and its symbols. The first one is Fausto Coppi. The views expressed below are of the author.

On this day, 60 years ago, Fausto Coppi, the Campionissimo of Italian cycling suddenly passed away, defeated by undiagnosed malaria he contracted during a hunting trip in Burkina Faso. He was just forty years old, already immortal among his fans and de facto in the sport history.

His palmarés and his results need no presentation: 5x Giro D'Italia (1940, 1947, 1949, 1952, 1953), 2x Tour De France (1949, 1952), Road World Championships (1953), the hour record, a few days after Milan was bombarded by the Alleys in 1942, 3x Milano-Sanremo (1946, 1948, 1949), 1x Paris-Roubaix (1950) and many other triumphs for a total of 118 races won.

There is no point in dwelling into what could have been had not Fausto Coppi deployed to serve in Africa during World War Two, missing out 5 professional years in his prime. Nor on what could he have achieved without injuries and with more robust bones. History is not written with “if”, and there is so much out there already.

What is truly remarkable, unique and unrepeated is the way he used to win. Fausto Coppi had not been gifted with a lethal acceleration, he was actually the underdog when a race would end up in a group sprint. He was a memorable climber, but more importantly an all-rounder. In order to succeed, he was forced to outpace his opponents. In batches, one by one, alone.

Fausto Coppi completed 3041 kilometres of successful lone runs throughout his career. To give a sense of the distance, this is a ride from Rome to Moscow, being conservative.

The 3041 kilometres include one of the Giro D'Italia most memorable stages: Cuneo-Pinerolo, stage 17, 10th June 1949, 254 kilometres. Fausto rode solitary for 192 kilometres across five cols in the Italian and French Alps (Maddalena, Var, Izoard, Mont Genevere and Sestriere), all climbed and hurtled down to seize the pink jersey and clinch his third overall race success. The second, Gino Bartali, that day, arrived after 12 minutes.

Nowadays, despite the signs of the age, Fausto Coppi is still very popular and symbolic: the highest peak in the Giro D'Italia is entitled to him, his home-town has become a living museum devoted to his memory and last year, to commemorate 100 years from his birth, several events took place across Italy.

Many aspects can be brought up to realise why Fausto Coppi came to be such an iconic character. At the end of the World War Two, the bicycle was the most common transportation means in an Italy tore down by the bombs and battles of the recent conflict and reduced to rubble from north to south. With no effort, cycling was the sport number one amongst Italians, they would talk about it when meeting in church or at a bar, they would read on the Gazzetta dello Sport, and, decisively, they would admire the professionals compete in their home-towns. Back then, superstars like Coppi would attend several local races, running through tiny villages, forgotten valleys and cruel cols, sweeping all over the country physically close to the common people like only cyclists can be. The rivalry and friendship with the other hero of those times, Gino Bartali, was simply memorable.

But there is more to that. Fausto Coppi truly represented Italy and the Italians in so many, different yet congruent, ways. Fourth child of Domenico and Angela Boeri, the Campionissimo was born in Castellania (now Castellania-Coppi) a minute centre in Piedmont, Italy, in 1919. Fausto's family led the typical, simple, unmerciful rural life of peasant farmers of that era. He did his utmost to emerge, to move on from the privations, the physical pain and the lack of perspectives of that life as millions of other fellow Italians would aim to, and achieved his goals riding a bicycle, first as delivery man for a nearby butcher and then as a professional athlete.

His successes inevitably dragged him in the limelight and came along wealth and privileges. After the tragedies of the war and ahead of the economic “boom” of the '60s, Fausto Coppi personalised the economic development of a part of the country, climbing not only mountains but also the social ladder, from peasantry to bourgeoisie. Fausto was a dandy who rode with his trademark black sunglasses and dressed elegantly outside of the competitions, again representing the Italian stylishness.

It was not all sunshine and rainbows though. Fausto's bones were particularly fragile and fractured multiple times across his career due to falls and incidents, limiting his ability to compete but providing at the same time rare opportunities for him to rest.

Many had lost someone during the wartime. Fausto lost his younger and beloved brother Serse during a race in 1951. This almost prompted him to give it all up, adding to his personal, perpetual, conflict among raises and falls.

In his spare time, Fausto Coppi managed also a turbulent private life. The love story with the Dama Bianca, Giulia Occhini, came as a shock. In the '50s, in Italy, adultery was a criminal offence; Fausto and his lover were both married when their romantic liaison began. Again Fausto Coppi had personified the weaknesses and the aspirations, lust and sin, of a bigot and narrow minded country. Italy was set to dramatically change thereafter and divorce has been possible only since 1970, what a precursor!

Coppi the anti-hero, with his long legs, crooked nose and extra-large chest, was an introvert who almost apologised after his victories. He had it all.

Hundred of books has been written about him, his life and his races. All has been dissected in so many details, maniacally, from the way he ate and prepared for the races, to his hobbies, passions and dreams. His early and sudden death cemented his legend.

Today, more than a century after his birth, Fausto Coppi is always there, present and impossible to forget. Probably because Fausto Coppi's epic resonates in anybody who strives, wins, loses, falls, gives up and does it all over again, regardless of the path chosen.

Coppi paved the way of a new Italy and still does it through his legacy as always:

“Un uomo solo e' al comando la sua maglia e' bianco-celeste, il suo nome e' Fausto Coppi”.