Even though the Pope begged, he did not return to his wife

Two days later, June 1, the world’s second most important road cycling race, Giro d’Italia’s 2025 announcement. Today, however, there is an anniversary of the first victorious acid: On May 30, 1909, Luigi Ganna won a total of 2245 kilometers.

There is no doubt, the Italians are crazy for road cycling, and the big stars are respected by half. And the greatest of the big ones is placed higher. While it really had many brightly shining stars of Italian bicycle sports, but as the biggest of the biggest, it is “Il Campionissimo” nickname Fausto Coppit.

True, Alfredo Binda won the Giro five times (between 1925 and 1933), but Coppi succeeded in not even organizing the competition in the best years of his career (1941-1945) because of the war, Thus, his 1940 victory was only followed in 1947. In addition, Coppi won the overall twice on the Tour de France, won at the World Road Championships and held the world record of the one-hour cycling.

Even though the fans were adored with the holy frenzy, it turned out that their idol was also a raining person. Coppi, though married, fell in love with a married woman, Giulia Occhini. This deeply religious in Italy was such a scandal that in 1953 the Pope itself XII. Pius He called Coppi (a photo with the Holy Father can be viewed here: https://italoamericano.org/the-italian-connection-and———-fhewish-people-in-ww2/) to return to Bruna. But in vain, all prayers, threats, punishments were, in 1955, in Mexico (this would have been impossible at home), and shortly afterwards, their common son, Faustino, was born.

Our hero took part in an African round in 1959, at the end of which the entire field was invited for a hunt. He and the French Raphaël Geminian Upper Volta (today Burkina Faso) with malaria infected. After returning to Italy, he was hospitalized, but initially did not recognize the pathogen, and by the time they realized what was wrong, it was too late: Coppi died on January 2, 1960, only 40.

How big a star was, there is a story here that, although you have not been able to find a photo or video, spreads like a credible story in cycling. When one of the complex Giro victories has come to the last stage, The a few centimeters of the finish line where the wheel passed is marked with chalk. And the fans have been queuing for a long time to kiss the asphalt when they arrived on all fours.