APOcolocyntosis

What do you think if I say Stuttgart? Ok, beyond Hegel, born here. But what else? I have two reallt great records from this city. But once more I have to talk about cyclism. I’m leaving tomorrow morning and I’ll spend 3 days there, in order to be back just Saturday morning, a couple of hours before Cesena-Salernitana. So, let’s see why I already know that I love this city.

Year 1991, last lap of the World Championship of Cyclism. Four guys are leading: the spanish  Miguel Indurain, who’s won his first (of 5) Tour de France, the colombian Alvaro Meja, the dutch Steven Rooks and the italian Gianni Bugno. Bugno has been defeated both at Giro d’Italian and Tour de France, and the previous year, in Japan (Utsonomya) he has lost a World Championship in an incredible way. So he’s looking for a great result to save the year.

Mejia tries to escape the small group just after the red triangle of the last km, but he’s only starting the sprint. Bugno takes easily control of the situation and at 50 metres before the finish he’s clearly leading the sprint, when he realize that he’s winning. So he stop pushing and stand up to celebrate the victory: Indurain makes his last effort and come just beside Bugno. The cut the finish line in the same moment. For some (neverending) minutes Bugno is more than terrified: he think to have wasted the race. Then, finally, the photofinish declare he’s the new world champion. I remeber clearly that day, and all my fear just after the end of the race. In 1994, 3 years later, Bugno will do the same at Tour of Flanders with Joan Musseuw, and once more he will win. Fear, but then happines. Still it’s one the race I like more nowadays.

Another World Championship in Stuttgard has been organized in 2007. It has been really a bed edition, with a lot discussion about doping and also with the major of Stuttgart saying a lot of bullshit agains the italian team. We, the italian, were shocked by internal scandal or federal decision like to ban Danilo Di Luca. It was really a bad situation, and we had to defend the title of the previous year of Paolo Bettini.

After a perfect race, the second sprint of Bettini has been simply amazing. The russian Kolobnev (yes, the same second this year in Mendrisio) and the german Schumacher (who should have taken Bettini’s place in Quick Step, before being fired for doping) have been clearly defeated. Arch and arrows for Bettini, doing on the his best job in his career, probably second only to the victory at the Olympic Games in Athene 2004.

Tomorrow I’ll try to look around Stuttgart to see if I can recognize some parts of the tracks. These are pieces of history of cyclism, records of my feelings.

Thanks Gianni, thanks Paolo.

Technorati Tags: Alexandr Kolobnev, alvaro meja, cera, cyclism, doping, gianni bugno, major, miguel indurain, paolo bettini, Stephan Schumacher, steven rooks, stuttgart, victory, world championship