BBC Sports Personality 2009 - Top-10 short list

The list is in:

Jenson Button
Mark Cavendish
Tom Daley
Jessica Ennis
Ryan Giggs
David Haye
Phillips Idowu
Andy Murray
Andrew Strauss
Beth Tweddle

And, unlike last year's unequivocal end result, the cycling fraternity have just the single entry - Mark Cavendish. Or, as the BBC website calls him 'cycling star Mark Cavendish'. Given that the great British public will be casting their votes on December 13th, we imagine the majority will declare "Who?" Yet most will be familiar with Wiggo, who should at least oust the likes of Ryan Giggs. If the big glittery trophy was truly bestowed on 'personality', Mr Wiggins would be a shoe-in. One couldn't imagine any of the other nine nominees Tweeting 'My heads in a fishtank'.

So, with a burgeoning list of non-achievers, and past-achievers, it's probable that the armchair armada will give Formula 1 the win it missed out on last year.

In an Absolut World

Client: Absolut
Agency: Wysiwyg
Art Direction & Design - "The global concept In an Absolut World was transfered into different local realities".

"In an absolut world in barcelona you'd go by bike. A smokeless Barcelona, without traffic jams, where bike is the main transport".

(Your Spanish may not be up to scratch, but you can drive the crank round to your heart's content.)

Stumble with elegance

How may artists have their own orchard?

Brazilian creative Mauricio Pierro does. Based in São Paulo, Pierro has forged a close relationship with design agency Fabra Quinteiro, and their ongoing campaign for Brazilian bike manufacturer Caloi, a company founded in 1898 by Italian migrants. Chapéu!

Cyclophilia

Leanne Eisen is an emerging photo-based artist living in Toronto, Canada. Her blog BArPH (Bicycling, Art, Photography) makes phonetic realisation of the rider's lot.

What's stopping teenage girls from riding bikes?

The above heading is clear current favourite in the NÖ Caption Competition #4.

As well as satisfying a humourous prerequisite, Fraser Millar's entry cleverly employs topicality - drawing from our own article - a response to Guardian journo Sarah Phillips' original debate.

Crackerjack pencil in the post to Mr Millar.

BREAKING NEWS

FAST FRIDAY HEADLINE - DOWNING OF A CHAMPION - ELITE PRO CYCLISTS HIT BY HGV WHILE DELIVERING A PAIR OF SOCKS

Rapha Condor Elite Circuit Series champion Dean Downing was today involved in a potentially fatal accident on Regents Park Road, London. He was in the process of delivery a £15 pair of Merino anti-bacterial socks to an office block in the area.

Luckily paramedics managed to rescue the package. "I thought they weren't going to arrive. The ambulance people worked miracles," said relieved recipient Alan Formica. "I desperately needed a new pair for the weekend, as the little pink stripe had faded on my old ones."

The HGV driver - a Mr J Eastwick, failed to comment. Dean Downing went on to deliver a pair of fleece-backed knee warmers to EC1 (clocking a new British-best time for knee-warmer delivery).

Licence to thrill

It's worth raising a Dry Martini to Team Sky - presently the riders, management and staff of whom are planning their first season together, from a secret location in Manchester, no doubt beneath an extinct volcano (or inside one of those Sky TV vans sporting Simpsons livery).

Yesterday they were awarded a four-year ProTour licence. And along with fellow Pro team rookies Radio Shack, will form part of a 17-team strong racing riot for 2010, and onwards:

Astana (KAZ) on the condition they produce of a bank guarantee
Caisse d'Epargne (ESP)
Euskaltel-Euskadi (ESP)
Footon-Servetto (ESP)
Française des Jeux (FRA)
Liquigas-Doimo (ITA)
Team Columbia-HTC (USA)
Team Milram (GER)
Omega Pharma-Lotto (BEL)
Quick Step (BEL)
Saxo Bank (DEN)
Team Katusha (RUS)
AG2R La Mondaile (FRA)
Garmin-Slipstream (USA)
Rabobank (NED)
Team Radio Shack (USA)
Team Sky (GBR)

Putting aside the rather tedious will-he-won't-he scenarios enshrouding certain highly-fancied Tour riders, next year's season is shaping up to be rather tasty. And although our beloved M stands for Murdoch, there is still a frisson of pride in seeing GBR in there. Let's hope we'll be both shaken, and stirred by the business end of road racing.

Tokyo Fixed Gear - London store now open

4 Peter Street, Soho, London.

NÖ Caption Competition #4

As previously, email your entries HERE

Grazie Gino

Is that a Campag Chainset?

Russian artist Nikolai Aldunin works between the beats of his heart, so as not to destroy the work he strives to create. Dubbed the Master of Miniatures, his obsessive desire to craft meticulous micro-works of art do foster a sharp intake of breath. And you'll be needing a D-Lock to keep it safe.

What's stopping teenage girls from riding bikes?

Sarah Phillips of the Guardian opened this debate on the newspaper's online Bike Blog. She went on "Campaigns to get women cycling seem to focus on how to look good over other concerns. Is this really all girls care about?

Teenage girls don't ride bikes. Or so says the Darlington Media Group, who have set about trying to rectify the problem with a campaign to get young women cycling."

Photograph: Image Source/Rex Features

We read the article with some interest, adding our two-penneth to the forum:

With regards to teenage girls, and their apparent passive indifference to the cycling renaissance occurring in this country, there is one primary factor accounting for this - role models.

If you take their male counterparts, whose very existence is entwined with sporting 'stars', you will see such hero-worship transposed onto genuine physical activity. Boys play football. And although this article/argument is a cycling-centric issue, the bigger picture carries the answer. That said, I was delighted whilst out walking (I usually cycle) this summer, when some boys sped by on their bikes, one racing to the front declaring "And here comes Wiggins!" So it doesn't take long for boys to latch on to achievement, success and positive role models.

Sadly this is not the case with the oeuvre of the teenage girl. As has been suggested here already, the 'X-factor factor' has much to answer for. Which in itself places some blame on the vacuous milieu that is British media, and the low-grade/big return glitz and allure of instant celeb TV. Almost all teenage girls in the street will know who Cheryl Cole is. Hardly any, if none, will know who Victoria Pendleton, Lizzie Armistead, or Nicole Cooke are. All you need do is scan the endless ranks of trashy kiss-and-tell 'magazines' polluting our stores to see whose faces (and lives) are wallpapering the teenage years. Such as it is, the UK at present provides an extremely shallow and 'basic' version of culture. As a consequence, and returning to the main story, cycling just doesn't dovetail with the current tribalistic iPod/iPhone/iTunes generation of young girls.

No Riff Raff

We have Rich Land at Springing4signs to thank, for sourcing this one.

'Experience Europe's greatest rides exclusively with Rapha'

We've said it before, and there's no harm saying it again, so we will. Imitation is indeed the greatest form of flattery.

Therefore it was with some pleasure that we received an email in the NÖ Inbox, courtesy of those rose-tinted fellows at Rapha. 'Experience the greatest rides in Europe with Rapha' was the email subject. The ensuing multi-media message went on to endorse this directive, by adding the word 'exclusive'.

So unless I sport the single-striped arm of allegiance, this suggests, I'll never experience such an... experience.

From May to September next year, and for somewhere in the region of £2,600 you can join an 'exclusive' group of twelve riders, on a six-day point-to-point Randonnée. They use the words 'adventure' and 'epic' to embellish the potential. And purport to take inspiration from the traditional form of such activity, with its inherent tests of endurance, self-sufficiency and exploration. To that list, we would suggest character is a vital, and missing, component. Yes, you can take a break from your desk job, pay your 'exclusive' fee, and with it get Team car back-up, a dedicated mechanic, Bidons, energy drinks, bars and gels provided each day, your nutritious meals brought to each checkpoint, and some rather nice togs to wear. We almost forgot - you'll also get a guide rider too, so you don't have to worry about what's around the next bend.

Epic? Adventure? Self-sufficiency? How about this - take a pen, a blank sheet of paper, and map of europe. Then plan a ten-day journey, spanning three countries and over 600 miles of cycling, researching all end-of-day stopovers (each to offer a certain individual allurement), all necessary train transfers, the contour patterns as you progress, ALL the clothing, nutrition, and paperwork you'll require from A to B, how to get your bike from London to the start point, how to get it back from the end point. You'll need to be able to converse in three different languages over the entire journey, carry EVERYTHING you need on your bike, rebuild your packaged bike prior to starting (having physically hauled it through three major european train termini), mail your bike-bag forward to your end point (for re-bagging as your set off back to London), constantly map-read as you travel, making on-the-fly workarounds (just incase one particular avenue is blocked, forcing a mountainous bypass climb, by chance featured in the Milan>San Remo, for example), take your turn at the front to pull the team through, work out when (and what) to eat at your own choice of checkpoint, and document the entire experience by filming a hi-definition movie account, as you ride. You'll need to bring this all home for a third of the Rapha price. You'll need to book all your own accommodation. You'll throw in at least one century ride. You'll need to dig deep when the going gets tough, and you can't work out part of you hurts the most. Oh, and while your at it, raise £2,000 for charity.

All that said, you might still prefer the 'cotton wool' kind of epic, from which you can return to the pub a fully paid-up randonneur.

We don't do exclusive. And as for 'adventure' - how about riding your bike around the rooftop of Le Corbusier's celebrated masterpiece Unité d'Habitation (note our masthead image carrying this moment), whilst the sun sets, the cols you just nailed blanketing one horizon, and the rolling Mediterranean sea kissing the other.

At NÖ we do epic.

Just for the favela 'f it

Another day, another hand-held mapping device

Introducing RouteBuddy Atlas.

Using your iPhone or iPod Touch, in conjunction with RouteBuddy Atlas, one can quite literally tap into a world of topographic divertissement. Yes, it's a another 'powerful hand-held mapping device', one which purports to 'let you access maps from any location without data charges'. Which is true. But you'll have to buy the OS map first. Of these, RouteBuddy has access to the 430 1:25 000 scale topographic maps which cover the UK. Each one is available to buy online. So for £17.38, plus VAT, one could purchase Ordnance Survey Explorer® 1:25K Sheet 231 - Southwold and Bungay - a 17 MB downloadable file.

And just to wet your appetite, the RouteBuddy App comes ready loaded with two free Offline demo maps. US users can take to the glorious hills and mountains of Yosemite Valley. While us UK bikers get... Afan Valley. Where? We checked. If you travel by road, you'll roll into said valley, about 5 miles east of Neath, Wales. Marvellous. Luckily, if the excitement gets too much, you can turn off these demos in Settings.

So what about the GPS feature? Well, we asked RouteBuddy to find our present location (Southwold, Suffolk). It was quick. And efficiently placed us somewhere out in the ocean. Or maybe the flat blue screen was something else. After zooming in and out for while, and dragging our sodden self in to land, we managed to get a bearing. And were pleasantly surprised to see RouteBuddy Atlas had a fix on The Lord Nelson Inn, where we completed a recent Route 1 cycle loop. So, if anything, you might find RouteBuddy Atlas to be the perfect GPS Pub Finder.

Much like MotionX-GPS, RouteBuddy Atlas can display your current location and save recorded tracks to your Mac or PC. Which is nice. Adding waypoints can be quite a useful exercise too. To these one can introduce extra info - a URL, or real ale rating, perhaps. And prior to getting back on your pedals, hitting the LOCK button will freeze the map, in readiness for your next stop, or pint.

There are a few anomalies. For instance, the Atlas iPhone App has a button to direct you to the RouteBuddy Store. But once there, you'll get a message stating 'The RouteBuddy Store does not currently support purchasing from an iPhone'. That said, for free you'll get a pretty useful mapping device. Although, by way of comparison, the stripped down paper map we used yesterday, with its coloured ribbons of applied highlighter routing, can be drawn from a rear-jersey pocket, consulted and re-stashed in seconds. It'll also never fail you with a flat battery. And weighs a tenth that of an iPhone. Maybe less. Here at NÖ, we champion the paper map.

One last thing - RouteBuddy. Bit of a colloquial error. How about MapMate - your GPS Beerometer. Just a thought.

"How am I funny? Funny like a clown? I amuse you?"

There's something of the childish and whimsical about Japanese company Pedalmafia.

For they've found a solution to that age old dilemma - where do I store my bicycle?
Simple, get a 1/9 scale one.

Pedal ID, via the Pedalmafia website, allows you to custom build your very own bespoke bike, without the need to visit a grungy urban garage, run by slightly contemptuous and patronising bike heads. Yes, from the comfort of your armchair you can choose practically every component of a bona fide fixed-gear bike, from a wide variety of scaled-down options.


Running through the Flash-based Pedal ID component shelves, from the frame to the toe clips, is actually bordering on enjoyable. At which point you suddenly stop, realise how sad it looks, jump on the 1/1 scale version, and spin out some hasty mileage. It's a boy's toy alright. Yes, you'll never get a flat. Can do your own servicing. And treat yourself to a new frameset every month. But Pedal ID is also a potential path to anorakdom. Scale down your riding, and you'll scale down your life. All that's missing is a 1/9 scale pot of chamois butt'r.

He giveth. And he taketh away.

"What the police should be focussing on with much more severity are cyclists who cycle on the pavements, who cycle in a fast and intimidating way, and who jump the lights," said Mayor Johnson yesterday on BBC Radio 4's Today programme. "The key point is there is a huge upsurge in interest in cycling and in cycling generally, and there has got to be a symmetry, there has got to be a greater attention to safety, and quite frankly, there has also got to be a greater attention from cyclists on the rules of the road."

This from the man who is cutting spending on roads policing. And who recently scrapped the British capital's lorry safety unit.

Jenny Jones, a Green Party member of the London Assembly, told BikeRadar: "The mayor has lost his mind if he thinks he can get rid of the Commercial Vehicle Education Unit and safety cameras and still talk about making the roads safer".

So has the worm turned? It's certainly a pannier of mixed messages. And a potential bonanza pay day for the first Pap to snap Boris running a red.

Are you sitting Constably?

Then we'll begin...

Back when you purchased your cherished wheels, no doubt adding a helmet, gloves and goggles to the shopping basket, do you recall getting a 93-page, 2 volume dossier from the salesperson, in order that you will ride said wheels with due care and responsibility? Thought not.

But that is the precise weight and volume of The Police Cycle Training Doctrine. The cost of such a commission is unknown. A figure venturing into thousands of pounds has been mentioned. The Taxpayers' Alliance pressure group called it "an absurd waste of police time and taxpayers' money". And now, The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) says it will not "be taking it forward". An ACPO spokesperson has also stated: "This work was neither requested nor drawn up by ACPO and we do not endorse it".

Content includes a diagram on "deployment into a junction", plus advice for constables to wear padded shorts to encourage "in-saddle comfort".

"I've no doubt that the people behind this are well intentioned, but it is bonkers," Political director of the Taxpayers' Alliance, Susie Squire, told BBC News. Of the Police Cycle Training Doctrine, Mayor Johnson said it was "very, very sound advice" that officers should dismount before tackling suspects. Yet why construct such red tape for police officers, when all they need do is follow Boris' lead, and shout "Oiks!"

An interesting directive for undercover officers to ride without a safety helmet is accompanied by a warning: "This lack of protection must be noted and a full risk assessment of the required role undertaken." So Big Brother will be watching you , once he's polished off his homework.

2 Jordanus Hoornstraat, Amersfoort, UT, Nederland

Whilst the ominipresent Google Goggles scour our streets, in an effort to aggregate the nuts n bolts that is Google Maps Street View, sometimes the resultant images are a little 'sensitive'. Courtesy of Conrad Lisco, at Posterous, we stumbled upon the emergency services in Holland clattering a cyclist. However, if one follows the accompanying instructions, the exact Street View spot now gets you this:

Fixation

Apparently there is a recession.

After almost a year of planning, Tokyo Fixed Gear will be opening a shop later this month - at 4 Peters Street, on the junction with Berwick Street, in the heart of London's Soho. Over two floors, the outlet will sell everything from frames, to new parts brands, to clothing, to vintage components.

In 2007 TFG began exporting keirin frames and parts from Tokyo. Later came a web shop stocking high end clothing from Tokyo-based brands. TFG brings the eclectic and highly-polished allure of the Tokyo track bike scene to the world. And now they've hit London - which in itself highlights the ever-expanding melting pot of bike cultures pouring onto London streets. If you like bikes, and you live in London, "You've never had it so good".

Poles apart

Although not strictly speaking upcycling, in its purest form, Warsaw-based creatives Kompott have come up with a novel solution to the need for bike-lockable street furniture - simply drill a hole in something which is already anchored into the city's infrastructure - such as street poles.

Parkower is a project by Kompott, for the city of Warsaw.

The idea is to make the city space more accessible for cyclists. By the simple intervention in the existing elements of urban landscape – drilling holes in the street poles – the number of bicycle racks in the public spaces significantly increased.

The Kompott Studio was established in April 2009 somewhere between London, Warsaw and Madrid.

The Ride - Issue 3

Unsurpassed for its quality of content, The Ride journal Issue 3 has emerged hot off the press.

If the previous two incarnations are anything to go buy, Issue 3 will sell out in no time. There's no better omnibus of the cycle oeuvre out there. Grab your copy direct or find stockists HERE.

Bike sharing across the globe

Looks like ye olde London towne is a little slow off the mark...

But what if you could rent a bike in Italy (for example), and ride it to a docking station in Spain. Just a thought.

It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.

Unlucky for some. Incase you've not noticed, there's a rumbling groundswell of discontent. And although we aren't great conspiracy theory advocates, this one might strike a nerve or two.

Your government, (in stealth mode, via its Mayor) champions the bike. It introduces a hire scheme. It paints some pretty green and blue lines, to make you feel more confident. It honours the champions. It pretends to pour scorn on the motor vehicle. And in a torrent of bell-ringing, inspires us all to take to the streets. Power to the peloton. Bike lanes rule in Oceania.

But we forgot about the telescreens.

Ergo a very profitable means for a government to generate income - by 'taxing' the very individuals they motivated and nourished. So while the two-wheeled citizen is being championed today, some time down the road, he or she will get a summons - for running a red, taking to the pavement, not having front and rear lights, or contravening a one-way route.

Flimsy folderol?

Enter Lord Lipsy.

"The present figures mean that just two cyclists in a million are caught and prosecuted for this offence [running red lights]. Meanwhile, drivers who shoot red lights are rightly taken to court and accumulate fines and points.

"There is a clear difficulty for the police in that bicycles, unlike cars and motorbikes, do not have to carry number plates. They can thus ignore the law with impunity. It is high time the government and the police formulated a strategy to halt this, before more people are injured or even killed."

AA president Edmund King fuels the fire "A small minority of cyclists regularly flout the law with impunity. They should not be allowed to get away with it. Traffic police numbers have been reduced by 20 per cent over the past decade. That should be reversed."

And finally "Cycling on a pavement is an offence under section 72 of the Highways Act 1835 (as amended by the Local Government Act of 1888). Enforcement is an operational matter for the police. The maximum fine is £500. But since 1999 the offence can also be dealt with by a fixed penalty notice of £30. Careless cycling is not an imprisonable offence, though cyclists can be jailed for 'wanton and furious driving'", say the Daily Mail, in an article targeting the menace that is the 'lycra-lout'.

In conclusion, TFL is looking to achieve a 400% increase in cycle journeys in London by 2025. That's a vast number of people, many of whom currently travel on trains. And that's a lot of bikes. And a whole lot of potential revenue. Expect to see a good few more Police cyclists sharing your bike lane comrades. "Big Brother is Watching You".

Anything you can do...

Sarah Storey. Photograph: Simon Fowler.

We thought our medal haul in Manchester earlier this month was impressive. Then hot on the wheels came the Para-Cycling Track World Championships.

"When I crossed the line I screamed. That's just brilliant," said former Paralympic swimming champion Sarah Storey.

She set a world record during qualification for the LC1 3km individual time trial, catching American Greta Neimanas after just five laps in the final to take the title. Her time would have given her a silver medal at the preceeding weekend's Track World Cup.

The phenomenal Darren Kenny did what he does best. Neil Fachie and Barney Storey took the men's tandem. And another swimming convert - Jody Cundy, took his third successive World Championship title, adding "It's a bit of a formality these days."

The overall medal haul in Manchester was ten golds, three silvers and one bronze. And five world records.

Lest we forget

Back in March 2007, en route to Arras, NÖ Endeavour 2007 left the arrow-straight Chaussée Brunehaut, and made a detour.

For a good few miles we had silently observed a rolling, crucifix-spiked vista. War graves mapping this terrain as abundantly as the vineyards.

And having dismounted, we pushed our bikes up to the escarpment which is peaked by the Abbey of Mont Saint-Éloi. Or at least it remnants, commonly referred to as the Twin Stones. The site is maintained by the The Commonwealth War Graves Commission. And a quite defiantly fitting epitaph it makes. We paid our respects. And rode on.

So it is perhaps all we can do, on this day of remembrance, to remember all those who fall, in the name of war. That we might go about our daily lives, without fear. And to a lesser extent, cycle roads which are not pockmarked from land mines, mortice fire or burnt-out vehicles. We are the privileged few.

Upcycling

“Upcycling is the practice of taking something that is disposable and transforming it into something of greater use and value.”

It's official - re-cycling is so last year. It's just the wrong shade of green. What we must all now strive to embrace is the nitty-gritty of upcycling.

Essentially, it's a modern re-working of the 'new from old' maxim. Except, to some degree, what we now see is 'new from new'. In the process, demand for that latter item of 'newness' is negated, as no freshly-manufactured raw materials are required. Therein less energy demands, less air pollution (via incineration), less dumping in landfill, apropos lower greenhouse emissions all round. In addition, upcycling ideaology suggests that the second incarnation will be of greater 'value' than the first. Chapeau!

Back in February of this year, we ran a story featuring a prime example of the upcycling ethos - velo::re

And here are two more fine examples.

Worn Again have been in business for a number of years. Part of their vision is to 'transform consumption and manufacturing patterns through the production of goods made from upcyclable materials'. And hot off the Worn Again upcycling runway is Bon Voyage! - a range of useful products, ingeniously fabricated from, among other things, decommissioned Eurostar uniforms, created by innovative young British designer Christopher Raeburn. From a cycling perspective, one could perhaps eschew the far-east manufacturing overhead of a Rapha backpack (£125), instead opting for a Hackney Haversack (£60), fashioned from Decommissioned Eurostar raincoats, with a lining of antimacassars (formerly train head cushions). Very urban urbane. Chic indeed.



Based in Turin, Italy, Mnmur quite literally take the inside track on Velo::re, creating rugged, highly weather-resistant bags, wallets and purses from reclaimed bicycle inner tubes. We're particularly taken with the variform individuality - a byproduct of the material's inbuilt 'history'.

Maybe it is time we reappraised our eco-biking credentials. For on one hand, the reduced carbon emission aspect is a ne plus ultra for environmental and ethical benefits, yet on the other we may be counterbalancing such efforts with an increased desire to consume and update.

How many of us patch-up the holes in our punctured tubes? How many abandon perfectly good attire, for the latest must-have colourway? How many think bar tape grows on trees?

Maybe it is time to start upcycling.

Forget car sharing...

Maybe NÖUNDICI might only require the one bike...

3 feet. And rising.

There's a new, and very valid, e-petition posted on the number10.gov site:

'We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to introduce legislation that all motorists must allow a minimum of 3 feet in distance between their vehicle and a cyclist that they drive past.'

Further info states:

There is an American pressure group that is campaigning to introduce legislation to allow 3 foot in distance between all motor vehicles and cyclists. So far, they have managed to introduce this Law in 11 US States and also France. There is a Global movement towards the introduction of this Law. The Government is currently introducing many pro-cycling policies and this one MUST be included. It's really just a matter of when rather than if so please support this cause. Many thanks.

What with the murky grey (or rather green) area that resides between cycle path and roadway, and given that a majority of drivers are ignoring some aspect of the highway code, at any given time, it just might save a few near misses and close scrapes if such an 'enforced buffer' should become law.
Having ridden quiet extensively on mainland european roads, NÖ Endeavour were continually impressed by the courteous actions of car owners. Even a fifty-ton dumper truck waited patiently before curving a wide berth around our wheels. So is it just an attitude thing? Perhaps.

Add your moniker, and sign-on HERE. The petition closes on 6 January 2010.

La Bomba

Interviewer: Do cyclists take La Bomba?
Coppi: Yes, and those who claim otherwise, it's not worth talking to them about cycling.
Interviewer: And you, did you take La Bomba?
Coppi: Yes. Whenever it was necessary.
Interviewer: And when was it necessary?
Coppi: Almost all the time.

Il Campionissimo

In 1947, the year Claudio Pesci was born, Fausto Coppi had overall wins in the Giro d'Italia, Giro di Lombardia, Giro della Romagna, Giro del Veneto, Giro dell'Emilia, and the Italy Italian National Road Race Championship.

There are many epitaphs to the man they called "Il Airone", later "Il Campionissimo", from custom frames to a statue in the Pordoi Pass, yet few match the flux of Claudio Pesci's paintings.

Initially a typographer and graphic artist, Pesci maintained a love of paint, in particular watercolour. So it was with some inevitability, having spent many years as an illustrator for La Gazzetta dello Sport, that he should cross paths with Coppi.

Forza!