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pantani was a god. marco pastonesi (translated by colin o'brien). rapha editions/bluetrain publishing. 221 pp illus. £25

pantani was a god - marco pantonesi

upstairs, in the small cupboard in my bedside cabinet, is a small portion of my cycling book collection. there are the usual suspects: 'in search of robert millar', ernesto colnago's biography, 'sex, lies and handlebar tape' and a treasured, autographed copy of ben ingham's 'd'acciaio'. but there is also a hardback copy of herbie sykes' 'fausto coppi'. herbie's introduction to this biography of il campionissimo, explains why, having said he'd never write a book about coppi, he ultimately did.

pantani was a god - marco pantonesi

and following that introduction, are two-pages of the finest writing it has ever been my pleasure to read.

as you may infer, from the list of book reviews at the foot of this web page, i have a substantial library of cycling books, many too many retained in the fervent hope that i will have the opportunity to re-read a substantial number of them in the future. it's a hope that maintains parity with greg lemond's observation that it never gets easier, you just go faster. no matter how many books await a deserved reprise, their place in the queue is regularly usurped by the arrival of more review copies arriving in the post. however, i have kept herbie's fausto coppi closer to hand, solely to frequently read that opening chapter. one day, i will learn to write as well as mr sykes. but, in my awareness of his genius, i was fairly sure i would be very unlikely ever to experience the same level of the literary art ever again.

until now.

marco pantonesi's 'pantani was a god' sports a deliberately provocative title, one that makes a deal more sense, on reading the the long list of additional apellations featured on the back cover. these mostly begin with 'pantani was...' and include 'himself', 'a perfectionist', 'our hero' and 'a great climber'. those are countermanded and often contradicted with 'wasn't himself anymore', 'alone', 'in pieces', all of which culminate in the assertion that he was 'a god'. and irrespective how you feel about pantani,there's no doubt that for many fans, the latter is undoubtedly true.

but if i can separate the content of pantonesi's narrative from his means of delivery, even for just a moment, the chapter entitled 'Tonini Guerro' will now assume its rightful place alongside that of the herbie sykes chapter mentioned above. i may have to buy a larger bedside cabinet.

pantani was a god - marco pantonesi

"A poet lived in Pennabilli and since poets are dreamers, they are also, in their own way, climbers. Now, the poet has passed away, but he's still there, in the air, in the water, in the colours. [...]
"Whoever cycles, uphill or downhill, is a little bit like a leaf and a little bit like a butterfly. [...] But on a carpet of butterflies, it's just a matter of instincts."

it bothers me not one whit that many of you may think i have regressed to the innocence of the late sixties. in the context of the book's subject, this chapter is not only entirely apposite, it effectively melts away every aspect of marco's other side. and while we're on that subject, though the author claims, in his introduction, that he is more pre-disposed towards "Riders with immaculate careers, gregari who perform their duty from the first kilometre...", he does not shy from the elephant in the room as applicable to the sort of rider he claims "...was never one of my guys".

chapter twelve pulls no punches, entitled as it is 'Doping', rapidly followed by 'Conconi' and 'Madonna di Campiglio'. pantonesi writes at length about the uci's imposition of an arbitrary 50% haematocrit level, above which any rider would be withdrawn from competition on health grounds. that is, always accepting that one-percent would always be deducted on the grounds of tolerance error.

pantani was a god - marco pantonesi

all manner of conspiracy theories have resounded for many a long year over the validity of that early morning test on the madonna di campiglio. but it is now purely of academic interest, for the butterfly has flown after a torrid few years of doubt, suspicion and occasional resurgence en-route to its despondent finale.

pantonesi is, however, true to his introductory word. in a similar manner, whereby a line can be described by leaving it blank and filling in the surrounding area, the author's biography of pantani is cleverly delineated through brief snapshots provided by those who surrounded the 'god' in his velocipedinal ministrations.

"He came along with us on a ride and got into trouble on the flats but he was really strong uphill - in fact, he was the only one who stuck behind us, without fear of fatigue or of competing with stronger and more experienced riders. Then he attacked and distanced us."

to an extent, this is an existential portrait of a much-loved, and at the same time, often despised cyclist. it is beautifully and sympathetically written, without any of the cloying sycophancy that can frequently be found in biographies of the revered. i have no idea how accurate colin o'brien has been in his translation of pantonesi's italian, but he is to be roundly applauded for presenting it in such a compelling and beautiful manner. neither is it entirely necessary to read pantani is a god page by subsequent page; the book loses little or none of its beauty or essence, should you wish to dip in and out.

pantani was a god - marco pantonesi

bluetrain publishing are carving an enviable reputation as publishers of admirable note, particularly as curators and partners with rapha editions. their imprint has become not only a mark of quality and originality, but peppered with a smattering of eccentricity. with regard to the copious number of illustrations within pantani was a god and the magic of the metallic cover, publisher and picture editor, taz darling told me, "We wanted create something unique with the images. As so much of the legend exists now in well-worn video footage, we recreated these images using the european RGB emitters of a tv screen as shot from video. It seemed right for the time and culturally where Marco sits in our visual memory. They were inspired by the Adam Ant album cover for 'Kings of the wild Frontier'.

whatever you think of marco pantani, or whatever you think you think of marco pantani, pantonesi's book is not guaranteed to change your mind, one way or the other. but it will place his life, his successes, his failures, his personality and his god-like status in a new perspective. as a cyclist with an interest in the sporting milieu, any debate over whether or not to purchase is ultimately superfluous. the link is directly below.

pantani was a god - rapha editions

images courtesy of bluetrain publishing and copyright getty images.

tuesday 19 march 2019

twmp ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................