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giro d'italia. the story of the world's most beautiful bike race. colin o'brien. pursuit books hardback. illus. 231pp. £16.99

giro d'italia: colin obrien

"Italy's biggest, most exuberant event happens not in a stadium but on the road..."

when my kids were considerably younger, i took great pleasure in reading them a story before they went to sleep. with my daughter, this created a lasting impression, one that continued through primary school onto secondary and, i'd like to think, played a small part in her becoming a primary school teacher. mind you, i could be wrong about that; i've never asked. my son, on the other hand, though enjoying the same stories with the same level of gusto is, by his own admission, far less of a reader, though with his new found enthusiasm for cycling, he has asked to borrow the occasional book on cycling.

narratives such as maurice sendak's 'where the wild things are' and julia donaldson's 'the gruffalo' were consistent favourites, but the crowning glory of my bedtime reading selections was russell hoban's 'how tom beat captain najork and his hired sportsmen', a book that ought at least to be in the running for the most bizarre title in the western world. however, when read in a faux american accent as often featured in private detective movies, tom's predilection for sneedball and fooling around took on a popularity that held no equal.

the latter title notwithstanding, i have often wondered whether there are particular books that the younger generation absorb by osmosis. is it possible that children exit the womb, already in possession of at least the bare rudiments of the more popular tales on the lower bookshelves? i'm sure i have observed such rudimentary absorption in one or two of the brighter kids in mrs washingmachinepost's daily care. but then again, i may be guilty of imposing my own beliefs on a society that could care less.

who knows?

but similar traits can surely be observed amongst the velocipedinal cognoscenti when it comes to the more pertinent nuggets of cycling knowledge. though i've scarcely made close examination of my personal recollections, how come i have long held riders such as fausto coppi, gino bartali and franco balmamion in such high regard, yet have not once undertaken a specific course in giro d'italia history? could it be that i have subliminally overheard conversations between members of a more learned peloton? might it be the case that rapha's giro cd of italian music released several years ago, contained relevant informations that would be revealed in the same manner as the legendary 'paul is dead' on playing a copy of the beatles' abbey road backwards?

perhaps not.

but then again, maybe so. for colin o'brien's giro d'italia, published to coincide with the 100th edition of the italian tour has judiciously and intelligently chosen to reveal specific aspects of the giro's history, inferring some of which remains unsaid and relying on the knowledge that most of us will, apparently, have gained by osmosis. and to be honest, that is its secret weapon. there will doubtless be other dissertations on the event, filled with copious chronological minutiae of learned importance, designed to be commenced at the beginning and read sequentially till the end.

o'brien's superbly written (and typographically impressive) history of the pink jersey and the pink newspaper that conceived its existence relies not entirely on chronology to make its case for our attention.

"In a manner perfectly fitting for cycling, the Giro d'Italia was inspired by a misture of enmity, chance, cunning and risk. Sport had very little to do with it. Not in the pure, Corinthian sense, anyway, because fundamentally, the Giro was born to sell newspapers."

so begins chapter one, following on from a generous introduction forming a brief précis of the previous 99 editions of the race. in this, o'brien pays testament to an importance that transcends a peloton of riders headed by a pink clad leader. "On top of creating sporting legends, the race has also become entwined with political and commercial life in Italy." it's a principal factor in the history of the event that those of us more obsessed with carbon fibre, sprints and the stelvio pass are inclined to forget.

this particular aspect of the giro's heritage is studiously outlined in chapter 5, entitled 'fascism and the giro'.

"Sport, and in particular one that required superhuman endurance [...] was of great interest to Italy's rulers. Mussolini wasn't a great fan of the Giro's pink jersey - unsurprisingly, he thought it effeminate - but the usefulness of its appropriation was obvious."

but, though o'brien's narrative even when concerned with political machinations is eminently readable, that is unlikely to be the poster boy that would encourage us to shell out £16.99 for a small, pink, hardback book. aside from legendary tales of derring do across the boot shaped country, our curiousity and desires have need of coppi, bartali, cipollini, tonkov and pantani, to name but a few. in spite of my previous protestations, even osmotic knowledge has need of being well-fed every once in a while. as even o'brien admits "It would be impossible to tell the story of the Giro, of cycling, or of Italian sport in general without discussing perhaps its greatest rivalry."

but, as i alluded to earlier, obrien's cunning plan unfolds in the nature of its chapters. where others would perhaps lead the reader gently through history, one step at a time, colin has encapsulated each individual narrative as a series of apparently independent chapters, ultimately portraying the race's history, but like the best jazz, letting us fill in many of the blanks by implication.

less is more.

if, like me, you are an ardent admirer of marco pantani, even with full knowledge of his iniquitous use of banned substances, it is eminently possible to begin reading the book at (ironically enough) chapter 13. this would in no way spoil your enjoyment if you then returned to chapter one. but it's always nice to find some previously unheralded kernel that previous histories or articles may not have featured.

o'brien's coup de grace in the final chapter, however, is both pleasantly surprising and arguably, the book's crowning glory. an interview with race director mauro vegni ("originally... a footballer, with little interest in bike racing...") is, to employ a well-worn cliché, worth the price of admission alone. once again, i feel compelled to underline o'brien's intelligent use of prose that encourages the reader to think of this as an enjoyable conversation about bikes, politics and a pink italian newspaper.

the story of the world's most beautiful bike race in one of the cycling world's finest books to date.

courtesy of pursuit books, i have a copy of colin o'brien's 'giro d'italia to give away to the sender of the first correct answer to the following question: which two italian riders were the subject of a major rivalry in the 1950s?. answers please, along with a full postal address to brian@twmp.net. closing date is tuesday 18 april.

giro d'italia by colin o'brien is published by pursuit books on thursday 13 april.

tuesday 11 april 2017

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