Twelve cycling rivalries told four-handedly by Gregorio and Pisaneschi, two journalists and sports commentators who know the champions and their stories up close, and who are able to reveal both the humanity and the harshness of their characters.
Rivalries have been the spice of cycling since the very beginning of its history. Without invoking Coppi and Bartali too much, in this book the two authors revisit the last sixty years of great competitions (the Tour, the Giro, the Classics) through the clashes between the greatest champions. Thus, the Cannibal Merckx bites–and is sometimes bitten by–Gimondi and Ocaña; Moser and Saronni never stop teasing each other, even after they’ve stopped racing. Then there’s the Pirate, Pantani, who was above all a rival to himself, up to the recent years’ rivalries between Pogacar and Vingegaard, Van Aert and Van Der Poel, which have reignited fans’ enthusiasm for a sport where the contact with the riders is incredibly close.
A breathtaking photo finish at the end of the book lets the reader relive all the rivalries just recounted.
With a foreword by Riccardo Magrini, cycling commentator of the legendary duo "Greg & Magro" and author of Close to the Clouds. The Great Climbers of Modern Cycling (Hoepli, 2023).