The Artist as a cyclist

The artist Gino Manelli raced professionally in Italy in the 1930’s. He competed and counted as friends such Italian cycling greats as Gino Bartali, Fausto Coppi, Pietro Chiappini, Luigi Giacobbi, Adolfo Leoni, Giovanni Corrieri, Alfonsina Strada and many others. “Racing the Storm” springs from the memories, experiences and emotions of a former professional cyclist.

Gino’s beginning in cycling is very similar to Fausto Coppi’s. Like Coppi, Gino’s father owned a grocery store and he, like Fausto, got a cycle very early in his life to run errands for the business. The cycle became a source of sport and fun, and by 1930 Gino (at age 17) was cycling and competing. By 1930, Gino was racing and doing quite well. Winning the purse paid for his art studies. He raced in many provincial “giri”.

Here is one anectode from Gino’s racing career: “It was the fall of 1938. The provincial capital of L’Aqulia was the starting and ending of a provincial “giro”.  A group of us, ‘young racers’ were gathered for the “giro”. The group was Giovanni Corrieri, Fausto Coppi and me. Coppi kidded me a lot by calling me the old man of Abruzzo—I was 4 years older than Coppi and 5 years older that Corrieri. In good sport we all three decided to do a “pista” race of 30 km. Corrieri came out like a lion and tightly placed himself in the lead. I got behind him in his draft and Coppi tailed behind both of us, at times Coppi slipping well behind. I made my move at about the 28 km mark and put Corrieri away. I was on my way to winning when Coppi sparked up and started gaining, and in the last km passed me and won in a cloud of dust, literally (the pista was paved in marble dust) but Corrieri came in 30 meters behind me.”

Read more about Gino the Artist.