MEALTIME. LUIGI CASTELLETTI, A DOMESTIQUE'S TALES AND THOSE TWO SMALL DESIRES

HISTORY | 10/12/2024 | 09:00
di Marco Pastonesi
He bid farewell to the amateurs by triumphing at the Piccolo Giro di Lombardia. It was October 5, 1969. One hundred and thirty days later, he made his professional debut at the Trofeo Laigueglia. It was February 15, 1970. "Climbing the Testico, two teammates pulled up beside me. On one side Marino Basso, on the other Michele Dancelli. They grabbed onto my shorts. And stopped pedaling. At that precise moment, I understood what it meant to be a domestique".
Luigi Castelletti at the 80th birthday party of Renato Laghi. Which was also a celebration of domestiques. Specialists in fountains and bars, water and drink carriers, interpreters of the verbs to pull and push, to chase and protect, mountain sherpas, plain guards, sprint wagons, graduates in generosity and sacrifice at the university of the road.
Seventy-six years old (born on July 6, 1948, a rest day in the second Tour de France won by Gino Bartali, on the eve of the Aubisque Pyrenean stage), from Verona (born in the city, childhood in the province of Rivalta), fourth of five children ("Four boys and, the last, a girl"), first study ("Middle school"), then work ("Shop assistant in a clothing store"), then cycling ("One started at 16, and I did it to imitate my brother Giovanni, professional in 1963 with San Pellegrino, fourth in a Vuelta stage, and to think he was first a km from the finish then they made him take the wrong road, half of 1964 with Firte, the other half independent, then he was left without a team. And as he stopped, I began"). The first bike ("A Zamperioli"), the first jersey (yellow from Ciclistica San Zeno), the first race ("In Schio, where Lanerossi was: third"), the first victory ("At the second race, in Merano, at the Forst facility: alone"), the first discovery ("Sprinting would never be my strength").
On the Testico, in 1970, and from then on, Luigi Castelletti was a domestique, one of the best: "The first two years with Molteni serving not only Basso and Dancelli, but also Vandenbossche and Van Springel and especially Merckx, from 1972 with Salvarani and Bianchi for Gimondi, Zilioli and again Basso". Domestique by example, by definition, by excellence.
Domestique of excellences. Merckx? "Exuberant, beyond limits. I remember a flat stage: after about 50 km there was an intermediate sprint, he already at the start put his team full throttle, as if that sprint was the world championship". Gimondi? "Tough, tenacious, stubborn, so typically Bergamo, never giving up". And Zilioli? "He didn't have Merckx's physique nor Gimondi's character. However, he was the most simple, humble, good, noble, human captain". They called him "Castello": "That's what was written on the bike tube, but only because Castelletti was too long and didn't fit". He was a man of effort: "Six Giros and three Tours". He was strong in the heat: "I didn't go well in the cold, if I couldn't go even in the heat, I might as well not race". Great all-rounder ("Head down and pedal"), modest climber ("In long climbs I stayed in the group and saved myself, in short ones I would struggle"). Some bonks: "At the start of stage races, it was normal, almost inevitable, but then I would find my rhythm and courage". Little science: "In winter - we would stop with the Lombardy and restart at the beginning of the year - in those two months I once gained 14 kg and they nicknamed me Panettone".
No victories, but a second place: "At the 1972 Tour, sixth stage, from Bordeaux to Bayonne, a breakaway of five, sprint, three behind me, but one in front, the Dutchman Leo Duyndam, who also did six-day races". And another second: "At the 1974 Giro del Friuli, a breakaway of 22, sprint, 20 behind me, but one in front, Luciano Borgognoni, who also did six-day races". Damn six-day races. "But I had a lot of fun. The bike was my escape and my school. I traveled the world and met journalists, my first interview - I was still an amateur with Iag Gazoldo - was done by a young trainee at 'Gazzetta dello Sport', it was Gianni Mura".
Castelletti became Romagnolo for love: "During thermal treatments in Castrocaro I met the woman who would become my wife". He also became one for work: "At Credito Romagnolo, then Unicredit". And even though more years have passed in Romagna than in Verona, he didn't pick up the accent: "I understand Romagnolo, but I don't speak it". And now, the bike? "Some little rides". And now, cycling? "On TV and along the road". The fire of passion, inside the heart of the domestique of excellences, has never gone out.

PS Castelletti has a wish, indeed, two: to recover two photographs. The first, published in "Topolino", portrays him before a Giro d'Italia, with other domestiques, in a fountain. The second, published in "Gazzetta dello Sport", dates back to the 1977 Giro, with him in the foreground on his bike with patron Vincenzo Torriani in the team car, among the rubble after the earthquake. Can someone help him?

COMMENTI

Bellissimi

10 dicembre 2024 11:53 noel

questi racconti, grazie 😍👍

Per poter commentare i post devi esser registrato.
Se sei giá nostro utente esegui il login altrimenti registrati.

TBRADIO

00:00

PROFESSIONISTI

SCARONI. «GIOCO DI SQUADRA PERFETTO, QUESTA VITTORIA E' PER I MIEI COMPAGNI»

Christian Scaroni ha conquistato la vittoria nella sua prima gara stagionale, la Classica Camp de Morvedre in Spagna, che ha inaugurato il calendario europeo 2026. Il bresciano della XdS Astana ha attaccato sull'ultima salita della giornata, l'Alto de Garbí, insieme...

PROFESSIONISTI

CAMP DE MORVEDRE. SCARONI BATTE PESCADOR E TIBERI, 5° VENDRAME DIETRO A ROMEO, 6° ULISSI

Le gare "valenciane" che danno il via alle competizioni alle nostre latitudini sono iniziate oggi con la Camp de Morvedre, 163.4 km con partenza e arrivo a Estivella. Promossa quest'anno da 1.2 a 1.1 la corsa si è risolta sulla...

PROFESSIONISTI

OGGI SI COMINCIA ANCHE IN EUROPA: DA MORVEDRE A MAIORCA, ECCO TUTTI GLI APPUNTAMENTI SPAGNOLI

Rispetto a un paio di anni fa, la stagione europea ha anticipato ancora la sua data di inizio. Il Challenge Mallorca, che solitamente fungeva da calcio d’inizio per il grande ciclismo del vecchio Continente, è ora preceduto da tre classiche...

NEWS

BAJAJ PUNE GRAND TOUR, LI NING STAR IMPLACABILE: A SHNYRKO L’ULTIMA TAPPA, A MUDGWAY LA GENERALE

Si chiude nel segno di una straripante Li Ning Star la prima storica edizione del Bajaj Pune Grande Tour. Come nelle tre giornate precedenti, anche l’ultima tappa (la breve Pune-Pimpri-Chinchwad di 95 chilometri) ha visto esultare un portacolori...

NEWS

UN ANNO FA L'ADDIO A SARA PIFFER. BEBER (FCI TRENTINO): «LA SICUREZZA RESTA UNA PROMESSA»

Domani, sabato 24 gennaio, ricorre il primo anniversario della morte di Sara Piffer, la giovane ciclista trentina di Palù di Giovo che un anno fa fu investita e uccisa da un automobilista sulle strade della Piana Rotaliana durante un’uscita d’allenamento....

ALIMENTAZIONE

ETHICSPORT. IL FERRO, UN NUTRIENTE ESSENZIALE

Spesso viene messo da parte e trattato molto meno rispetto a micro elementi tanto in voga che siamo abituati a cercare per rimetterci in forma in situazioni di stress o per sostenerci durante i periodi di preparazione, ma sappiatelo, il...

PROFESSIONISTI

TROFEO LAIGUEGLIA. PER LA PRIMA VOLTA LA CORSA PARTIRA' DA ALBENGA

Per la prima volta nella sua storia il Trofeo Laigueglia partirà da Albenga. Una novità di grande rilievo che nasce dalla collaborazione tra le amministrazioni comunali di Laigueglia e Albenga con l'obiettivo di condividere e valorizzare uno degli eventi sportivi...

TECNICA

LA STORIA DELL'INGEGNER CELIS: DALLA MORTE DI LAMBRECHT ALL'INVENZIONE DELL'AIRBAG PER CICLISTI

Forse la morte di Bjorg potrà davvero salvare i suoi colleghi. Si chiamava Bjorg Lambrecht, era un giovane professionista belga di Gand, e prometteva bene: secondo al Mondiale Under 23 nel 2018. Il 5 agosto 2019, durante la terza tappa...

PROFESSIONISTI

DOWN UNDER. PERICOLO DI INCENDI E GRANDE CALDO, ACCORCIATA LA TAPPA DI DOMANI: NON SI SALIRA' A WILLUNGA HILL

L'Australia brucia in un'estate rovente e anche il Santos Tour Down Under è costretto a fare i conti con l'emergenza. A causa del livello di pericolo di incendio "Extreme" sui Monti Lofty e delle temperature massime previste addirittura a 43...

INTERVISTA

A TUTTO SWATT CON BERETTA/2: IL LEGAME CON LA DANIMARCA, LO STAFF 2026, LA CONNESSIONE AMATORI-ELITE E IL SOGNO WORLDTOUR

Dopo aver approfondito in precedenza come si è arrivati a comporre il roster 2026 e quali saranno le scelte di calendario, abbiamo continuato la nostra chiacchierata con il Presidente dello Swatt Club Carlo Beretta concentrandoci su curiosità e aspetti...