MEALTIME. ARDELIO TRAPÈ, THE OLD MASTER - 2

HISTORY | 22/02/2025 | 08:11
di Marcco Pastonesi

Ardelio's second life was a constellation of victories: in 1952 he collected 17 wins, in 1954 with 22 victories he set the record for an Italian amateur (matched by Meo Venturelli in 1959 and surpassed by Livio himself in 1960 with 23), in 1955 he won the Umbria Tour, four stages in three days, and from 1956 he dedicated himself, still pedaling, to his nineteen-year-old brother. "Until that day he had forbidden me to race," Livio recalls, "because I was tall and thin, fragile. Ardelio maintained that my physique was not yet prepared to endure the brutal efforts of a rider". The apprenticeship was quick. Livio: "The first race was in Borgale, the rock church of Santa Maria, on the Verentana road, 5 km from Montefiascone. Flag dropped, attacks and counterattacks, I was chasing everyone. Ardelio yelled at me: 'God Almighty, are you going to stop chasing even the flies?' The truth is I didn't know how to behave. So I just stayed by his side. 5 km from the finish, I was hit by a hunger crisis. And suddenly I felt empty. Ardelio still had energy, he always did, but he sacrificed himself and brought me to the finish line. He was thirteenth, I was fourteenth. I never thought one could experience so much suffering and effort to be a rider".


The 18 months and one month difference were evident: Ardelio was "the old man", Livio "the young one". And some thought they were father and son.


By the third race, things improved. Livio again: "We were racing the San Flaviano Grand Prix, right in Montefiascone, on April 26th, Ardelio's birthday and the day after the Liberation Grand Prix, with many international riders who had raced in Rome. Attacks and counterattacks, only the two of us remained at the front. On the final climb of Sant'Antonio, Ardelio asked me to slow down. I did, and thus won the race".

Ardelio could have written cycling history. That time at the Puglia and Lucania Tour in 1954, seven stages, Ardelio won the first stage and took the lead, managed the race, but on the last stage, perhaps the easiest, when everything was ready for the final triumph, the police made him and the first 14 in the standings take the wrong road, they arrived at the finish line, Alessandro Fantini was there, but in the opposite direction and were not classified, the sixteenth rider won.

That time at the Achille Lauro Grand Prix in 1957 in Rome, starting from Piazza del Popolo, the climb to Rocca di Papa from the Frascati side. Livio: "About fifteen riders in the breakaway, Ardelio ordered me to take his wheel, and on the Sant'Antonio climb we were four: Ardelio, Salvatore Morucci, Alberto Emiliozzi, who would become a professional, winning rider in the Faema team, and me. Ardelio dropped back, having a bit of stomach ache, I dropped the others, the race regrouped downhill, except for Amico Ippoliti, who would also become a professional, but not a winning rider, in the Philco team. In the finale, Ardelio told me to try attacking, and I attacked, only Vittorio Colabattista stayed with me, who begged me to let him finish second, as he still needed to sign a contract with Lazio for the following year".

That time at the Allumiere Grand Prix when Uncle Peppe proposed Ardelio ride back home with him, but Uncle Peppe was on a motorcycle, so Ardelio settled behind with his bike on his shoulder, only worried there was enough petrol. Uncle Peppe reassured him. But in Vetralla the motorcycle began to sputter, then sneeze, and finally stopped. The petrol was finished. And it was night. They got off the motorcycle and pushed it, Uncle Peppe with two hands and two arms, while Ardelio held the bike with one hand and pushed the motorcycle with the other.

That time, perhaps in 1956, when Fausto Coppi wanted to meet Ardelio because he had heard so much good about him, it happened at a race in Liguria, and the Champion congratulated him, then asked why he continued racing at his age, and Ardelio retorted by asking why he was still racing - they were born in the same year - Coppi replied "but I'm a professional, and I race for money", Ardelio was a lifelong amateur, and raced for passion.

That time in 1957, at 38 and a half, when Ardelio decided the Morolo City Cup, near Frosinone, would be his last race as a lifelong amateur, organized by journalist Lillo Pietropaoli, won perhaps by Silvestro La Cioppa, the following year Livio succeeded.

That time on August 30, 1960, at the Rome Olympics, amateur road race, Ardelio positioned himself on the Grottarossa circuit, at the start of the climb, bringing his son Giancarlo with him, and with three laps to go he moved forward and yelled to Livio: "God Almighty, it's time", Livio attacked and rejoined the lone leader, the Russian Viktor Kapitonov.

That time in 2013 when Riccardo Magrini was invited to Montefiascone, where 30 years earlier he had won a Giro d'Italia stage, and asked Giancarlo (nicknamed Pajetta because he was as combative as the partisan and communist) about his father Ardelio, who was there, on a bench. Giancarlo: "Dad, this is Magrini, the one who won here in Montefiascone at the Giro". Ardelio: "God Almighty, he became a professional with that belly?!"

Ardelio Trapè died on November 7, 2017. He was 98 years and seven months old. Until a short time before, he was still driving a car.

(end of the second and final episode)


Copyright © TBW
COMMENTI
Hai dimenticato i tuoi dati, clicca qui.
Se non sei registrato clicca qui.
TBRADIO

00:00
00:00
La nuova sella Proxim W460 powered by Prologo è stata studiata per affrontare in totale sicurezza e controllo i sentieri gravity più adrenalinici. Un leggero restyling di forme e imbottiture ha reso questa sella ancora più performante e confortevole soprattutto quando si affrontano discese tecniche...


Sviluppata sulla base dell'originale "Master of Speed",  la nuova misura da 50 mm porta il suo pedigree da gara cross-country nel gravel più spinto. Il profilo più stretto migliora l'efficienza di rotolamento mantenendo il grip e il controllo che lo hanno...


Le classiche di Muri e pavé sono finite ed ecco arrivare le Ardenne. Il calendario si apre venerdì 17 aprile con la 66a Freccia del Brabante (Brabantse Pijl), che anche nel 2026 conferma una formula collaudata: percorso nervoso, ricco di...


Ci sono fatti reali che battono qualsiasi fantasia, semplicemente vanno oltre. E ci sono ciclisti che inaspettatamente si trovano a pedalare con un ladro di biciclette... È accaduto domenica scorsa a Sobótka,  sud-ovest della Polonia: gli agenti in servizio a bordo...


La vittoria di Wout Van Aert alla Parigi-Roubaix rivissuta da chi l’ha raccontata. Il sesto appuntamento con Velò, la rubrica di Rete8 dedicata al mondo del ciclismo, vedrà la coppia di Eurosport formata da Luca Gregorio e Riccardo Magrini, rivivere...


Nel 1949, a 30 anni, Brera dirige “La Gazzetta dello Sport”. Fra le polemiche del popolo del ciclismo scrive un editoriale in prima pagina in cui difende la maglia rosa del Giro d’Italia – la prima nella storia per un...


Torna questa sera alle 20.30 sulle frequenze di Teletutto l'appuntamento con Ciclismo Oggi, lo storico appuntamento dedicato al ciclismo giovanile. Ancora una volta una puntata monotematica interamente dedicata al Giro della Castellania. A Pettenasco, sulle rive del Lago d'Orta, in uno scenario davvero...


Ieri sera a La Scala di Milano Colnago ha presentato il suo ultimo gioiello, la C72, l'edizione limitata C72 La Scala, omaggio a quella che rappresenta nel mondo una delle più iconiche espressioni della cultura italiana, e l'Atlante Colnago, prima...


Nel ciclismo, come pure in altri sport, non è facile che una competizione riesca a tagliare il traguardo delle 50 edizioni organizzate. Il Trofeo Città di Lucca è orgogliosamente riuscito in questa notevole impresa e il prossimo 28 giugno festeggerà...


Dopo due edizioni che hanno conquistato pubblico, rider e media internazionali, il Red Bull Genova Cerro Abajo è pronto a tornare nel 2026, confermando per il terzo anno consecutivo la presenza della città ligure nel circuito di urban downhill più...


TBRADIO

-

00:00
00:00





DIGITAL EDITION
Prima Pagina Edizioni s.r.l. - Via Inama 7 - 20133 Milano - P.I. 11980460155




Editoriale Rapporti & Relazioni Gatti & Misfatti I Dubbi Scripta Manent Fisco così per Sport L'Ora del Pasto Le Storie del Figio ZEROSBATTI Capitani Coraggiosi La Vuelta 2024