Thanks Ivan - what a great review (not sure about the first line though
), I'm annoyed now as it's unlikely I'll ever get to see it.
Early on, we learn that the Bartali family is strapped for cash, and Bartali pere is unconvinced about his two sons becoming cyclists; even the top professionals did not make much more than a labourer in those days. The two brothers are inseparable: they train together and promise never to race against one another. This pact is tragically brought to an end thouigh, as the younger brother Giulio is killed during a race, when he crashes into an oncoming car. The mother wants Gino to stop, and he goes off to a monastery to be a general skivvy. It's his fiancée who turns up and persuades him to start racing again, and he duly wins the Giro d'Italia. Superb writing as always. All I can track down is
The Gino Bartali Story - The Lion Of Tuscany voice over by Phil Liggett - a used VHS cassette on Amazon for £80!!!
Incidentally, I've just finished reading
Kings of the Mountains: How Colombia's Cycling Heroes Shaped Their Nations' History by Matt Rendell. A brilliant, well researched account of all the legends, politics and history of Columbia; Zipa, Cochise, guerilla warfare, Escobar etc.
I'm now starting on
The Boys From White Hart Lane: Spurs in the 80s - the Players' Stories by Martin Cloake and Adam Powley. It's a 'wart's n all' story from many of the players - it starts just after promotion back into Division One and the arrival of Villa and Ardilles in '78 and finishes around the UEFA Anderlecht game in '84 - got my copy signed by Stevie Perryman!
