Over Active Thyroid Sore Breasts

The head (lost) The Untouchables race

I remember the first great excitement as a fan of cycling the 'I had with Marco Pantani in '98. The Tour of Italy. Those were the years that my father, runner and amateur cycling worshiper of that fact with sweat and toil, with legs that go up again destroyed by pumping the pedals, I told of epic races became in my eyes, still short of the network technology, battles between mythic heroes made of iron and thunder that fought for the glory of a peak. So throughout childhood I have always followed willingly cycling competitions, from the Tour Eiffel, the Milan-San Remo and the World and even today, the sport takes me maybe because unlike other unintentionally creates a strong paternal bond. But I never found my "hero", they were all runners who liked my father and I followed them as such. Marco Pantani felt it my own. Liked, of course, to both, but it was a common pleasure and not osmotic.

I remember that summer of '98, I used to videotape the stage for my father, who work most of the time if the lost, only to see her briefly with him the evening before going out with friends. It was the day of the third last stop of the tour, between Mendrisio and Lugano, which preceded the final time trial before the fashion show in Milan. It was a round head to head in Tonkov and Pantani, Marco was in pink, but the gap was very small, especially since the Russian was stronger and more disciplined in stopwatch. I got up to start the VCR to the usual last kilometers and could no longer move. Once the REC button starts recording, and my eyes back on the screen, Pantani began with the first attack, before throwing the legendary bandana, and glasses, then anger. The previous years had seen the victim road accident while training, gray cats that made him fall in the race and preparations varied greatly. In those shots, that seemed carefully prepared cartridges for some time, leave it there for the duel best, most beautiful, those shots, that cut my breath under a hot sun and unforgiving, which also seemed to be home without oxygen, those shots came in my life at that time and would not have ever gone. Tonkov at the end, after another gave way and sank no longer see the back of the "Pirate", which won the stage and tour, since the day after he managed to stay behind his opponent in stopwatch. But with that last victory had come and tear you read it in the face Tonkov of that spring, leaves, raise the white flag. The same evening I was not in the skin and although I saw the stage and the last minute several times before the arrival of my father, I could not wait to read in his face what he certainly was that afternoon in my era. Then humbled even some German in the Tour, winning a pairing ever.

After then, Marco Pantani has been destroyed. Maybe too high for a power that would not result in cycling so at the expense of other more lucrative sports. Perhaps because of its fragility. Perhaps only fatality. This is not the place and never will be, for me it is Marco Pantani has been and always will be, only, "The Pirate." But with his eclipse and the following years the name has caught on in cycling and, now, is almost used as a cynical synonym: doping. Unfortunately, the cycling of infected cases have followed in this decade with more and more large-scale situations and to limit the embarrassment: teams searched the night to surprise, even outside the testing period of racing, blood tests exposed online to demonstrate their innocence. I'm not saying it is not fair but I dare not think what would happen if it were done in other sports environments (and stop).

read today by Republic, the witness of a young amateur junior on the eve of the first real race as a professional, saw his hopes and dreams, their labors and sacrifices, broken, disintegrated, from a syringe, and the sad truth sputatagli directly in the face by his new trainer that, with a certain insolence, is astonished that the young person is "all of his flour sack, which he never asked for aid and drug addition, larger insolence, I remain amazed. Now the boy left the bike, I hope you look back, I sincerely hope it does. But I also hope to have the courage to denounce, condemn and even more to help associations and law enforcement. Why I want it strong and true feelings in the years that the sport has given to my father, me and all the "caravan" of people who lurk on the streets every year Tappone of rugged mountain, there is sun or hail. I want the honor of a sports epic, lonely and brave. Where you do not have time to comb his hair or resented infringement. Where the slow motion of no use, but serves only the heart, the heart!

"I'm sitting on top of a milestone and I'm
'minding my own business
between a motorcycle and another there' silence
that I could not describe.
Oh how far in my sandals
than they will have 'made Bartali
sad that nose like a rose
eyes bright from the Italian and the French respect us ride

that bales
still running and you make me go to the movies we go to the movies
lay thyself
ZAZ Za Za Za! "
(Bartali, Paolo Conte, 1979 )

ps is great to see as a "sports daily" as well as major sponsors of the competition (almost the same name) in pink, as the Gazzetta dello sport, still does not report anything on her site, especially since the late director Reedy was a known lover the two-wheeled pedal ... hopefully tomorrow to read the paper printed something .. at least before page 25!