style and substance

After reading the Richard Williams piece in the Guardian this week about the Velodromo Vigorelli, I found these photos of Fausto Coppi on said track among my collection of cycling images. Seeing them again reminds me exactly of why I first became fascinated by a cyclist that I am too young to have ever seen race. In fact, it was the image that came first, a black and white photo of a man who encapsulated style, who had an effortless cool that was timeless and who had that something else too, that thing you can't quite put into words. Seeing a picture of Coppi before I knew it was him, what I did know was that he would always look 'right', on the bike and off, transcending time and trends and fashion in a way that very few can ever do. But icons need to be multidimensional and road racing is an unforgiving pursuit that never actually gave a flying fuck about style. It is us the cyclists who covet it. Obsess about it even. Pros too of course. "Who's got the best style?" is always a valid question. Just one that the record books, the top of the mountain pass and the finish line never bother with. So I was glad that when I began to find out all I could about Coppi, his palmares, the nature of many of his wins, his entire story more than matched the images that I couldn't get enough of. Style AND substance. A rare combination indeed.