Ghisallo Cyclin Museum I
16.30 hrs I Free entrance
A meeting with the engaging author Beppe Conti to tell the lives and achievements of two extraordinary figures from the past and the present.”
Jacques Anquetil — an extraordinary life that surpasses all imagination, seeming to belong to a novel, or perhaps to a film. Or even more than that. And yet, it is all wildly but truly real.
Jacques Anquetil was among the greatest champions in the history of cycling during the 1950s and 1960s, possessing immense charm and great charisma. A kind of pupil and successor to Fausto Coppi, he took from him the prestigious hour record. He was also the first, after the “Campionissimo,” to win both the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France in the same summer—perhaps the greatest achievement in cycling. He went on to win the Tour de France five times.
The similarities with Fausto Coppi also extended to his first intense love story, lived with the wife of a doctor, whom he almost “kidnapped” and who became an irreplaceable figure for him, a partner, manager, accomplice, and constant presence in the world of racing at a time when women in cycling were considered something forbidden.
Then, after ending his career as a champion, at the age of 35 Jacques Anquetil lived alongside Janine through other love stories and passions, in search of a child he had never had, with tangled family relationships and sensational events that truly surpass all imagination.
Until his early death at just 53, defeated by stomach cancer, he quickly became a legendary figure for France and for the entire world of sport.
And then there is the irrepressible Tadej Pogačar. He is not only one of the greatest cyclists of our time, but a talent capable of redefining the very essence of modern cycling. Beppe Conti retraces his story by intertwining private life and sporting career, with the aim of revealing the most authentic side of an apparently elusive champion: a young man who loves the simplicity of life, his family, and his Slovenia, yet in competition becomes a relentless champion.
The narrative unfolds through the crucial moments of his development, his early successes, his sudden breakthrough into top-level cycling, and his memorable victories at the Tour de France. At the center is also the figure of Beppe Saronni, who had the vision and courage to bet on an unknown young Slovenian, recognizing in him the makings of an absolute champion.
But Pogačar’s journey does not end here: his ability to dominate climbs, attack when no one expects it, and win with a smile is already projecting him into the Olympus of the greatest of all time. This is not just a sports chronicle, but a journey into the world of an athlete who has combined talent, discipline, and human sensitivity. A story that shows how, behind every great rider, there is an interplay of destinies, decisive intuitions, and extraordinary inner strength.
