Fausto Coppi vs Gino Bartali: “A Titanic Rivalry”

Gino Bartali and Fausto Coppi were two of the greatest Italian cyclists in the history of the sport. They dominated racing scene in the late 1930’s, 1940’s, and 1950’s. Both riders were intense competitors and had a Titanic Rivalry on the road. Their rivalry captivated fans (the Tifosi) and helped to popularize cycling in Italy during their era.

Fausto Coppi was known for his aggressive racing style and fearless attacks on the climbs. He won the Giro d’Italia 5 times (22 stage wins), Tour de France 2 times, 1 World Championship Road Race once, Giro di Lombardia 5 times, Milan-San Remo 3 times, Italian Road Championship Road Race 4 times, Paris-Roubaix once, Flèche-Wallonne once, he held the World Hour Record (on the track).

Gino Bartali was a more strategic rider who relied on his endurance and tactical prowess to win races. He won the Giro d’Italia 3 times (12 stage wins), Tour de France 2 times, Milan-San Remo 4 times, Giro di Lombardia 2times.

In 1940 the two raced for the powerful Cicli Legnano. Bartali had already achieved the status of Campionissimo (Champion of Champions) and the talented young Coppi had started his rise to the top of the sport. Coppi had been signed to support Italy’s great champion Gino Bartali. As a domestique Coppi was supposed to be helping Bartali win the Giro. Instead, Coppi rode himself into the lead. Bartali was so incensed that he ordered his team to chase down their own teammate. From that time on their rivalry grew to unpredictable proportions.

Being by far the best riders in Italy, their national federation tried several times to get them to put aside their rivalry to race in favor of their nation. At the 1949 World Championships one of them should have won but neither could stomach seeing the other man win. They both stepped off their bikes rather than helping the other. Italy was not amused and it brought down the wrath of their federation who suspended both men for three months.

While this incident put both men out of action, it also stoked ‘a huge pile of coals’ into the ‘rivalry furnace.’ The media profited from huge magazine and newspaper sales as they churned out endless articles that increasingly magnified the rivalry. All of Italy joined in the passionate debate as the tifosi became divided between the Coppi and Bartali camps.
The Italian press wrote of their story and exposed the tifosi to the racing “fights on the road.” Their rivalry captivated fans and brought bicycle racing to new heights. The entire nation of Italy became polarized, you were either a Coppi-ista or a Bartali-ista.

From the 1940 Giro d’Italia until Bartali retired in 1953, the rivalry between Bartali and Coppi electrified races and wherever they went hordes of hysterical fans would line up on the racecourses. Capitalist tendencies were less obvious during that period, surviving the ravages of war was at the top of most people’s minds. However, in our glorification of such legends, we often forget that these riders were ‘professionals.’ Being at the top of their profession Bartali and Coppi understood how to maximize their value.

One of the few occasions that allowed a public glimpse of the true Coppi/Bartali relationship was during the 1952 Tour de France. Coppi punctured on the Col d’Izoard and Bartali, who was near to him, stopped and gave Coppi his wheel.

Coppi contracted malaria while on a hunting trip in Africa and died in January 1960. He was just 40 years old. His funeral created a national outpouring of grief. Leading the mourners at the graveside was none other than his longtime rival and, many believe, his best friend, Gino Bartali.

These two larger than life heroes engaged in a brutal rivalry but had a huge hidden friendship.