When I first feasted my eyes on this photo over at lagazzettadellabici.com, it was the steely stare of Il Pirata that commanded my attention. That look says it all; “I’m suffering like a dog, the altitude is fucking with my mind, my lungs and my vision, but there’s rocket fuel coursing through my veins and I’m gonna grind these bastardos into powder as fine as the Colombian fare I’ll be sampling later.” Or maybe that’s just me…
It took me about five minutes to decipher the where, when and who of this photo. The jerseys threw me momentarily, before realising quickly that it was, of course, the Worlds. The rider second wheel had me too, especially as he is sporting the number 1 plate, usually reserved for the winner of the previous edition of the race. But no Colombian had won the title as far as I knew, so the only other explanation would be he was from the host country. Duitama. 1995. Ah yes. So who was a rider who could mix it with these guys, and carry the weight of expectation and hope that such a small country would bestow upon his slim shoulders? It could only be the somewhat evanescent Oliviero Rincon.
It all came flooding back.
At the time I was in a small Catalan village at the foot of the Pyrenees, staying with a friend of my travelling companion, and just happened to flick on the television and find the Eurosport coverage of the race. I think I’d read in the newspaper of Indurain’s win in the TT a few days before, so was aware the road race was coming up. Steve and I decided that copious amounts of Voll Damm were in order, and we settled in for the long haul. As did the protagonists. Seven hours plus at up to 3000 metres high? No problemo.
Pantani always exuded style on the bike. Check out the humungous Brikos perched on his sunburned, bald pate, the Spinaci bars, the semi-deep rim rear wheel. The white socks, turned grey from the road grime splashed up courtesy of a thunderstorm; he even managed to pull off garishly-patterned bar tape somehow.
There is so much more going on in this photo; Big Mig and Rincon either waiting to make a move or just waiting for Pirata’s cruelty to abate at the summit for another lap, the sweet steel forks, the caps, the hairnets. Pure Awesome all round.
What do you see?
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What do I see...boy where do I start?
The purple anodized titanium Cinelli stem, for one. How does Pantani pull off breaking Rules with such style? (Not officially a Rule yet, but with the exception of a few select components, no anodized parts on Road Bikes.)
Rincon and those crazy Sidis that were destined to be a massive failure due to the massive plastic chunk of crap on the tops of them.
Looks like the guts might be stripped out of Pantani's left Ergo for weight reduction. Always a classy Grimpeur move; today's light bikes have robbed us of those kinds of "customizations".
That stunning Mavic hub on Rincon's front wheel...those bearings were SO smooove.
ITALIAN TEAM JERSEY MADE MY ASSOS. WHAT. THE. FUCK?
Another favorite of a bygone age was the regular team bibs with the national team jerseys...it gave such a hodgepodge of awesomeness.
Rad.
@frank
you missed the fucking Spinaccis. But worse than merely having Spinacci's on the bike, look at the fucking position. Was he using them for reading books while on the turbo and forgot to take them off due to a passing snow-storm?
Pantani, no respect.
It would also appear that Rincon is using a water bottle from 1983
@Jarvis "using them for reading books" -- Man, I'm in tears over that one....Hell, I think Pantani gets away with everything really...he's one of the few who know how to transcend The Rules. Once you have mastered The Rules and have become one with them...they no longer apply, kind of like Neo in The Matrix...
I'm loving Rincon's headwear.... those were the days when you strapped a sumo wrestler's nappy to your head and you ticked the safety box. Kind of like wearing a stetson in rodeo riding... looks cool, looks cool, looks cool... ooooh, messy.
I'm with Frank - Assos doing an Italian jersey?... where the hell was Kappa?
The young chap clapping in the background is actually an adolescent Juan Barrero. Unfortunately, Juan's racing career and sadly, his life, were cut short in 2004's edition of the Tour of Columbia.
Pantani: CoTHO
The more you look, the more you see. Man, Rincon was rocking it. The LOOK frame, I had one of those (or at least a derivative of it) in '98. Man, I'd happily get one of those again.
I see he was also running only one STI unit. Now, I appreciate why they did it, but that is a flagrant breach of The Rules as it totally unbalances the bike.
@frank Sidi Techno's.
A yellow Avocet computer anyone? What happened to them? Why did people think a dull black box was more awesome than a small round day-glo computer that you could colour-co-ordinate with your bike & kit.
@Jarvis
Didn't miss the Spinaccis - didn't want to take it from you, knowing you'd be keen on those!
Color-coordinated Avocets! My first computer, I. FUCKING.LOVED.IT. And, the yellow version was called the "LEMON(d)" because our boy Greg rocked one.
The one-STI, my god. What an uncomfortable way to roll. At least with the gutted Ergo, the lever was the same; the STI, sheeeeiit - there was no getting those two levers positioned right.
Reading book prop left on due to a snowstorm. Classic stuff.
@roadslave
My god. That is just too perfect.
I really wish Indurain and Rincon had merged headwear, nothing cooler than the wrestler's nappy over the cycling cap. The best look, EVER.
The sheer volume of neon colors going on in the picture is invigorating.
Those old Looks were the best. Low bottom bracket, alu lugs...Ah me!
Watch the video. Olano really does Rule #5 it, absolutely nailing it to the finish on a flat rear tub.
@Jarvis
I'd forgotten he'd done that. There, in a simple image, is a great example of why you might want to consider tubs for your racing wheels.