ROME – In the city to attend a musical at the Brancaccio Theatre which sees his daughter Giulia Sol as the protagonistGabriele Sola lends himself to the story, which begins with cycling and ends with his new life (which also includes the change of surname). One step at a time, however. When there were no press officers, If you were on good terms with the rider, the interview was done in the room or during the massages.Otherwise, if the roommate was resting, we would meet in the hall. There were no cell phones, social media and their creators were still in their infancy. In this decidedly nostalgic context, Gabriele Sola was the first Italian press officer.
A radio journalist
La Mapei had just saved Eldor-Viner from Marco Giovannetti, taking over as sponsor in 1993. And when it subsequently came to structuring the team in cubes that, in one way or another, would make the history of Italian cycling, Giorgio Squinzi looked around and decided to introduce someone who would act as a filter in relations with the mediaAt the time, the focus was on major newspapers, magazines, radio, and television. And the only team that already had such a figure was Banesto, which to build a wall around Miguel Indurain he had invested Francis Lafargue with the role.
«In reality – Gabriele recalls with a big smile – the figure that had been identified by Squinzi was Giovannetti himself. She'd always admired him; he's such a rich person on a personal level and so good at relationships that she chose him. However, I believe that Marco, at that stage, realized it wasn't what he wanted to do and declined the offer. I arrived at the end of 1995. In the meantime I had worked with RTL102,5 and I had started a collaboration with Telemontecarlo, who hosted the Ciclissimo show with Davide De Zan. Mapei was one of the sponsors, so we got to know each other and the project started from there."
What was the goal? To bring the press closer to the team or keep them away?
Manage the press. Sometimes bring her closer, never keep her awayI believe one of the factors that led to the undersigned's choice was precisely the fact that I came from the world of journalism. The previous year, I was at the Tour de France and there had been a diplomatic incident with Rominger.
What happened?
As a good up-and-coming journalist, I arrived in front of him after a team time trial that hadn't gone particularly well and I asked him a blunt questionTony, who spoke excellent Italian, answered me in English or French, saying: "Is it possible that a journalist at the Tour de France would ask me a question in Italian? Maybe you should go and do the Giro d'Italia." He treated me very badly. Imagine my surprise when, on my first day at Mapei, I found myself working with him..
What task were you given?
I was asked to mediate. The idea was to facilitate interaction between all parties, ensuring that they found a balance. So at times we had to limit the press a little, at others it was the opposite.
For Italian cycling, it was a time of great popularity and great champions; social media didn't yet exist. Perhaps it really was a different world...
I've been missing for a while, but perhaps in that period there was more respect for each other's needsThere was a warm, sometimes even conflictual, relationship. There were tensions, but also wonderful moments of togetherness.The story of sport used to be transposed into a very heated dynamic, much less so today. I still read the newspapers and it seems to me that on that side everything is a little impoverished.And this despite the fact that there are more tools for interaction. Even social media, used in a certain way, could allow for better interaction. The fact that it's no longer like this perhaps also reaches people, because in the end everything becomes a bit... plasticky.A certain style is good for other disciplines, not for cycling.
Did you sense the riders' desire to tell their stories?
So (smiles, ed.), there were riders and riders. Franco Ballerini was a great storytellerYou could really feel the pleasure of telling the story; he didn't do it for showoff purposes, like some of his colleagues whose names I won't mention. Franco was pleased to share with journalists the experience he was livingAnd when he spoke, you felt like you were cycling with him, as if he wanted to reveal the deepest and most authentic feelings of his cycling experience. Especially in the North.
Was Franco a big exception?
Of course, there were those who tended to push their way to be seen and also those who were extremely reserved and closed, who almost considered having to meet journalists an unjustified dutyAnd then it was up to me to explain to them that it was part of their job and that the day didn't end when they crossed the finish line. I've dealt with very different people, with whom I've developed wonderful interactions over the years.
Some examples?
The one with Gianni Bugno, who later became my son's godfather. Over time, we've done some really beautiful things. I like to think that Mapei's Gianni was different from the one in previous yearsAnd then Bartoli, with whom I experienced a wonderful complicity. Michele was so immersed in the competitive experience that I created a sort of routine with him. For 2-3 minutes after arriving, it had to be locked down. At that point, once the adrenaline wore off, he became a wonderful person againOne of the nicest and most authentic people I've ever met in the world of cycling. And this has sometimes been his problem in relations with journalists, because he was really frank. Containing him after the match was a way to protect him, above all, from himself…
What are the episodes you carry with you?
There are several. One with Michele, when he won. the 1999 Fleche Wallonne under a terrible snowfall. After arriving he was really cold and I remember giving him my jacket.. He looked at me as if to say, “Thank you.” He didn't tell me, just a look was enough. Instead, there was a funny episode with Bugno.
What happened?
One day at the Tour de France, there was a time trial and, as usual, we split up to follow the riders. I was usually behind some of the domestiques, but instead the night before Gianni asked me to follow himI had a shock. I said to him: "Gianni, are you sure? I have two left hands, I can't help you. If anything happens to the bike, you're done for..." He instead said he wouldn't do the time trial at his best and so The next day I followed in his wake with my cubed Ulysse.
Did it go well?
It was full of fans in the middle of the street. It was really scary, because he was very popular in France.At a certain point, however, he raises his hand, a mechanical problem: terror. I approach. I stand beside him. And he says to me: "It's an Ecureuil." And he describes to me the make and features of the television helicopter that was filming him from above.These are two personal episodes, but there were also more complex phases.
For example?
We were at the Tour, and Rominger was in particular trouble. He wasn't feeling well and was starting to lose confidence in his abilities. Because he is very intelligent, we created a sort of parallel narrative to the real one.He never denied himself to the media's attention, only to protect him we decided to tell a version that did not reveal to the outside world his moment of difficulty.
Finally, what kind of character was Giorgio Squinzi for you?
Fantastic. I was among the few who were often called to his office on the sixth floor. And the moment cycling entered his room, it was as if the light came on.He was a great entrepreneur with the stress of challenges appropriate to his role. But when he came to the races, woe betide if there wasn't pasta with garlic, oil and chilli pepper made by James Carminati. It was all there a set of rituals, complicities and situations that he lived intenselyThe team car, the bus, the relationship with the rider and with all the staff members. He lived everything with great generosity and was surprised to see that it was not the same for others.I have never experienced it as president of Confindustria or in an important negotiation, but I believe that the Squinzi seen in cycling, was the real Squinzi.
Why did it end?
In 1999, I was contacted by Juventus. There was a possibility of taking the position of head of press office, and I sent in my resume. I don't think practically anyone knows this.They called me at the end of the Vuelta. In October there were all the interviews and in the end they chose me. I would have started on November 2, 1999, but my wife got in the way.She didn't want to go to Turin. Giulia was just four years old, and in the end I gave up. Except I'd already told Squinzi. He hadn't been enthusiastic, he had reluctantly let me go, being a Milan supporter to boot.. So when I came back, he opened the doors for me, but I sensed that things had changed. So in 2000 I opened my own agency and we started following Liquigas, part of the international communication for the Tour de France and the 2008 World Championships in Varese.
We know about your political career in the Lombardy Region and now about your work as a mental coach. Have you ever missed cycling?
The political parenthesis was instructive and a little destructive. I'm happy to follow some riders, but With my current knowledge, I would like to be more involved in the cycling world: the heart is thereI don't go to the races anymore, because I risk getting sick, so I watch them on TV. And in the meantime, we've also changed our name. We've followed our daughter Giulia. Working as an artist in Rome, she chose her stage name Giulia Sol. Until one fine day, as mental coach I work throughout Italy and advertise on the web, I thought that being called Sola wasn't a good calling card. So we went to the Prefect and we all changed our last names.Exactly one year ago I became Gabriele Sol, but apart from that I swear I'm still the same.
