Cycling is unique. If you like playing football, you'll never go to San Siro. If you like tennis, you'll definitely not go to Wimbledon. But if you like cycling, you can go where your heroes once rode..."
When he answers the phone, Paolo Cevoli's voice seems to come from one of the five episodes of "Intanto Parti", the YouTube series produced by Future Media that the actor from Romagna dedicated to cycling: to Pantani, Baldini and the value of their having been heroes. Five episodes of ten minutes each They exude love, lightheartedness, and the Romagna spirit that permeated this world during the Pirate years. And if you lived through those years, it's likely that at some point or in one of the photos that appear on the screen at the end of each episode, you'll shed a tear.
The story, in short. Paolo Cevoli is Athos, an unlikely mechanic and cycling enthusiast who has his shop in Rimini. One day he arrives in the city his nephew Vittorino, played by Vittorio Pettinato, who has lost his job, his girlfriend and even his home and it is here that their journey together begins – light-hearted and cheerful – into the world of the two champions from Romagna.
There's poetry. There's landscapes. There's the playful spirit of Rimini's beach. There's Paolo Vasuni who plays the overweight cycle tourist who spends thousands of euros on super-light bikes and components. (strictly in cash). And there is the love that is born between Vittorino and the barmaid played by Eleonora Agnarelli and the love that ended between Athos and his wife, who ran away like Baldini from Coppi and left him only a bicycle.
Where does Paolo Cevoli's passion for cycling come from?
Let's say that In Romagna, two wheels are part of our routine, whether they are motorbikes or bicycles and we from Romagna are big fans. I am a personal friend of Valentino Rossi, plus all the others on the world championship circuit. And then there's cycling. I'm an amateur cyclist, but I've always loved it. even before Panta, when there were champions like Gimondi, Motta, Moser and the others.
How did the idea of making this series come about?
It was born with the mechanism of telling values through sportWith “Intanto Parti” we did it with cycling, in the future we plan to do it with rugby and then also motorcycling. The theme of this first series is resilience, the fact that in the face of defeat you have to start againAt first we wanted to do it only about Pantani, then I met Ercole Baldini's son, Mino Baldini, who also participated as an extra playing himself, and we added his father.
Is that why you put them together?
We compared these two very different artists from Romagna, even in terms of their era. There are 40 years of difference, but both of them have told the story of our land, Romagna., and the same value of cycling: the ability to never give up.
As a Romagnola and a passionate fan, apart from the haircut, what do you like about Pantani?
I was lucky enough to meet Marco, and we even played a game of soccer on the sand. He ran like a thoroughbred, and had extraordinary energy and strength. In the series I explain it like this: they are heroes, they are not just champions..
Shall we explain the difference?
In Italy there have been many cycling champions and not only, but with them it is different. Heroism is something that makes you enter into myth, even something mysterious.Many others have won major races recently, like Nibali, and they were all great champions, but not heroes. There's something, even in motorcycling...
For example?
Bagnaia has won a lot of races lately, as has Bezzecchi: They are formidable, but they are not heroes like ValentinoValentino is heroic. He becomes legendary for many reasons. Same with Villeneuve in motorsportHe didn't actually win anything, but for some mysterious reason he became a hero. The role model everyone wants to be: I'd like to be like himIn the series, I say the line about how if you love cycling, you can ride where Pantani rode, and that's no small feat. But you can do it on your bike, at your own pace. You see the signs and say, "Wow, Pantani won here. That's where that episode happened." The mythology of the sport is a bit like that, you understand?
In the end, sport goes beyond sport and teaches about life…
We chose it for this reason, because Sport is one of the few truly educational things for kids too, because you can teach them true values.In fact, all unsportsmanlike gestures really bother me, because they send a negative message. The champion and the hero must always communicate a positive message why boys think they want to be like him.
As a Romagnola and a cycling enthusiast, how does it feel to think about Marco Pantani's exit?
It's painful. By the way, I don't know if you noticed, there's the scene where I'm pedaling and it's behind the Hotel delle Rose (the one where the Pirate's body was found, ed.). Then there's the mystery, but we didn't want to deal with it. this themeWe preferred to make known who Pantani was.
Are you satisfied with the public response?
Very, very much. Then this choice to do it on YouTube, which I wanted together with the production, is very nice because it's a truly democratic channelIf it works, everyone sees it. If it doesn't, so be it... So much so that we're waiting for the next series: a sport, a value. The advantage of cycling was that it had heroes to tell about., in rugby for example we don't have personalities of that level: they are famous but they are not as strong, like in cycling or MotoGP.
Vittorio Pettinato, your nephew Vittorino, does he represent the young Italian who no longer knows the history of those heroes?
The idea is to make a 30-year generational leap. Vittorino has practically never heard of Pantani, much less of Ercole BaldiniI, on the other hand, remember the marbles with Hercules' face on them. And then my dad told me about it, because my dad—by the way, I say this in the TV series, but it's the truth—was in Australia in 1956, he had emigrated to Australia, when the episode of the Mameli Anthem being sung by the fans on the day Baldini won the Olympics occurred.
All that's left to do is sit back and watch it. And then, if you want to be a careful observer, go read the comments under the various episodes, to realize that Lightness does not mean lack of content and carefreeness is the best way to reach the viewer's heart. Well done everyone. With a smile on our faces, as fans, we feel like saying we would have loved to see a few more episodes.
