«During the final sprint, the cyclist attempted to overtake the group in which he was competing, losing his balance on the bicycle and then leaning to his left, thus crashing with the left pedal and the front wheel of the bicycle into the first pillar of the gate at number 45 of Via Roma, then fell with his head on the other pillar of the aforementioned gate and finally jumped forward a few meters, where he remained inert until help arrived. Based on the statements made by Giulia Fassina, it was also established that with regard to the incident no sporting irregularities were reported, as Iannelli apparently lost his balance on his own, without the involvement of third-party competing cyclists."
The journey into Carlo Iannelli's story continues with an excerpt from the report of the Carabinieri who intervened, who collected the testimony of the judge on the motorbike. His report describes a maneuver by Giovanni Iannelli, who moved to the left in an attempt to overtake the sprinting group. In that section, there were no barriers marking the roadway or any protection to prevent the athletes from crashing into columns, lampposts, or trash cans. Despite having just a 23 year old boy died, there is nothing to report.
Giovanni Iannelli's fall occurs in sprint and for the finishing straights the technical regulations provide for different and specific safety devices which in that case seem anything but compliant. It's no coincidence that the sports justice system fined the organizers. Yet none of this is enough to open an investigation.
The Unnameable
At some point it turns out that the white jersey for the young riders at the 2020 Giro d'Italia Giovani U23 will be sponsored by Echo, the Italian Organ Donor Association. Giovanni's parents donated his organs, and an idea took shape in Carlo Iannelli's mind.
«It so happens that my son Giovanni ran the Giro d'Italia U23 in 2018 – he says – completing it with great effort. In 2019 he dies and donates his organs, in 2020 there is this small opportunity. So I get in touch with the organizers of the Giro, but also with the President of AIDO, Dr. Flavia PetrinI call her, explain my intentions, and she welcomes it with great enthusiasm. She says it would be fantastic, but I dampen her enthusiasm, telling her it won't be easy at all. And in fact that dedication to John never came to fruition, because John must not be spoken of. Giovanni has become unmentionable."
And what did the doctor say?
Once my idea is declared unfeasible, I call her again and she tells me that she did everything, but it was not possible. And then I tell her that in her place I would withdraw the sponsorship and in the end she admits that the sponsorship is not directly from AIDO. He says that they are the ethical sponsors and they put their name on it, but the money is from Chiesi Farmaceutici, a pharmaceutical company that produces bronchodilators. When he realizes that I'm upset about this and threaten to spread the word, he does an official press release from AIDO, explaining how their sponsorship works.
In the meantime, is the investigation continuing?
Roberto Sgalla is appointed as consultant to the Public Prosecutor of Alessandria: a member of the Federation as a consultant for an investigation into the alleged responsibilities of registered individuals. Before this, Sgalla also worked as a consultant for the Prosecutor's Office of the Cycling Federation. Yet despite his opinion, The Prosecutor's Office not only talks about irregular barriers, but also about the extreme danger of that finishing straight. So much so that it sanctions the organizing company to the maximum extent for two very serious irregularities directly related to Giovanni's death: that is the non-compliant barriers and the extreme danger of the finishing straight.
The criminal investigation is dead-ended, but in the meantime, has there been a hint of justice thanks to the civil case?
I filed that lawsuit because I could no longer tolerate the humiliations to which John was subjected.I started it based on the first sporting judgment of March 2, 2020, which sanctioned the company for the very serious irregularities directly related to Giovanni's death. It was the only thing I could do, without waiting for the Public Prosecutor's Office of AlessandriaI initiated a civil case in the midst of Covid, with all the difficulties in notifying the documents, because almost all the bailiffs were at home. The case dragged on for four years and It concluded on August 13, 2024 with a 50-page ruling issued by the civil judge of the Court of Alessandria, Dr. Alice Ambrosio.
We're talking about serious negligence, and we recognize his accusation, which, however, has no bearing on criminal justice?
There is talk of very serious negligence on the part of all those who had organised the race, identifiable in the evident lack of mandatory barriers in the final stretch of the race. failure to protect the red brick columns that Giovanni crashed into, “overlooking or even located on the roadway accessible to riders”.
To understand the situation, what is your wife's position in all this fighting?
Honestly, I didn't burden her with all this, I wanted to keep her and my daughters out of it. This hurts me a lot and I didn't want to cause them any more pain., so I've shouldered it all and will carry this burden as long as I have breath and strength. Then, when I'm no longer here, so be it. It's a heartbreaking story, for six years I've done nothing but reread, rewrite, reread and rewriteI can tell you, however, that the story is far from over and I hope there will be some important developments. And that this story, as I often say and write, will not only serve to improve cycling, but also to improve this country from certain situations, from certain contexts. I do it for all the Giovanni Iannellis who have been forgotten. Which have been closed in drawers, which have been archived by human wickedness, but that human wickedness has names and surnames.
Is this social media harassment like chaining yourself to a gate?
I have undergone some indescribable humiliations, But you'll see, before the end, I don't rule out actually chaining myself to a gate. Even if doing so would make me look like someone who's lost his mind. Unfortunately for them, I'm more lucid than before. I continue to work odd jobs because I have no income, no income of any kind, except that from my job. And in the meantime, I'm trying to... help many people in the cycling world, who have been massacred in their own way.
On October 1, 2024, a first-instance civil court sentenced the organizers of the Molino dei Torti race to pay compensation, finding all the technical irregularities reported by the injured party. On October 10, Carlo Iannelli once again presents a request to reopen the investigation in Alessandria, which was rejected the next day. The reason was clear: There is no need to do further investigations, because everyone has understood how things wentBut is it really so? Has everything necessary been done to shed light on this immense disaster?
IN PREVIOUS ARTICLES
The Iannelli Case: October 7, 2019, the Death of His Son Giovanni
