Ljubljana. Start of the fourth stage of the Tour of SloveniaFunereal faces in the starting area and it couldn't be otherwise. Gino's disappearance. Mader It hit like a tornado not only in the caravan, but in everyone's hearts. For some, however, specifically Simon pellaud, It has a greater meaning, because with Gino there was so much in common, whole pieces of life, jokes, laughterWhen you share something important, it feels like it's being ripped away from you.
Simon is a professional, racing is his job and even if those who know him (on the team first and foremost, heartbroken and we'll see why) would understand if he didn't feel like starting, he's there, on his bike. Lips compressed into a grimace. The thought that wanders far away, the desire to leave a mark, to do something to remember the friend who passed away far away, too far away to be able to help him.
A symbolic gesture
The stage starts and Pellaud is approaching Zana, leader of the ranking: «Filippo, I want to break away for a few kilometers, I have to do something for Gino…». The Venetian naturally gives his approval, Pellaud sets off and no one follows him. The TV images show his action. Pellaud is accustomed to breakaways; at last year's Giro d'Italia he attacked day in and day out, but this is not like the others.
It's in those few but important kilometers that Simon lets all his emotions flow. He points to the mourning band on his arm, makes a heart gesture with his hands and He points to the sky, uttering a few words that no one hears. At least no one here… Then he lets himself be reabsorbed by the group, many of them embrace him, understanding his pain.
The legs were there, the head wasn't…
«There was nothing to do with sport – says the Swiss rider of the Tudor – I didn't even think about how I was, because My legs were there, but my head was absolutely not and I don't even know how I managed to finish that stageI felt inspired to say goodbye to Gino in my own way, it was something between me and him.
«In those minutes of escape I couldn't even say if I was thinking about something in particular, let's say that So many moments shared together passed before my eyesMaybe only at that moment did I recover a little. When the sports directors called us the day before to give us the news, it was a terrible slap in the face, one that I will never forget."
Friendship born on the road
Simon and Gino's cycling histories intersected in 2018, at the Iam Excelsior team, a Swiss continental teamMader stayed there briefly, moving to NTT Dimension Data the following year, but that season was enough to bond them in a deep friendship. "We raced together a lot, which meant sharing hotel rooms, the emotions and fears before the race, the joys and disappointments afterward, and in between, lots of chatter and, above all, the story of a bike..."
In telling this episode, one can strongly perceive the emotion linked to the memory of the friend who is no longer with us: «One day Gino confided in me that he had decided to buy the latest model of Specialissima from White"I asked the team to help me, the expense is huge, but it is an investment for the World Championship in Innsbruck, it's a better bike, but it gives me the performance I want." The team agrees and Gino buys it, trains on it, goes to Austria and finishes just off the podium at the world championship.
«The following year, when I return to Europe from my Colombia (pellaud He has always remained very close to his Colombian family roots and does part of his winter training overseas, ed.) Gino has already signed for the WorldTour team. He calls me and asks if I want that bike: “Gino, it costs too much, I can't afford it.”I want you to have it, as a sign of our friendship.” and he gives it to me at a rock-bottom price, absurd for the quality of that bike. With that the following year I won the climbers' classification in Romandie, I triumphed in the Fleche Ardennaise, I finished second in the national championships."
An indissoluble bond
«But it is not the value of the results, It is the meaning of that bike, of that gesture that is dear to me, it is the sign of his generosity, of who Gino really was.I still have that bike and nothing can separate me from it."
When thinking back to who Gino was, it is not easy to find the right words to describe him: «He lived a bit in his own dimension, he almost seemed absent, but it was his way of dealing with the job.He was always very focused on what he was doing and above all he always approached his work with a calm attitude, always smiling even in difficult moments. He was the typical Swiss German, iron-clad and determined in what he did, convinced of his ideas.».
The trip to China
«I carry with me the memories of the beautiful trip we experienced together at the Tour of Hainan in China, again in 2018, when he lost the final victory by just 2 seconds against Masnada. He was happy anyway because We had both won a stage, we had shared something rare as always is a Chinese trip, these are memories that will always remain."
The day after the terrible news, it was clear that the Tudor household was experiencing it with enormous emotion and Simon himself gave the answer: «There was a possibility that he would arrive here at the end of the season, he would have wanted to come to be the leader, to aim for those great goals for which he was now ready. We still had a long way to go together, wearing the same jersey again, but fate wanted otherwise and I couldn't even share his last race..."
