LARIANO – The Roman west wind, the sunset that is hidden by the shadow of the Castelli Romans and a community that bids farewell to its champion, Martha Bastianelli. Lariano celebrates the end of his daughter's career, who feels at home here—and not only here, since she's now half Abruzzese. And while today a Glasgow The Women's cycling's World Cup kicks off in a few hours, and this ceremony almost feels like a passing of the baton. A point that Bastianelli herself fully grasps.
«I could have been there, someone even tried to keep me in the running until the end of the season, but I'm telling the truth: I'm happy to be here now celebrating with my country. I would have been happy there too, but I decided this and I do it with great serenity."
This is a real and official celebration in Lariano. The mayors of the municipalities that concern Marta are present. After the tributes in the council chamber, which the mayor is keen to point out is the most important hall in his municipality, the ceremony moves outside, through the town square and streets, filled with photos of Marta at almost every turn. And here, over a plate of pasta and a porchetta sandwich, the stories begin.
Magic Ring
We retrace Marta's career, starting with the little red and green bicycle—one of the many on display in the square—that she started with.
«A small bicycle that could be the one I started with – says Bastianelli – but which actually belongs to my brother-in-law Alessandro Proni, with whom I have trained for miles and miles over the years.
I was 10 or 11 years old when I first got on a bike. My cousins were pedaling and every time I was left alone waiting for them to come back. So I decided to go too. To try. But I was the only girl in the Larianse group and this held me back a bit. But I was having fun."
The boys from Lariano were cycling in a loop in the woods. It was a strip of asphalt made especially for them. On those 1.200 meters, without knowing it, a champion was being born.
"It was built by the parents, everyone contributed a little piece. It was safe to ride. There was a barrier, so without any cars, we could play. While the parents stayed there chatting."
«I remember Marta training on this ring – says Roberta Bartoli, deputy mayor of Lariano, and a little older than Bastianelli – and For us little girls it was strange to see a little girl pedaling. Doing this exclusively male sport. But Marta did it with a unique naturalness, she did it, and made us perceive it, as if it were the most feminine thing in the world. It was important for us. Until, in the years that followed, when her races were on, the town would stop to watch her on TV, and even then it was a source of inspiration, pride, and motivation."
Women's cycling and sport
The deputy mayor's words bring us to another topic: that of Marta Bastianelli as a woman, a mother who plays sports at the highest levels.
Her journey has reflected a change in cycling and society. Today, it's much more normal for a girl to pedal, First Marta had to go to Tuscany to do some competitions with the girls, just to give you an idea. And regarding the evolution of cycling experienced by Bastianelli, she herself recalled the great evolution she experienced with this example: «I started with huge jerseys and I ended with tight, tailored jerseys. Before there was no motherhood, now there is. Now we are professionals in every respect."
But being a pro and a wife and mother at the same time isn't easy. Everything is harder. And on top of the training sessions, the races, the lactic acid, the problems that can arise on a team, there are the worries of "home" and of those who, in fact, are away for weeks at a time.
But even in this case Marta herself surprises everyone with a significant phrase, bringing out the most popular word among those interviewed who remember her: determination.
«I – says Bastianelli – I had the privilege of winning as a mother. At a certain point in my career, in my life, I felt something was missing. I wanted a little girl... and Clarissa came along.
"True, after she was born I even thought about quitting. I thought I'd achieved almost everything I could, but then my family, my in-laws, my uncles, who always supported me... encouraged me to continue. Today I realize that family is 110 percent key to success. It's the cornerstone of everything. It's the team that's at home."
Lithuania and back
The stories continue. It would take a book to list them all. One of the highlights was the first away match in the blue jersey.
Marta Bastianelli is a junior. A young girl pursuing a dream that perhaps not even she could have imagined at the time how big and concrete it could become.
"First trip with the national team," Marta says, "my dad took me to Fiumicino and put me on a plane to Lithuania. We competed there and I won. I called home two days later. There were no smartphones back then. They asked me if I'd arrived, if the trip had gone well. And I said, "I arrived, I ran, and I even won. Come pick me up at the airport tomorrow."
"It was different. That's when I realized I would become a professional athlete."
The last seasons
And so it went. The world championship in his first year among the elite… (first victory as a pro, by the way), the many races, the infinite podiums, the European Championship, the Flanders. Memories overlap and follow one another as the square watches the beautiful video that contains these pearls and the comments of family and friends who were close to her.
«When did I decide to quit? After the Tokyo Olympics, I don't remember the exact day, but around that time. I would have stopped at the end of that season, but my team, la UAE ADQ , insisted that I move on. They wanted an experienced woman, since the group is quite young. I kept going, and even though I had to finish, I did it with the utmost seriousness and determination throughout the winter. And in fact, this year I won three races."
«Sometimes I think there were still some races to win, I think of Roubaix, I always want to win… but at a certain point you understand that you have to say enough, that you have to settle for. I've decided to close at Giro Donne because it is here, in Italy, that it all began.
«At the last stage in Olbia, the other girls, even the champions, the whole group came to greet me, to pay homage to me. It was a touching moment, but also a celebration. I really enjoyed that stage."
«In the last month, training on the roads near my home in Lariano or Notaresco, I often felt sad. Sometimes, thinking that it was the last time I would climb that hill or that road, I cried. Then I called my husband (Roberto De Patre, (he's also an ex-pro, ed.) but I never had any second thoughts and Olbia was a celebration."
Future to be written
Lariano's embrace is truly intense. As the hours pass, the square fills up. Institutional moments alternate with informal ones. And this is perhaps where things come full circle. Because an athlete travels the world, graces important stages, TV, interviews, fame... but then there's the country. There's home. And there, where everything is more concrete and tangible, you realize what you've done in front of those people who, in some way, are your "mirror."
«Actually – concludes Marta – you realize where you've come from even these little things, which then become big things. There's something more than just an athlete, I probably left something behind as a person too, and I think this is the most important part."
If the athlete is complete, the woman is not yet. The future is yet to be written. And Marta Bastianelli has so many blank pages to fill, with her husband, her daughter, her huge family, her country, her professionalism.
They bring her up for many initiatives, especially with young people. Indeed, hers is a legacy that it would be a crime to lose. He will definitely do something with the Blue Flames, who thanked him. But now it's time for celebration, rest, and family.
