Customs, rituals, and music: everything that happens before a race. If this is the Milan-Sanremo then you have to pay attention to everything, even unexpected events that can turn into stimuli.
The approach of Maurizio Fondriest to the Classicissima dated March 20, 1993 – which will be his best season ever – is one of those dream seasons. The Trentino is the main favourite thanks to the 5 victories he has just achieved (there will be 25 at the end of the year): a stage at the Vuelta Andalucia, one in Sicily at the International Week, finally two stages and the general classification at the Tirreno-Adriatico.
Those were different times compared to cycling today, between the last stage of the Due Mari race and the Sanremo there are only three days and in that time Fondriest has other things to think about: His wife Ornella is pregnant, her due date is set for the last days of March. And he calls home several times to check on her. Everything's fine, she's waiting for that deadline without any particular warning.
Those were different times. The teams didn't have the current motorhomes and Fondriest arrives at the start with the Lampre-Polti team's team cars But the day began much earlier. Here begins her memory of that incredible day.
Maurizio, you were the most predicted for that Milan-Sanremo. What was the eve like?
Unique, I will never forget, which in some ways parallels Renaix's post-World Cup victory, with Ornella, his girlfriend at the time, always a key figure. It was a frenetic morning like I've never experienced again, and perhaps very few have.
Why?
I was coming off a great start to the season, I was feeling good. The alarm went off early, because so the buses arrived around 16pm, so we had breakfast around 6,45amA little rice and a little pasta, the usual breakfast I had for races of this magnitude. We checked the weather again. Then I called home to see if there was any news, and my mother-in-law answered and said that my wife was in hospital and above all I had become the father of Maria VittoriaI didn't understand anything anymore, I was euphoric, I wanted to hear from Ornella. I managed to call the ward and gave the nurse my cell phone number, one of the very first ones in existence, asking her to call me back. We finally spoke, She and my daughter were fine. We headed to the rally I had already won..
What do you mean? There was still a race you were aiming for, where you'd finished second, beaten by Fignon, in 1988 and fifth in '90.
My mind was clear, that news had taken away the tension.Be careful, I would have run it exactly as I did, but without any additional pressure. I was lively. Already on the podium in Piazza Duomo, the announcer had announced that I had just become a father, everyone congratulated me, even when I returned to the team cars. In fact we had less privacy than we do today, we changed in the car and the contact with the fans was a bit more stressful because it was more difficult to concentrate. However, I managed to isolate myself by making myself comfortable in the seats and listening to the music. which I liked the most or from that period. In my headphones I had Phil Collins and Genesis, Queen, REM, Zucchero, and Tozzi. All people from Sanremo, in short...
And how did it go in the race?
As a group I passed through the cracks with a little more swaggerI was careful not to lose positions and to everything that was happening, just as we had repeated during the technical meeting with Pietro Algeri, Maurizio Piovani and Giuseppe Saronni.
The race ends like this. One kilometer from the summit, when the group catches up with Inaki Gaston On the Poggio, Fondriest makes a strong attack, gradually increasing his pace and starting the descent with a 10" advantage. In sight of the finish line he enjoys the moment, the applause and the success to be dedicated to Maria VittoriaHe triumphed with a 4” lead over poor Gelfi and 9” over Sciandri, who led the group in the sprint.
Maurizio, to close, a clear prediction for this Milan-Sanremo.
Mathieu Van der Poel.
Maybe because it reminds you a little bit of te when you were young?
He is a phenomenon, He should be placed in the category of champions and in a few years you will see how much more he has wonWe do have similar characteristics, but he's much stronger than me, and I told him so. I raced against his father, and last year at the Alpecin-Fenix presentation (Fondriest is a spokesperson for Alpecin, ed.) Adrie told her son who I was. He then went online to look at my results, then turned to his father and said: «Oh, look, he won much more than you!». Here, get ready: for me he won't wait for the sprint.
