They called her “Pantanina” because of the way she climbed, because she was tiny compared to her powerful rivals. And in fact Fabiana Luperini She was a true force of nature. It was a sight to see her pedal uphill.
The Tuscan has won five Giro d'Italias and three Tours de Frances. Among the men, to find much more, you'd have to bother a certain Bernard Hinault. Fabiana was also a natural attacker. And for this reason she also triumphed in one-day races, such as the The Binda Trophy, the Flèche Wallonne, and the Italian championships...
Even today, Fabiana never stops. She lives in Pontedera. She runs a family-friendly business, an agritourism farm, and collaborates with a youth team, San Miniato – Santa Croce. Her days are always busy, but on the weekends she enjoys a bike ride.
We talked with her about women's cycling today starting from what the American proposed Lizzie Deignan: Extending the women's Grand Tours to three weeks as well. At this idea, Luperini leaps forward as she always does. And goes full throttle!
Three weeks for women too, Fabiana: what do you think?
First of all, you need to find someone to sponsor a three-week Giro. I did them and I can say that two weeks were more than enough. Honestly, I don't see the need for it, especially if there are challenging stages.
But when you say no, do you mean it's mental or physical? Maybe think about your blood counts dropping, your recovery slowing down...
Yes, I'm referring to that too. In my day, we did two weeks with one day off. But when you made stops with the Glandon and the Madeleine on the same day, When you climbed Alpe d'Huez, when you did a 20-30km time trial, or even a 150km stage, two weeks was a lot. I can assure you.
But in the last Giro there were no such tough stages…
I'm just saying that a challenging and balanced path is needed With tough stages, uphill finishes, a prologue, a time trial, and sprint finishes. This way, the winner is the strongest. Of course, if you do 50-kilometer stages... it's of little use.
Perhaps with the advent of the WorldTour, with the equalization of minimum wages and prize money with men's, Deignan also wanted technical parity. How much has women's cycling changed with the advent of the WorldTour?
"I'd love to see them race for three weeks," Luperini quips. "It's definitely changed. There are teams that are truly more structured in terms of resources, staff, and athletes. There are at least ten really strong teams, the problem is that there is a disparity with the others. But I think overall the WorldTour is a good thing.
Today, the girls' performances are more leveled: they all have a trainer, a masseur, a nutritionist...
Yes, it's true, but believe me, even in my time there were very strong female athletes. Of course, the vast majority were amateurs, but Longo, Ziliute, Van Moorsel…they were really tough, they went really fast!
Do you see any tactical differences? Were you more courageous?
With the advent of the WorldTour, each team has 7-10 very strong athletes. In my day, there was at most one or two strong girls per team. Except for exceptional cases like mine. Sanson. And in fact we almost always won. With only one or two girls of value it was difficult to keep the race together or make team plays and it was easier to attack.
Elisa Longo Borghini is the beacon of Italian cycling. What do you think she needs to be on par with Van Vleuten and Van der Breggen?
La Longo Borghini I know her, but not well enough to make certain judgments; we'd need to hear from those around her. So, speaking from what I see on TV, I'd say she's made another small step forward this year. She's had a great season and continues to close the gap on the best. Plus, she's at an age that allows her to continue growing and hopefully see the others slow down a bit. She might lack a bit of quickness, but there's not much she can do about that. There's one thing she can do better, though: tactically. Sometimes he has to risk losing to win, precisely because he is not fast. If he finds himself in a breakaway with Van Vleuten and Van der Breggen, he might not even cooperate and tell her: you're fast, you pull.
And instead, is there a blue girl that Luperini likes, who has impressed her?
Letizia Partnoster. I'd like to see it more on the road. It has enormous potential, not just for the track. It has a lot of potential. People say a lot of good things about it...
