Last week when our friend Rob Mecea called to tell me the news, I was riding my bicycle and he must have repeated the name several times before I understood him, because indeed my brain could not comprehend such a thing: Francesco Moser "racing" the Pro/1/2/3 race in Prospect Park, Brooklyn. No, I could not imagine that Francesco, as well as any other ex-champion of his caliper and age, would actually race with us at 6:15am in a park in Brooklyn, in a competition that in every event attracts a couple of hundred local amateurs in the combined categories. Even though the race is locally popular, it suffers the limitations of the fact that it is organized in a public park, with runners, families, dog walkers and many other people that are forced to share the park with us in the first couple of hours of daylight. 

In May, NYC will host a Gran Fondo, a huge event to which personalities of the sport are invited, most likely with some sort of financial compensation. I think that last year George Hincapie was there, and two years ago we had the pleasure to meet Eddie Merckx in person, in a local store promoting his new line of bicycles. And, of course, we cannot forget Lance Armstrong stopping for a coffee in Piermont along with another rider, and Thor Husvold strolling his bike in Brooklyn in company of ex-teammate Joao Correia when the two were racing for Cervelo.

The above are very logic situations, but Francesco Moser racing with us in Prospect Park at 6:15am? Come on, it does not make sense! Anyhow, the news were all over the internet on Friday, so I finally accepted the idea, thinking that maybe Francesco was interested in promoting his bicycles. 
On Saturday morning, when we lined up for the start, there he was, in the first row, wearing the kit of a local team and on a Specialized! I could not believe my eyes! Thinking that after a few laps he will stop, I managed to shake his hand and I introduced myself. 
The race started and within a few hundred meters, zipping through the pack, I am next to him because I wanted to share with him my emotions, or better, the concept that I thought that it would have been easier to win the lottery than to "race" with Francesco Moser in Prospect Park! Yes, racing with him, because indeed I believe that everybody else, except me, wanted to race without conceding not even a couple of minutes of easy pace to enjoy the presence of the champion. Francesco laughed with me while pedaling fast toward the front of the peloton and asked me "ma la montagna, la montagna qui e' dura?" (but the mountain, the moutain in the park is hard?). I replied to him stating that it was already finished and with his class and by the way he was pedaling, I was positive that it was not too hard for him. Francesco then replied that "e il mestiere non l'ho dimenticato, ma se non si pedala e' dura...e quest'anno e' la quarta volta che esco in bici" (I still remember how to race but without training it is tough...and this my fourth time on the bike this year).

I was pedaling next him, behind him, everywhere to keep collecting images to compare them with my memories from 30 years ago when as a kid I was watching him on television competing in the classics.
Francesco is 61 years old, so his body and his legs are not quite the same from three decades ago. His profile on the bike reveals the aging, as well as the white hair and the wrinkles around his eyes. But still, his smile, his facial expressions while forcing on the bicycle, his legs "affusolate" (tapered) and the legendary pedal stroke, were still there, unchanged. It is amazing that even though it was my first time on Saturday that I met him in person, while being on his wheel, I could say he is the Francesco Moser and he looks and pedals just like he did in my youth. This is the magic of television, because it lets you to become familiar with people even though you will never meet them! After a few laps, we were again next to each other, and while he was saying again to me "e si la montagna oggi e' proprio dura" I told him to hold on another couple of laps because I would have served caffee cornetto (coffee and croissant) to which he laughed very much.

I could go on for ever describing little details of how he was pedaling, the way he was shifting, the way he held his hands on the brakes and so forth, but only another nut-job bicycle lover like me could have the patience and the interest to read this post. So I want to end it stating the two things that stood out to me the most about Francesco Moser on Saturday. The first one is well known, his technique. His smooth pedal stroke is well known, but what it impressed me the most was the lightness of his body while standing on the pedals and charging on the first part of the hill: absolutely unique! The second point, even more incredible, is that in my opinion Franscesco Moser on Saturday really "raced" the event. I am absolutely convinced that he never thought to ride only the first part of the event. He wanted to finish with "il gruppo" no matter what. The way he was moving in the peloton, the gear selection and the way he was pedaling, the repositioning ahead of the critical moments and the grin on his face on top of the hill, made clear to me that Francesco Moser has not changed at all in 30 years: Saturday he raced in Prospect Park with us with the same professionalism, dedication and passion that he used to propel his incredible career in cycling.

Antonio Fradusco has been interviewed by Ciclismo Lazio.

Below it is the Google Translation of the article as it appears on their website.
*********************************************************************************

Riders, now let's meet Fradusco Antonio, the famous Sports Director from Lazio who has made of cycling his own reason for living.
His most recent success is surely Valerio Conti: the two have created a unique alliance that has given birth to an exciting season.

Let's get some details:

1) How did your passion for cycling start?
In the late 50's I was living in Rome, circa 500 meters from the office of the Benotto Preneste Team that later became Faema Cycling Team and finally - I was about 13 years old- when I met, almost at the beginning of their careers, athletes who become champions as Vittorio Adorni, Bruno Mealli, Dominoni, Leandro Faggin, the Olympic champion Giorgio Ursi, Leandro Fallarin, the Olimpic Champion Giorgio Ursi, Pippo Fallarin, Livio Trape', Conti Noe, Marco Manzari (died in a car crash shortly after signing a contract for the transition to professionalism) Michele Maggini, Edoardo Gregori (coach of the Italian national team for several years) Vittorio Marcelli (former world amateur champion) Lauro Grazioli, Lello Mariani and from our region, Lazio (no less great for obvious reasons) the Brothers Carloni, Adriano Massi, Eraldo Bocci, Carlo Brunetti, Luigi Sgarbozza, Luigi Risi, Alfredo Maggioli, Alfredo Marocchi, Petrosemolo, Iacomini and Adriano Marsura. All of them have thought me something both at technical and human level. Not to mention what I have learned from the executives in cycling from that time: Dominico Maurizi, the Necci brothers, Franco Meally and the unforgettable CT of the Italian Team Elio Rimedio and the "magician of the track" Guido Costa.

2) Who did you race with and what results?
My first team was the Libertas Libertas Prenestino then become Libertas Lazio  with Domenico Maurizi DS Savino and Italo Sancinelli Carlone; the S.S. Lazio Roman Pontisso D.S. Capacci Gaston and Louis Federici; as "dilettante (cat 1-U23)  with the Team Ferrarelle and Luigi Necci in collaboration with Roman Scotti and the DS John Proietti (former coach of the Italian national team and DS for the Ignis Team), who in 1965 founded a cycling school to which later on the most famous cycling teams and athlets of that time, enrolled to. The Team Chiorda with Dr. Trapletti and D.S. Enrico Uccellini and general manager Franco Mealli; the Cavallino Rosso with DS Ettore Milano (Fausto Coppi's renown domestique); la Baltur di Albano Laziale with DS Bruno Monti (the only cyclist in Lazio who has worn the pink jersey) and finally the wonderful Commercio Petroli with the brothers Luigi and ClementTedeschini. The results that I have obtained are about 70 victories on the road, cyclocross, track and time trial with an Italian title as stayer, a first place in the international tour of Abruzzo stage, a 2nd place at the Tour of the Valle D'Aosta, 4 Regional championship titles and a participation at a world championship .

3) When did you stop the activity and why?
I quit the business in 1971 despite a proposal to go professional with the Zonca Santini (where I found Hector Milan as DS), or the possibility of remaining in the cycling world as the Master of Sports. The reasons are many. The first was definitely the health, let me explain better: to my misfortune I underwent several operations and one of them truly devastating. Despite everything I've always bounced back quite well but what at the end got me was an episode of over-training from which I was not able to recover . Another reason was the nausea, not for the bike, but for a certain type of cycling. I can proudly say that I do not own anything to the Italian Cycling Federation - My first registration goes back to 1961 - and since then, although I have  always done my duty, first as an athlete and then as DS (from my young and small teams I have, either directly or indirectly, produced 5 National Championships ), I have always received only ostracism. Now I am convinced that my bad luck was to be born in Lazio and even worse to be from Rome.

4) When he decided to devote himself to the career of Director of Football?
In 1968 I moved to Vermicino where there was and still is the  restaurant the "Canneto"  of Giancarlo Pavoni President of GS Grottaferrata. The sportsmanship, skill and elegance of Giancarlo convinced me to do the Sports Director "of Grottaferrata" with Osvaldo Lelli, Fiorelli and Vincenzo Angelino Patrizi. I gave to cycling a lot and as former successful racer, I felt compelled to return, at least in part, what cycling had given me with a little added value - my experience on the race. Therefore I became a DS not for the purposes of having a career, but simply as person who wanted to help young cyclists to chase and if possible achieve their dreams.

5) What motivated you?
The desire to help young athletes, especially in the minor categories, to join the cycling world in a better way. My main concern has always been not to damage in any way my young athletes . Cycling in the years 60s and 70s was based only upon the the experience of the ex racers and DS, based only on feelings, believing that cyclocross is good and the track is better so the more you were racing the better it was,  but you were never really positive about the actual physical limits of the rider.

6) What do you think of training in general?
Training hard it is important to perform well but resting is as important, so a lot of years ago I started following my kids by monitoring their heart and now, at least for the last five years, with  power meters and  "Training Peaks" . The main goal again is not only to enhance the quality of training but for to avoid any risk of  "OVER TRAINING" and potential permanent physical damage . In conclusion, experience alone is not enough you have to rely on methods and tools that help you in recognizing the limits of your athletes, limits that you will want to improve without surely improve, but never to ignore.

7) Which category will follow in 2012?
Next year I will not follow a particular category.

8) What is your philosophy as the DS and what have you be teaching to your athletes ?
My philosophy is this:

1 ° protect the health of the children entrusted to me,
2 ° the school
3 ° the victories.

To my kids I try to teach respect for opponents, to cultivate a spirit of emulation in the sense if an opponent is good at you, you have to become as good as him and not to diminish the value and above all to be aware of the meaning of Victory and Defeat. The victory should be carefully evaluated because you  could  get excited for  a success that indeed was only an episode in favor, or against weak competitors; even the defeat should be carefully analyzed because it may depress you but sometime it could be totally accepted given the condition of the race and the exceptional performance of the winner.

 9) What will be in goal next season?
Next season I will follow some of my past athletes in the higher category according to the express request of their new team managers.

10) Many consider you one of the best coaches in Italy: what do you think of the technical qualities of the young categories?
I do not want to express any judgment about the "young"  categories because relies for 90% on the passion of whoever is privately sustaining them while the institutional "bodies" are totally absent at this level.

11) What do you think of the cycling movement in Lazio? Why has been disappearing over the years?
The first enemy of cycling is traffic. When in Rome Coratti (Team owner) decides to quit his activity we will not have any longer any youth team! The cycling movement in Lazio has been dying for many reasons:
- In the early 90s the institution governing cycling should have prohibited the transfer of young athletes to other regions, so over the years local race organizers have had less and less participants to their events.
- Locally now the attention is toward amateurs and mountabikers but it the stores and factories stop supporting the young athletes in the future they will not have potential clients to sell their bikes! 

12) Who do you like from Lazio and think that he will have a successful career in cycling?
I very great hope for the Sterbini brothers,  in Alessandro Mandatori, Antonio Zullo, Taschin, Andreozzi, Roberti, Bernardinetti, Cresca, and last, but not the least Valerio Conti.

13) Who are the kids in your heart?
All.

14) To whom go your thoughts at the closing of this interview?
My thoughts go to my former student, Alessandro Matteucci, who has founded a school of "Italian cycling" (www.italianschoolofcycling.com) in the United States and more specifically in New York, where he has experiencing a great success. Alessandro personifies what I have always wished: one of my students who remains or returns to our world, to our movement, to share what it has "learned" so to make our sport more and more beautiful.

As reported in the news by the official website of the Italian Federation of Cycling, Valerio Conti as well as Antonio Fradusco have been awarded for their merits in the sport.

Prestigious certificates to numerous athletes in cycling and athletics

Sports Festival in Rome, on the occasion of the delivery of the Prizes U. N. V. S. "Sabatino Sabatia-2011" reserved to sections of Culture, Journalism, Medical Science, Sport and Fair Play. The prestigious event, perfectly organized by the Sports Section of Veterans Anguillara Sabazia (Rm) under the careful direction of Chairman Maurizio Longega  was held Thursday, February 9 at the Conference Hall for the Provincial CONI  Office in Rome. To honor this important event a crowded and festive audience consists of samples of sports, journalism, sports medicine, managers, sports clubs and supporters of these sports. Guests of honor, the "Poet of Peace" Gaetano Camillo, a great sportsman, author of the book valuable educational "When Love becomes the Sport", and the president of AS Roma Cycling Baldesi Lorenzo, accompanied by executives Flaminia Blasetti and Walter Massi. Doing the honors of the house and bring the greetings of President Richard Cones Roma Viola, Secretary Mario Ferrara. Host and moderator of Mauritius Longega. And here is the long list of winners:
The highest award "Athlete of the Year - Sabatia Award 2011" was unanimously awarded to the young emerging cycling champion blue of Italy, Valerio Conti (Under/23 Year 1), a natural talent iwho in  2012 will race with the glorious Tuscan Team  Mastromarco.
The award "Sports Journalism - Sabatia Award 2011" was awarded to Priscilla Baldesi, "red and yellow heart," all-round journalist, currently head of the Press, and Treasury Secretary AS Roma Cycling chaired by the dynamic brother Lorenzo.
The award "Literature, Poetry, Essay and Sport" went to:
- Augustine Gambacurta, author with the journalist Giorgio Di Giuseppe de "The Return of the Best ... Chronicles and autobiographical notes of Charles Gambacurta, Runner cyclist in the year 20/30" (parent of the author). The valuable and interesting book was written for the centenary of the birth of the unforgettable champion the Capital.
- George Giannini, Lecturer in Law, clear the author of literary works on the history of Italy, to commemorate the tragic events of war suffered by the population from Nazi occupation (2 ^ World War), and social institutions dedicated to supporting young disabled people .
The award "Person of the Year 2011" was awarded to Gabriel Diaferia, standard bearer and bearer of the federal Section Amateur Masters, always faithful supporter of AS Roma Cycling, a mainstay for the glorious club capitol of the family now represented by the dynamic Baldesi and young president Lorenzo Baldesi, Gabriel currently holds the important role of head of coordination activities of the company ciclofederali red and yellow.
The "Champion of the Year 2011" was won by Antonio Fradusco, sports personality esteemed and appreciated by all. In his long career as an amateur has won regional and national titles and obtained more than 70 victories, including an international cycling Giro d'Abruzzo, 2 ° place in the prestigious Cycling Tour of Valle d'Aosta, Italian Champion Behind Engines, blue jersey Championships world on track (Leicester - England). In the role of Sports Director has coached many young athletes who have raced at national and international level.
Award "Manager of the Year 2011":
- Aldo Perri. historical founder of the cycling section of the Pol University of Rome Tor Vergata 2 FCI affiliated to Rome, a great passion for two wheels "green", excellent cyclist, winner of over 50 road races, tricolor jersey and Italian champion road fci; Italian road champion University and Organizations.
- Mario Biagini (President Fidal Rome), for his consistent and meritorious work done in the service territory and promotion for the sport and athletics, "Queen of Sports".
- Sergio Agnoli, veteran athlete, champion of the World and Europe (running and walking), a Master in Italian athletics legend, World.
The prize "Race Judges and Timekeepers Federal" was assigned to the Race Judges and Timekeepers federal Anna Ermo, Ugo Maorana, Attilio Ricci for their excellent and professional work done at the service of sport and Italian Fidal.
Other major national awards were awarded in various sports, to samples, athletes, executives, companies and meritorious sports supporters. After a festive afternoon, the President Maurizio Longega, in thanks for such large numbers, declared closed the ceremony by giving appointment to the next edition. For the winners of cycling great satisfaction and participation of the Regional Committee of the FCI represented by Lazio President Angelo Caliciotti.
(In photo, clockwise from left: Chris Maurizio Conti and Longega Augustine Gambacurta, Priscilla and Antonio Baldesi Fradusco)

Giovanni Maialetti

The above articles has been translated with Google translator .....