Forever Fausto:
Man and legend

"Show me a hero and I will write you a tragedy."
—F. Scott Fitzgerald

We are accustomed to seeing our sporting heroes unburdened by forces of nature. It wasn’t that way for Fausto Coppi. His 40 years in this life were a series of hardships, the last one of which—a sudden undiagnosed case of malaria—killed him on the second day of 1960.

Coppi displayed superhuman strength on the bicycle, frequently decimating the field with long, untouchable solo breakaways. But his rail-thin body—weakened by malnutrition from Coppi’s peasant youth—betrayed him regularly. At one time or another, Coppi broke his pelvis, shoulder, collarbone (twice) and thigh bone, cracked his skull and vertebrae, and contracted typhus and malaria.

Adversity haunted Fausto. He served in World War II and spent 21 months as a P.O.W. His beloved brother and teammate, Serse, died after a crash in 1951. Post-war Italy inflamed his rivalry with Gino Bartali, and Coppi lived under a withering glare. His romance with "La Dama Biancha"—the "White Lady," who, like Fausto, came from an unhappy marriage—led to persecution and ostracism at the hands of Italy’s legal and religious institutions.

The stresses humanized Coppi, made him more of a champion. He will forever be "il Campionissimo."


Fausto Coppi’s major wins:
Tour de France, 1949, 1952
Giro d’Italia, 1940, ’47, ’49, ’52, ’53
World Champion, 1947, ’49, ’53