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A couple of years ago I ran onto a webpage about Fabiana Luperini. What a beautiful name, the Italian language is very lyrical! At the time I wasn't aware of her Palamares, and had no idea that I had by chance stumbled onto one of the greatest women racers ever. Upon returning to her website, I had noticed a new makeover in Flash. This was the first time I have really taken a closer look. At the time I thought I would send her an email just for fun, and to my amazement, she replied! Since that time I have chatted a bit with Fabiana in those emails and decided to embark on an adventure to study her palamares. What I found was fascinating! First a bit of history!
Fabiana Luperini was born in Pontedera Italy on January 14, 1974. She has had an incredible career, which spans over a decade and managed over 350 victories. She is one of the best Pro Road women racers in the world today, and is still the world's best climber at age 31. I have personally watched many of her races on video and I would guess that at least 30 or more of Faby's victories were solo. Luperini is also an excellent sprinter on the flats, as well as at the end of uphill stages. She really is excellent at uphill finishes, and often she looks completely fresh when she crosses the line as where the other women are just slumped over on their bikes. Many finishes are over 15 percent grade and it takes an incredible rider to sprint uphill after an exhausting stage.
Luperini burst onto the scene in 1995, (Video) winning just about everything in site. Most notably was her grand tour wins, Women's Giro and the Grande Boucle. She went head to head with Jeannie Longo and beat her squarely on the climbs winning the women's Tour De France by some 8 minutes! Also Faby had to contend with other great women of that time, including Maria Canins, Katherine Watt, Catherine Marsal, Jeannie Golay, Alessandra Cappellotto. Great epic battles were fought on the Col de Madeline, Col de Glandon, Col de Toumalet. In latter years Faby raced and won against other seasoned pros like Joanne Somaribba, Nicole Brandli, Judith Arndt and Edita Pucinskaite.
The list goes on and on, but Faby beat every single one of them at one time of another. Perhaps the only person Faby had not had the chance to race against in her prime was Leontien Van Moorsel due to the fact that Leontien had Anorexia during some of the best years Faby raced in the mid 90's. We will never know what stories those unseen chapters would of told. The only encounter I am aware of for Grand Tours was the 1993 Tour of France where Leontien was in her prime winning her 2nd Tour against Marion Clignet and previously in 92 against Jeannie Longo. During the 93 Tour, Luperini also raced against Leontien but had not come into her prime yet as she was very young. The following year Luperini improved until she won the Tour in 1995, while Leontien's health problems grew worse.
From 1995 to 1998 Luperini dominated women's road racing winning just about everything in site including 4 Tours of Italy and 3 Tours of France. She lost her 4th TDF by just a minute and a half to Edita Pucinskaite, however she was first over the top on Mount Ventoux. Since 1998, the Fleche Wallonne has become one of women cycling's premiere events. The inaugural race was won by Fabiana and proved such a success that the event became an official UCI World Cup race. Luperini is the only women to win the Fleche Wallonne a record three times, 1998, 2001 and 2002!
Also she won the Giro Del Trentino more times then I can count, at least five at last count, and a whole slew of other races, including Tour De Aude. Once she finished so far ahead that she had time to get up on the podium and give an interview before the rest of the pack came across the line! Luperini was also a very generous team player and on several occasions in the Tour of Italy she allowed Alessandra Cappellotto and Pia Sundstedt to take the stage win with Fabiana just behind!
One of Luperini greatest victories came at the 2004 Italian National Championships where she went solo almost from the gun and stayed away the entire race. At her age and in this era of team racing, this is extremely hard to do and she made it look easy. At the end the other women just shook their heads in disgust and also many of them crashed in a spectacular pileup well behind Luperini as they jousted for second place. As for Luperini she raised her arms in victory in the face of all her detractors. She was kept out of the 2003 Championships by the federation really on seemingly baseless charges, but like any sport there are always those that want to do you harm.
Great champions are always a target for those who want to discredit them but Luperini is a fighter and she delivered a knock out punch that day. She showed the world that she is still the best climber in the world and once again a great champion as she went solo in what was an incredible display of sheer willpower, stamina and endurance. This was one for the record books and a model for all women racers to take note. This is how to win a race by a seasoned crafty veteran. She never let up the pressure and was up out of the saddle most of the time, the action was just incredible!
After her victory, they lifted her up in the air like in the movie (Rudy) where he was carried off the field. What a great win as it came in her home province of Pisa! You couldn't ask for a more fairy tale ending then that to a great career! I don't believe she will ever top that as she stopped the mouths of the gainsayers and proved to the world what a great champion she still is. I know that must of been very special to her, and maybe her proudest moment. They could easily make a movie from the story behind this victory as it is a good one. Her vindication in this win was fantastic and Hollywood could do a great movie about this one!
Luperini is a great sportsman and quite modest about her accomplishments. Fabiana Luperini is simply the greatest climber that ever lived to grace the ranks of the top pro women. She is the most graceful creature I have ever seen on a bike and her dynamics on the bike, well now that's poetic, she climbs like a butterfly and looks as graceful as a Gazelle! She certainly would be in good company of the greats like Eddy Merckx and Fausto Coppi. Like Merckx and Coppi, Luperini attacks from the front and many of her victories are solo efforts where she finishes so far ahead, well it's truly astonishing. You would think she got a free ride in a car or something but the truth is she simply wears out her opponents with her relentless pace, until not only do they crack one by one by it's total devastation in her wake.
I have never seen a rider with such tenacity and fortitude. Luperini is an extremely gutsy rider, who bursts her heart for the sport. She has won so many races by such huge margins that she really is in a class all her own. I have always respected Jeannie Longo and Leontien Van Moorsel as possibly the greatest riders of all times but if I had to choose based on stage races and climbers, clearly Luperini is the greatest climber of all times, and certainly the greatest stage racer of all times. In a short fiery five year period from 1995 to 2000 she nearly ruled supreme! It is an incredible testimony of sheer willpower, unrelenting feats of astonishing stamina and endurance that allows great riders to achieve beyond the normal range of achievement and experience.
Luperini has the perfect build of a cyclist. It's amazing that the smallest rider ever to ride the pro ranks has turned out to also be the greatest. L'Equipe has written an article one time commenting how amazing it is that so much power could come out of such small legs. Just like Rudy Ruettiger from Notre Dame, someone so tiny, also has more heart and power then riders twice their size. I had read many times that Greg Lemond had the perfect anatomy of a cyclist. Well if you think he was great, I don't think anyone could top Luperini geometry on the bike. She is not very tall and that makes for a light rider plus she has a very slim physique, much like a marathon runner. Given she rides a small frame, this is a very light load being packed up the hills. Add to that she is an extremely powerful rider and natural born climber, then you can imagine her dynamics on the climbs. I'd be afraid to measure her output in watts but I am sure she can light up her hometown of Cascine Di Buti.
I can't imagine all the long lonely hours Luperini spent climbing Mount Serra in her native province and pondering winning her next race. How many thousands of times she must of climbed that mountain and dreamed of better days to come. That is what hopes and dreams are made of, visions of better times to come. All the cold days, rainy days, windy days, not to mention the mid summer heat and that old devil the sun. I wonder how many times passerby's wished her luck and gave her the thumbs up. I wonder how many thousands of miles she logged in her brilliant career. How many bikes and how many pairs of cycling shoes she must of worn out over the years. How many hundreds of water bottles and power bars she must of consumed. How many flats has she fixed by the side of the road and how many pairs of wheels she went through.
One thing is for sure, Luperini is the one constant in the cycling universe and we will dearly miss her when she departs. Fabiana is someone who was transformed from her youth, became a hero and has a quiet place in the center, where she draws her strength. Fabiana is the hero who has given her life to something that is bigger then herself and has always done it with modesty and grace. If we can judge riders based on their accomplishments, then Fabiana Luperini stands alone. They say that the candle that burns twice as bright burns half as long, and Fabiani has burned ever so brightly, however I am sure Fabiana Luperini will have a long and properous life.
Fabiana Luperini lives in Cascine di Buti, a suberb of Buti. She is still considered by many to be the worlds best climber at age 31 and continues to win against the world's best women in road racing today.
When Luperini was very young her Dad took her on bike rides and it wasn't long before she had the bit between the teeth. Her Mom actually didn't want her to be a bike racer as it was kind of dirty or messy, more suited for men then women according to her Mom, and she preferred her daughter to pursue something else, but once she had the bit between the teeth there was no stopping her. Since her Dad was a good climber, I am sure good ole Dad encouraged her to ride and race as a kid. I saw a photo of Faby which you can see a scar on her leg. When she was young she had a bike accident and received 30 stitches. It's quite noticeable, and I wonder if that was before or after her Mom decided about her daughter's racing career!
Certainly Luperini would be in the same group with Maria Canins, Jeannie Longo, Leontien Van Moorsel, and heck, possibly a few others, Beryl Burton, but not many if we are talking about debating who are the greatest women. You might know Luperini has been racing in the Pros over 10 years now and she is (arguably) still the best climber in the world. (That) is indeed impressive! I can't say when Canins started racing exactly and winning in the Pros but the depth of talent was in it's infancy and clearly Luperini raced against a much deeper field then Canins. Canins raced against Longo and Van Moorsel as her biggest opponents, not to mention Catherine Marsal and others but the depth of talent was lean then. Luperini beat Longo when Longo was in her prime and did it by 8 minutes in 1995.
Clearly, Luperini is a better climber then Longo. The problem with comparing Canins to Luperini is not that they didn't have plenty of chances. Luperini raced against Canins several times in the tours and other races and beat her several times. The problem is Canins was at the end of her prime and Luperini was (dead) in it, except for just prior to 95. So it's not a fair comparison, but based on Luperini's accomplishments, Luperini is the best climber of all times, (IMO) and her career isn't over yet. She almost won the Giro in (2004) against Nicole Cooke and that is an amazing testimony to Luperini. Luperini has more heart then you can possibly imagine. We know Canins and Longo went back and forth beating each other in the Grand Tours, not so with Luperini. Luperini dominated totally, and had (no) rivals, closest was Longo. That's not to say there wasn't some hard veterans in the lot, there was.
In 1989 Canins lost to Longo by 8 minutes in the TDF. Interesting enough as a side note there was 4 riders from the USA in the top 10 that year. Inga Thompson was 3rd and Susan Elias was 4th. I have an excellent race report for the women's 1989 Women's TDF, although that year Lemond and Fignon were having their epic battle so I suppose there was little fanfare over the women's 89 TDF.
In 1985 and 86, Canins won the TDF. Longo won in 87, 88 and 89. After that Van Moorsel dominated in 92,93. Then comes Luperini in 93, 94 but I think she was only in the Top 25. From 95 on, in the Giro and TDF plus other races I have on tape where there is excellent coverage of the stages and such, Luperini drops Canins on the climbs, but granted, given the fact Canins is at the end of her career. Not so with Longo, even when Longo was still in her prime, Luperini beat Longo in the Tour easily by 8 minutes.
In the Giro, Canins won in 1989, I can't find a single year that Longo won the Giro, neither did Leontien. Now we know Luperini won both the Giro and TDF back to back three years in a row, and almost 4 years back to back as she was 2nd in the TDF to Edita by just over a minute. It was reported that when Faby lost so much time in the TT in the 1998 TDF, that she had cried over that. She was aware of just how much damage was done. She realized she was in for the fight of her life. Edita on the other hand was very gutsy and thin as a rail that year. On Mount Ventoux she literally did something I can't ever remember seeing a rider do, at least not like this. She literally threw her bike at the mountain. Faby was first over the top, and Edita in a desperate attempt not to lose too much time, used the strangest technique that I have ever seen. It's hard to explain but she was literally throwing her bike at the mountain. I really have a lot of respect for Edita, she is a great champion!
Anyway to get back to the story, has anyone also ever thought about how many times Luperini had been 2nd, 3rd or 4th, in the TDF or Giro? It's quite frightening actually! Based on the depth of the field Luperini raced against and her domination of the Grand Tours, I would say Luperini is the greatest climber, she is the only women to win Fleche Wallonne three times and there is a wicked climb right at the end! Also after watching many, many hours of Luperini races that span ten years I have noticed she is a (great) mountain sprinter! She is really fast! She can crank it out, she is the best uphill sprinter and she beat Judith Ardnt and Susanne Lungskog in a close sprint just recently in the Checz republic, (2005).
Also Luperini consistently beats Somaribba and Brandli in the end sprints of steep uphill finishes, latest in 2003 TDF, which is on tape sold by Velo Femins. If you have seen her almost collapse at the end of mountain stages she won, by looking into her eyes you would wonder why someone would want to push themselves that hard? She goes redline all the way. Quite something just to watch her recover after a stage! I imagine her parents worry a lot about her, since she pushes so hard when she races, not to say all the top pros don't, but I tell you Luperini has something special the other girls don't have!
If you want to look for a weakness, I have always wondered why Luperini had not raced in the 1996 games, because she certainly would of been a force to be reckoned with. I was told by sources that she didn't think that was where her strength lies. She is a smart cookie. She has never made any bad choices. She was smart enough to stay out of races she can't win. What that does is leaves her with an incredible record of race results because she was smart enough not to race in races she couldn't win. She doesn't do well in the worlds and the games, and she knew that. She wasn't at the 2000 games either, smart thing too because Van Moorsel was unstoppable. Luperini has never been good at track or World championships, but Luperini is the worlds best climber and the greatest climber that ever lived. (IMHO)
Based on the data that I have, it seems that Luperini is and was a better climber then Maria Canins. Canins is a much bigger climber then Faby. Powerful yes, and she had the stamina and endurance, but Faby, well, oh boy, I don't really think any women in their prime could of ever beat Faby. I would say Faby had something really special for the chemistry of the mountains. She was born to climb!
There are two other reasons Luperini is the greatest climber of all times. Consider this?
1. Granted, Canins and Cappellotto are clearly the leaders of the pack on the climbs for the rest of the girls, but in every single race I have where Canins and Luperini raced together, one thing is very clear. Luperini made sure when she went solo that she put great distances between her and next girls on the climbs, and usually the next girls were Cappellotto and Canins. But clearly Canins couldn't hold Luperini's wheel in any of the races I have seen. Luperini flies away from Canins almost every time. Clearly Luperini is a superior climber then Canins, but I don't know how much stamina and strength Canins had lost at that point near the end of her career.
2. Two, well, two is the fact that Luperini seems to be so far superior in a class all her own that she seems to be competing with herself. I mean that she does not need to put such huge distances between her and her opponents to win, so why does she do it time and time again? She is making a statement maybe like Merckx. She is saying I am not just the best, but I am (far) superior to everyone else. After she has beat all her opponents she then goes on to test herself to see just how far she can push herself to achieve.
It's like pole vaulter who has the gold medal and now is just jumping to set a new world record, basically competing against themselves. This is the way it seems to be with Luperini. I saw a race where she finished so far ahead that she plenty of time to get on the podium and almost complete an interview before the pack came in. I mean she put (huge) amounts of time between her and the field. Just unbelievable! I don't know of Canins or Longo winning so many times solo in such fashion, neither Van Moorsel, but I think only Longo perhaps.
One of my favorite stages is the 1997 Giro where Luperini had a nasty crash on wet roads, some blood and cuts on her arms and legs. Of course she lost all her lead in that stage as all the girls passed her on that climb while she was checking her bike over. Well, Luperini gathered herself together and got back on the bike and one by one she caught and passed every one of them winning the stage! That's a great champion!!
Also, in 97, Stage 9 (Agordo) 91km, Luperini attacked on Rolle pass climbing to Valles pass riding solo to Agordo to win the Michela Fanini trophy, who died in a tragic car crash. Then on stage 10, Forgaria to Mt. Zoncolan, again dominated in grand fashion on the climbs to finally destroy the morale and all hope of her rivals.
Probably nothing could be more spectacular then setting a new record of being the first women to not only win 4 Giro's, but to win there back to back, and especially winning stage 5 in front of her hometown fans on Mount Serra must be like the greatest dream in the whole world! Imagine if the Olympics came to your home town for an event, and you were the favorite to win the gold, and you did! No such grander dream could be imagined! Luperini was born in Pontedra, and to start the fifth stage here is quite fitting! Stage 5, Pontedra to Mount Serra, 106km must of been surreal, mythical, subliminal for Fabiani. Faby has been seen many times climbing Mount Serra and lives near the base of the Mountain. I had heard that she climbs it as much as three times a week! I have a friend who has seen Faby many times going the other way on Mount Serra as he climbs, so being no stranger to the mountain, her heart and soul must of been revealed this day on Mount Serra!
Attacking 9km from the finish, she arrived alone at the finish line to huge crowds of hometown fans cheering wildly and throwing graffiti onto the road as Faby crosses the finish line in which can only be said to be a dream of a Hollywood movie! Faby throws her hands up in the air with the most perplexing expression on her face as if to say, Wow! What magic and glory has fallen on me this day! Her fan club president Rolando is running cheering and this is when the famous photographs were taken for the magazines that day, and it was the cover of 1998 Giro video, with all the paper graffiti flying all over the place and the whole atmosphere is just so enchanting! This is surely it would seem Faby's greatest day in history!
On stage 9, Predazzo to Passo Pordoi, 95km, Luperini climb to Pordoi Pass in the Dolomites was one of the most memorable climbs in women's Giro history with Tuscany champion climbing in the spirit of the great Gino Bartali. She attacked 12km from the finish, climbing more then 4000 feet to the top of the Pordoi Pass up 25 switchbacks in an incredible relentless display of grit and determination. Only Linda Jackson could stay within reach, but Faby finished alone on Pordoi Pass that day. Truly a great stage win in some of the most beautiful scenery Italy has to offer. La Pantanina showed the world that day that she is one of the best climbers in history!
In the 1998 women's TDF, stage 7 Le Beausset - Grasse 150kms,
The women raised a revolt that day as temps were 110 degrees. Many riders complained and the threat of protest, but they stopped for water and settled for a easy pace to start with but Luperini's team was on the attack, and the water carriers were on the run all day.
A female Bartali? Perhaps the best climber ever, never minding about the weather, but only concerned with winning the race!
Bartali, Merckx and Coppi rolled up all into one?
Actually on stage Stage 1, Montluçon - Super-Besse, 125 kms, the heat was worse! 115 degrees to sap the strength of even the most hardly! The pace was easy that day, no wonder, and the girls were carrying bottles of water up to their leaders that day, and if the extra weight of the pack mules was not enough, the tons of water being showered on them by spectators is enough to make for a very cranky peleton that day!
I believe also in either the 96 tour or the 97 tour, Luperini and the Italian team threatened to pull out of the tour because one of the stages was cut short because there was ice and snow on the road. Luperini wanted to go because that was one of the hardest stages in the mountains and where she would take time out of Longo. Since the TT would give Longo an edge, the director decided to shorten the TT to appeal to the Italians since they were furious. Luperini won that year anyway.
Joane Somaribba won the the Giro and the TDF back to back and she was the only other person to do it besides Luperini in 2000, and Somaribba was quoted as saying she was totally exhausted and would never do it again saying for now on she would focus only on the French tour. The point being riding the two biggest tours in the world for a women back to back with over 30 stages total with only a couple of weeks in between is brutal to say the least in the hottest months of the year and Luperini did it three times in a row, almost four! They called her the Super Women in Italy as quoted by the Italian news networks.
In fact the Giro is in July which used to be as much as 15 stages, and then as little as a couple of weeks later the women had to race the Grande Boucle in August, the two hottest months of the year. How many women could do both of these killer stage races back to back like that, let along win them? That's a total of 30 stages or more and Luperini won both the Giro and the Grande Boucle back to back three years in a row!
Now that's impressive!
The men ride the Giro in a cooler May, and have a whole month to rest before riding the TDF and many (do not) ride both anymore like the old days, the likes of Marino Lajeretta, etc. Difference being Luperini could not only ride all the big tours year after year, but dominate them as well!
I don't have any doubt that Luperini is the greatest climber that ever lived! But again, (IMHO)
Won the Giro d'Italia Feminin 4 times - 95, 96, 97, 98!!
Won the Tour De Feminin, Grande Boucle 3 times - 95, 96, 97!!
2nd in Tour De France, 98, 01!
2nd in Giro 2004!
Won the stage win at Vaujany in Tour De Feminin, Grande Boucle 6 times!!
Won the Giro Del Trentino 5 time! 95, 96, 99, 01, 02!!
Won Fleche Wallonne 3 times!! 98, 01, 02!!
Won the Tour De Aude in 98!
Won the Italian National Championships in 96, 04, 06!!
Won 13 stage wins in Giro!!
Won 18 stage wins in Tour De Feminin, Grande Boucle!!
Wore the Maglie Rosa, pink jersey 35 times!
Wore the Maglie Gialle, Yellow Jersey 26 times!!
In stage 4 of the 96 TDF, I remember seeing the climber from Tuscany appear through the mist and fog at the summit of the Tourmalet and Galibier much like Pantani did on his record fast ascents suddening appearing out of the fog to win the stage! She certainly does shadow Pantani as the Pantinina, but Luperini career race wins overall are far more impressive then Pantani!
In stage 8 of 98 TDF, Bar-sur-Loup to Valberg, 100 kms, Luperini laid down the gauntlet by going all out on the climb in a make or break attempt to take as much time as she could. She knew she had lost too much time in the TT, and this was a last ditch effort to win the tour. She climbed heroically taking a minute and a half out of Edita Pucinskaite, her closest rival, and a good gamble. Although Faby lost her 4th by just that same amount of time overall, she showed heart, courage, and lot of guts that day! Ah, this is what great champions are made of!
Also a fitting end to a great career as you might know about her spectacular win in the 2004 Italian National Championships where Faby went solo and beat all her rivals that year. Have you ever watched any races on video or perhaps you know so much about great champions of the past that some particular race or how they won it would bring tears to your eyes like Bartali or Coppi? Well, if you saw Faby win the 2004 Italian National Championships that year, then I can bet my money that would of brought tears to the eyes of even the most hardened historians or journalists. The way she broke away and was up out of the saddle almost the entire race was a great display of what the Spanish call Gannas, it's called "panache" in French, and "grinta" in Italian, it means the rider has risen to the occasion and delivered something very special for the occasion!
Of course this is my all time favorite and this was classic example of panache, an impressive display of guts, and a lot of heart! It's really was her best effort in my opinion. She went solo from the gun, and stayed away the entire race gutting it out on the climbs and maintaining a comfortable lead throughtout the race to finish solo ahead of a pack that was beaten, broken, demoralized, and they even crashed badly behind her in a scramble for finishing places. Faby could of retired that day, it sure would of been a great way to go out! To win in your home province like that in Pisa, in front of hometown crowd is more then a dream come true. It's every riders dream, and icing on an already huge cake!
This from a woman from Tuscany! Bartali must of been smiling down on her?
Faby also won two mountain stages in 2003 Grande Boucle, which proves she is still arguebly the best climber in the world today. Stage 4, Val d'Allos to Puy-Saint-Vincent, 35 km, was one of two stages she won back to back. Stage 5 L'Argentière-La-bessée to Vaujany, 108.5 km which by the way was the 6th time she has won Vaujany, was the other. Another great feat was winning the Giro Del Trentino 5 times!
I have a friend who was invited into the Luperini household for a chat and some spirits. Upon entering the dwelling, which is a modest house to be sure, he entered into what was a small museum. Trophies, cups, jerseys and medals wall to wall, quite impressive! At the time the great champion was away at Forli in training camp. He met her father Giovanni and they had a nice chat. Faby lives with her parents and seems to be a frugal lifestyle, since they live in modest dwelling overlooking the small town of Cascine Di Buti. This little town is really just a bunch of houses at the base of Mount Serra from what I have been told. My friend also lives at the base of Mount Serra which Faby climbs three times a week. My friend has passed Faby many times on the climb, going the other way that is! They have an extremely steep driveway going up to their house. Faby's Dad Giovanni has an olive orchard and prepares custom meats. You can see Giovanni quite often in the videos as he still drives Faby to her races.
I was told by Italian cycling news sources that Faby made about 50,000 Euros to race for Let's Go Finland. In 2005 I was also told that most of the teams budget of FRW went to Faby as the team leader. It's nice to know that Faby is finally getting paid well after all those hard years winning the grand tours. Another hardened veteran on FRW was Marianna Lorenzoni. Also another Italian legend Alexandra Cappellotto has retired after all these years of being the eternal second to Luperini. Such is the life of women's racing. Very little fanfare and prizes, but times are a changing, as today's top women are quite a spectacle to watch. They are starting to draw big crowds based on the depth of the fields and the incredible talent of the riders. Even so legends like Longo and Luperini have remained at or near the top all these years.
Luperini is all business. She just races and trains. I think her parents are perhaps the best and have really taken great care of her. I have read they ride together as a family, and I have seen photos of her racing at a very young age. Like Leontien, Faby is all business when it comes to the bike and both have been on the bike almost since birth. That is all she has even known and lived for her whole life. It is so deeply burned into her subconscious. It's the mark of a great champion that they can summon something so deep inside, since all they have known since very early childhood is being on the bike.
I have never seen Faby on anything but Coppi frames in all her races I have, so I guess we know who her hero is? At least even if it wasn't always a Coppi frame, she made sure Coppi's name was always on it in bright large letters!
After Faby won her 4th Giro in a row and was trying to win her 4th TDF against Edita and lost by a minute and a half, I suppose you couldn't imagine the heartbreak in Italy that night. All the canceled parties and receptions. Can you imagine just how heart broken the great champion was? All the money that was spent on a huge bash and then canceled? I have seen several of these celebrations on video where thousands of dollars were spent by the sponsors in honor of Faby when she won her 100th victory, and several since then.
The 100th was the biggest, (huge) hundreds of specially selected guests came to honor her with a huge dinner party, music and speakers, as well as a cake over 10 feet tall!! Faby had a bit too much wine that night as you could see she was plastered and having a blast with her fans! She was up on the shoulders of one of her close family friends and they were bouncing her around like a wrangler in a rodeo. She was loving it and also where she was up on this guys shoulders she cut a piece of the cake from the highest tier and threw it on the floor as a gesture of some kind, not sure but it was all in fun, and they were just having a great party as at the end and they had special fireworks for Faby in the streets of the city that night. Faby spoke, she cried, she danced, got plastered, ate dinner and cake and all the fanfare for a great champion!! I am sure Leontien has had plenty of these like her birthday party but this one was huge! I had talked to someone who was at Leontien's birthday party, but I am afraid the Dutch are not quite as spirited or fantical about such events as the Italians!
Now that said, after she lost her 4th tour to Edita, they had a scaled back party later on for Faby where instead of the royal treatment, they threw a semi-special dinner, quite smaller indeed without all the fanfare. When Faby had her 100th, she was dressed to kill and her hair was really nice. In the scaled back dinner Faby wore a jean jacket to the dinner!! She has had several of these dinners with the fan club and all were quite fun, but nothing was as royal an occasion as Faby's 100th as her parents were there and they were so proud of her, and I remember her mom kissed Faby on the cheek at one point and Faby was so embarrassed! Faby signed autographs and did a special celebration with the team girls, Svetlana Bubnenkova was there and others and they each walked up and Faby gave them a rose and a kiss, and Rolando the president of the fan club gave Faby a special golden neck chain and spoke to TV reporters as there were segments on the news.
They had a really nice fan club building just for Faby just around the corner from the coffee shop in Cascine Di Buti, and it had regular admins that manned it during the day much like a small museum with all her trophies and jerseys, medals and cups, etc. When Faby stopped winning after 1998, slowly her fan base dried up somewhat till finally they closed the fan club, it's just a empty building now and they moved all her trophies back to her parents house I believe.
I had heard that Faby's family are friends with the Bartali's, at least the close extended family or relatives. I think Faby would like to think she is the little Bartili or Coppi! Kind of flattering really!
I didn't know what real fans were until I saw the Italians! They are absolutely nuts when it comes to cheering for their heroes and sometimes the pomp and circumstance is just off the scale! I have never seen the likes of it! I understand that many riders have their own fan clubs in Italy! Nothing like that over here in the USA, while we have fanclubs, surely the Italians are the greatest fans on earth for their cycling heroes!
Fabiana wasn't winning that much after 1998 except the Fleche Wallonne but that was huge since it was a new race and a huge success, and then she was kept out of the Nationals in 2003 by the federation. The fact is she had a bit of bad luck after 98. She was tired physically, and not too well for a year or two from what I can put together from bits and pieces of articles. She was sick several times and pulled out of a few races.
Back in 1995 Luperini was not only really strong because of her youth, but really chipper too. You can see it in her face, it's very clear. Her expression tells volumes about her strength and stamina. But in the last years, in 1998 she seems very tired, weary in interviews. Her expression was more one of being extremely tired. I think the pressure was tremendous going into the 98 season to win her 4th Giro and TDF.
When Luperini raced, she gave so fully of herself it was as if the throttle was stuck on high! When she won solo countless times, at least 30 times solo or more, she didn't just win, she won big by huge amounts of time. That's just not necessary today and coaches don't allow such expenditures of energy anymore. I mean winning by such a huge margin that you have enough time to get on the podium and give an interview, before the rest of the pack comes in is unheard of today. It just doesn't happen, but she did it. It's possible that she really burned the candle at both ends and in the middle, in just 4 short years! But what glorious years they were!
Of course, it's almost impossible to win solo anymore with all the advances of the women's teams, but that doesn't mean she didn't suffer immeasurably beyond what was required, she did!
From what I gather she was burned out from killing herself winning the Giro and TDF back to back all those years. About the same time in the late 90's, early part of 2000, the women's field improved yet again with the depth of the riders and talent, so she was really up against a lot of pressure to perform. After 2000, it was a whole new ballgame, and after big money came into women's cycling, many believe that drugs came too. Team medical programs and such in some Europeans countries are one of submitting or being cast out in some instances. Of course what the extent of these programs are, I don't know.
Luperini had a positive test to the steroid nandrolone at the Tour of Venezia on October 2, 1999. This was one week before the world championships in Verona, but she has always said that she has never taken anything illegal, and there has been some evidence of false positives for nandrolone since then. Nandroline can be found in food samples and sports supplements, also recently testing had come into question for false postives for Nandrolone. After doing a lot of reading on the subject, I have been convinced that the whole episode of her positive was a complete fluke, since the levels were so astronomically low!
Personally, I don't believe Luperini used drugs. She didn't need to since she was so gifted, they wouldn't of been of much benifit to her. I had been told by a Italian cycling organization that Luperini had told them she didn't use drugs, and I believe that wholeheartly. I also read about some of the attacks by the cycling federation against some the teams, which Faby was on during those years, and it all seems very unfair to single out a handful of riders with such charges. There is no doubt in my mind that Luperini's accomplishments will stand the test of time and go down in the history books as not only the greatest women rider Italy has ever produced, but more then likely never again will such a great rider enter the ranks of women's cycling. She is a cyclist of the ages!
True, she had 45 day suspension, but from what happened in 2003, I understand the president of the federation had a bone to pick with her, and the guy made an example out of her team. I guess if you want to make a statement, you hit the biggest and best team, I don't know. She certainly well recovered from that scandal now, however, but her image took a hit. The president of her fan club was very loyal and you also see him at all her races cheering her on. He is always right there in the street at the finish line when Faby comes across, at least in the last 10 years of videos till the year 2000.
After that he is not in the videos, just Giovanni, Faby's father as he was the one to greet Faby when she won several of the hardest mountains stages in the 2003 TDF. I think her father is pretty much wrapping up her daughters career needs, transportation and of course all the cheering! Giovanni still gets really excited when Faby wins! When Faby won the second stage just recently, 2005 in the Checz republic beating two of the world's best sprinters Judith Arndt and Susanne Ljungskog, the local paper didn't carry the news about it at all, but her family and friends, especially her Mom and Dad have always supported her. Heck, they started out as a family riding together, I guess they will finish together. Giovanni stills climbs at his age from what I have been told and that is quite amazing.
Do you think there is any chance the women's Tour Of Italy could be renamed to (The Tour of Luperini)?
It's be a miracle if she wins the Giro again, but it's certainly possible. The women's Giro doesn't favor the climbers anymore like is used to and the total amount of stages has been cut in half since the old days. Ever since they shortened the tour, it's really hasn't been hard to allow the climbers to shine. If there was one more mountain stage in the Giro, (2004) Faby would of won it. Nicole Cooke just barely won the Giro that year in the last stage. Faby seems to have a burning desire to win the Giro one more time.
I received an email from Faby and she said her main goals were the Italian National Championships and the Giro for 2005. If she wins, I will certainly want to get the video of that! That was brilliant how she snuck off in (2004) championships and won. She snuck off at the top of the climb rounding the Shell Gas Station, and lost all the girls in the midst of a lot of turns and corners, by the time she got to the Shell Gas Station, she was clearly out of sight! What's cool too in the video is just before she wins she passes the street sign Cascine Di Buti where she turns off to go home!
Also remember Faby won the Giro back to back 4 times when it was much longer and harder. Even then Joanne said she wouldn't do it again because its simply was too hard to win both. She has done the Giro since then but she's not won both again back to back. Here's an observation for you, if Joanne wins the TDF again, she will be the first women in history to win it four times! However, the women's TDF is in turmoil, and it's not clear about it's future. There is a duel ownership involved and both parties are at odds with each other. Now Nicole Brandli is set to win the Giro 4 times in 2006!, but never back to back to back like Faby, that will never ever, be done again!! At least I don't think!
Also another observation of Luperini I have made from over the years on video of her grand tour wins is when she is interviewed she is always shaking her shoulders and giving that famous expression that requires no written language to understand. What it means is that they are constantly asking her to explain how she wins or why she is so much better then all the other girls and it's always that famous way of using body language to say, I don't know why, she does the innocent dumbfounded look with the upper raising of the shoulder shrug, when means, (beats me, I don't know why I am so much better!) That is so funny, it's like a constant shrugging of the upper shoulders! She's so modest!
I don't speak Italian so I don't know what else she is really saying besides the body language but in the early years she sure used a lot of it. The old, (who me?) innocent look with the shoulder shrug. In latter years she used that less and was more forthcoming with words. Luperini plays with a medallion a lot when interviewed, that hangs around her neck. She still wears it today. Some kind of obelisk I can't identify, but many riders wear such things.
I should mention Luperini is a great (ham) for the camera! Nobody does it better then Luperini from 95 to the early 2000's! She prongs and prances, she stretches and grits her teeth! She is the ultimate camera ham while racing!
In the Grand Tours where she was winning from 95 to 98, her name was written on the road about a billion times by the fans. All she had to do to win was look down and seeing her name plastered all over the road and that would carry her every inch of the way to the finish!
Once in the worlds the fan club put up a enormous banner overhead that spanned both sides of the road. I don't know how they got away with it, but her name is a mile long so you can imagine just how large the banner would have to be. It was an extremely professionally made custom banner with her name in giant letters on it. Somehow they had attached it to some of the overhead street lighting or billboards. Well you can imagine what all the girls thought about that as we know the worlds is basically a ballistic free for all. I imagine Faby was a bit embarrassed by that and she didn't win of course. She has never won the worlds and I doubt she ever will. She was quoted as saying, she wasn't cut out to win it.
When Luperini won her first TDF and Giro in 95 hundreds if not thousands turned out in Buti to greet her. Major news networks were there and plenty of pomp and circumstance. What's funny as heck is when she got on the stage, she put on her yellow jersey and a group of about ten of her closet friends picked her up and held her up in the air, way up in the air and everyone had a piece, a arm or a leg and they stretched her out much like violin strings or the way you might attach the support wires for a home TV antenna. She was so embarrassed by this she could hardly contain herself. As if they were displaying a trophy on a high public mantle, which they were.
That was funny as heck as it took a minute or so before they were satisfied with the way they had her strung out! Sort of like mounting a trophy. I have never seen that before! Indeed she is the only women's champion that I have seen being lifted up in the air after races. It happened several times in the Tours and even the classics as well as in the 2004 Nationals. I don't remember Leontien or Longo, or anyone for that matter receiving such admirations from the fans and close team members. In fact all of the races I have, and photos I have even seen over the years, Luperini is the only one I ever remember being honored in such a way. Rudy Ruettiger from Notre Dame was also a runt who was an over-achiever who was also the only person honored in such a way in the schools history and was honored by the President for his antics at Notre Dame. Likewise Luperini is very short and strong, often referred to as Tiny little Fabiana Luperini. :-)
What kind of Lady is Fabiana Luperini?
When she started winning big races in 1995, I would say just the young mostly innocence post teen, young adult with long black hair. Not particularly cute, not ugly either, but she was the sexy young adult. She was a machine, a superb build of a athlete more then anything else. When she was 25 and winning at the height of her career in 98, she was a fully sexy young lady, quite beautiful and attractive, extremely fit and healthy, really feeling her oats so to speak. Her facial complexion was perfect and she was really cute. By this time she had given up the long black hair for short tomboy haircut, but long hair never really seemed to worked for Luperini. She looks perfect with short hair and was still quite sexy.
At 25, she was complete women, as her figure grew and she became sexy, she gained some pounds. So she was really a sexy young lady at the height of her career. I can imagine just how many young Italians might of came courting her from time to time as she was something to die for. She was an extremely healthy sexy young women, quite pretty as well. Unfortunately, I am afraid those extra pounds in just the right places that gave her that sex appeal might of cost her the 1998 TDF to Edita who was thin as a rail. 1998 was the only year that Luperini was (really) sexy, (IMO). Before in 1997 she was still more of the lean mean machine. After 98, in 99 she also went back to being the lean mean machine, evidence in the Fleche Wallonne.
Since that time, she had slowly lost that sex appeal and had drifted more toward the tomboy look as the seasoned hardened veteran she is. Luperini has a fair share of battle scars. Also that old devil the sun I am afraid has taken a toll on Luperini and she has paid for all those long lonely hours riding in the sun. In the last Championships I saw, she was 31 I think and she looked like she was much older. She looked like the sun had really weathered her face. She had crows feet around the eyes and she was really thin. She actually looked much better after the race, and I think that might of had to do with re-hydration with fluids, and racing and blood circulation seems to bring new life into ones face.
Also I have seen a few other photos of Luperini from last year after the Championships and they were somewhat impressive! She looked like a very mature women in her 30's and very classy looking lady. Someone who more then likely you would be honored to take to dinner with the elite upper class, as she does carry a certain swagger, suave and debonair. She has a certain grace at 31 that is actually quite attractive although she is not the sexy super women she was at 25, which is usually considered to be the peak of ones physical life.
I read at one point during one of the early tours she was around 90 pounds, although unlike Leontien this was normal for Luperini as she is very short. However this was pushing the envelope of her health and how thin a rider could be. She never had Anorexia, but when I saw her at the 100th gala party they had for her, she was really thin in the pants she wore. I suppose it doesn't matter as long as she was healthy and obviously a very powerful rider. That's amazing she could generate so much power out of such a tiny body, as like I said, they called her Tiny little Fabiana Luperini! L'equipe, the French paper had said that her legs were a marvel in one article that so much power could be generated out of such a small short set of legs, but it's really Fabiana on the whole, who is the marvel. There's a great pair of lungs and heart to go with those legs as well!
I have concluded that Luperini prepares herself very well for races she wants to win in the last five years as compared to when the days she won so easily. From observing her rare but brilliant victories of Fleche Wallonne and the championships last year that like Armstrong she picks the races she wants to win very carefully and then prepares very well to win them. When she wins, it's usually rare but brilliant victories which leave spectators a gasp for someone who many have called (over the hill).
Luperini fan club was first rate. It was a nice building for starters. It had inside extremely well organized her little museum. All her cups, trophies and medals were displayed very well to an art form, nicely done. Also all her jerseys from all her grand tour wins were displayed in glass cases, one for each jersey and they covered all the walls all the way around the room, so you could literally walk around the corners of the fan club first to just see all the jerseys, and there were tons of them, all important wins.
Then on the very top of all walls were very nicely done Luperini banners. Now between that on the walls, were dozens of newspaper articles, magazines, and photos! In one corner of the fan club was a TV where her videos ran. Also when you came in the door on the left was a huge glass display where many of the biggest cups and trophies were behind glass cases. You could buy Luperini fan club T-shirts and videos, get signed autographs, and if nothing else just hang out and talk to friends.
So I suppose during many of her race wins many were at the clubhouse watching it live on TV, yelling and shouting as Faby wins again and again, year after year. This was where grand lavish dinners were held in her honor year after year, with all the pomp and circumstance as you can possibly imagine as I stated earlier. Also as a member of the fan club you were issued a clubhouse membership card with your name on it and you also have a membership number on the card! How's that for a fan club! I have a card here at home and I am a registered member but I am afraid it's only a symbolic gesture now, as the club is gone.
I don't think anyone has enjoyed the support Luperini has received from her fan base. During races when she was in the peak of her grand tour wins there were at least 15 or 20 fully Fabitized supporters who wore Luperini T-shirts to the race and they stayed together to rally their support! They all had blue bandanas that they were quite long with Luperini's name on it and they used those as scarf's around their necks.
Also those were used to beat the air during fanfare. Mostly uniquely was the pomp and circumstance. Before each race Faby would ride over and stand in front of her fan base straddling her bike and meditating on the race while the fan club went through a cheering and warm-up routine to get her ready for the race. This was really a spectacle as this was shown on the TV networks a number of times. Luperini and her fans going through the motions before the race, and I can imagine what the other girls thought of that as they receive little attention if any at all.
It's like they are getting the crumbs from all the fanfare and to just race with her I suppose, quite an honor. During the Tour stages in the mountains several of the fan club members would run along side her bike. Also during the final podium for the yellow jersey after she wins, the fan club and Faby do another one their exchanges of pomp and circumstance which also involves throwing the blue bandanas back and forth. Of course also many times after the races in the classics and the tours, they pick her up and carry her around cheering and doing the pomp and circumstance.
I can't imagine any cycling star having it any better then that! It's just a shame she didn't make more money for all her efforts! I doubt seriously if any fan club ever for both men and women have even done it better then this!
In the stage when she won on her home turf of Mount Serra where she lives, pictured in the right hand corner of the tape called Giro De Poker, you can see paper graffiti on the cover of the tape. This is when she won her 4th Giro and it was decided by this stage in front of her hometown crowd which is the only time they actually cut up hundreds of newspapers and threw graffiti on Faby as she crossed the line and she gave that famous expression I have never seen before as this photo was on the cover is famous and was written about in articles. This is the only time she received this kind of praise and it came at the peak of her career, and you remember the streak was broken when she lost the 4th TDF.
I really have to take my hat off to the whole fan club and Luperini organization, which I think the President, Rolando Casalini was very instrumental and worked really hard for her cause. He is always in the videos either running along side Faby at the end or giving her kisses and praises after she wins. They were very close and he was always there all these years but I think they have parted company somewhat as I see another man greet her in the 2003 Grande Boucle besides her Dad. It might be a relative or family member but I think Rolando has retired somewhat from the races. I didn't see him last year either in 2004 but he makes tapes of Faby and he is still the President of the fan club.
I can't think of any other women who have such tapes except Leontien and I only know of two for Leontien, the special they did called Anorexia to Gold and also, there was a 15 minute segment done for Showtime here in America that I have, but nothing compared to the likes of this. In fact no men I know of have such lengthy 7 part documentaries done on them except Merckx has a few as we remember, Stars and Watercarriers and such and another one on Merckx, but nothing spanning his whole career. Neither does Armstrong except the Tour wins every year with WCP, but those are just races and don't chronicles his racing career really. They did do the Armstrong chronicles but those were terrible. (IMO)
All in all, I would say Fabiana Luperini has had one hell of a life for Pro racing champion!!!!!!!
Once in the 1998 Giro before the stage, the fan club rented a bunch of mopeds I think, tiny motorbikes, and they rode up the course to the finish line before the start of the race waving, cheering, and chanting for Luperini with Luperini banners while driving these motorbikes!!
Now that is really special!!!!!!!
I think early on when she beat Longo in 95, they knew that they just didn't have a winner on their hands, but that Italy was witnessing the birth of a great champion! Rightly so, they picked up the ball and ran with it!!
Also quite fitting...
Faby was also the only women I have ever seen in all the Giros who was honored to put the wreath on Ottavio Bottecchia statue, when they stopped during the stage for a moment, much like when they stopped the stage to honor Fabio Casartelli in the TDF. I have the tape of Fabio Casartelli's win on tape of the 1992 elite men road race in the Barcelona Olympics. Also another time Faby was honored by placing a wreath on yet another statue of a cycling legend during the Giro.
Luperini is the only girl I have even seen on any of my videos that was honored by some of the Top Pro men who came to one of the stages of the Giro and gave her kisses before the race started, right out there on the street while she was on her bike. She was flabbergasted!!
What's interesting about the best women today like Cooke who have won SFGP, (San Francisco Grand Prix later known as T-Mobile International) and Fleche Wallone twice is that Cooke had to kill herself to win the final sprint and collapse after the race. In her prime Luperini won easily and often looked fresh crossing the line while the other girls were slumped over their bikes. Fabiana's apparent lack of fatigue when she won Assisi stage in the 1998 women's Giro d'Italia is quite remarkable as she looks fresh while the girls behind are dead.
Only now, in today's time, does Luperini have to work harder to win as evidence in her wins in the mountain top stages of the 2003 Grande Boucle. At the end of her career, Luperini is still almost as good as today's best Top Pro women! I think now in her new supporting role with Top Girls Fassa Bortolo that she is not only getting paid well, but can finish the final chapters of her career with dignity and grace. I think all she needs to top that is a great coaching job, but it looks like she is headed into law practice. I think she will excel in whatever her pursuits or whatever directions she takes.
Have any doubts about what a stellar climber and solo artist Luperini is? Doubt no more, check out these video clips.
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