De Muur 2 (03-003)
Feb. 24th, 2003 07:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gerbieStories about cycling. Cycling as a sport that is. And not just some stories that could have appeared in any magazine, these stories are so good that they appear in De Muur, more a book than a magazine. Several good stories by well known journalists as Mart Smeets, Jean Nelissen and Willy Verhegghe. A fine story by former pro Peter Winnen, who has written his first piece of fiction especially for this volume.
Absolute highlight is the history written by Benjo Maso about the government crisis in Italy, 1948. The prove that sports and politics can never be seen separately. Or as the Romans already knew as long as the people have got something to eat and something to watch, a revolution will be far away. In 1948 a revolution is not a mere thought anymore in Italy. While the Tour de France is going on, in Rome crisis hits the country. Gino Bartali, one of the greatest cyclists of all time, had to win the Tour de France to keep the Italian population happy. He did and the country was stable again. No fiction, this really happened and it makes for a fascinating story. Bartali winning ten years (!) after his first victory meant much more than ‘just’ winning the Tour de France.
Absolute highlight is the history written by Benjo Maso about the government crisis in Italy, 1948. The prove that sports and politics can never be seen separately. Or as the Romans already knew as long as the people have got something to eat and something to watch, a revolution will be far away. In 1948 a revolution is not a mere thought anymore in Italy. While the Tour de France is going on, in Rome crisis hits the country. Gino Bartali, one of the greatest cyclists of all time, had to win the Tour de France to keep the Italian population happy. He did and the country was stable again. No fiction, this really happened and it makes for a fascinating story. Bartali winning ten years (!) after his first victory meant much more than ‘just’ winning the Tour de France.
