Romano Tumellero's Tour de France gregarious

Tour de France 1970. Romano Tumellero 's first and last: “I was 22 years old, it was my second year as a professional, I was riding for Ferretti, half Italian and half Danish and Belgian, I was a domestique. For the classification we had Gosta Pettersson , for the sprints Albert Van Vlierberghe. And I had to help them. Stages and semi-stages, Pyrenees and Alps, unbearable heat. Of 10 teammates, four of us arrived. I was ninety-third of the 100 finishers of the 150 who started, almost three hours behind the first, needless to say, Eddy Merckx . But I was very happy. Because I had done it by always racing with my head down. Twice in the top 10 on stages, at that time the placing meant nothing, for me first place was enough to be happy, second to be unhappy, third to be half happy. Now it's different, twice in the top 10 is something, it's a lot, it's a memory, even a source of pride."

From Arcugnano, Vicenza, he was of peasant origins, his father a bricklayer, his mother a nurse, and then a cotton mill worker. He was the fourth and youngest child, a junior high school graduate who later became an apprentice mechanic. He abandoned his evening classes at the thought of cycling: "There's a NATO base in our area. At the time, they organized free races, including a time trial for two, an American and an Italian... I rode in cycling tours. At a rally in Novara, a cousin who was a racer promised me his bike. I told him my parents would never let me race. He insisted, 'When you get a bike,' he explained, 'everything will be different.' He sent me the bike, a blue racing bike, a little big, but it looked beautiful. He was right: everything would be different, starting with my parents, who let me do it."

Alfredo Martini was Tumellero's sports director at that Tour: "I was doing my military service in the athletes' company in Milan when my parents told me a letter had arrived at home, the one from Ferretti. I went to Monza, Martini and Fiorenzo Magni were there, I read the terms, the salary for a year, which actually amounted to 10 months, and I signed. There were no agents or solicitors, there were no discussions or negotiations. If it suited you, you signed; if not, you didn't. I signed. Martini, as I would later discover, was special: he paid special attention to everyone, even the domestiques. He asked questions, listened, observed, encouraged. For everyone else, however, we domestiques were the crew: staying up front, pushing, closing gaps, that was all we had to do, without much comment."

A five-year career illuminated by four victories: Coppa Sabatini and Trofeo Cougnet in 1969, a stage at the Tour de Romandie and the Giro d'Italia in 1971 . “It always happened by chance. I had the finishing skills, but no one ever tried to exploit them. On my free days, I followed my instincts and did my own thing. In Romandie, Michele Dancelli was alone in front. I attacked in the last kilometer, and while I was passing him at double speed, he begged me to wait. I said yes, but by then I already had a 10-meter lead. I did the same thing at the Giro, attacking in the last kilometer, but this time there was no one in front. If I had been less… polenta-filled, if my name had been Van Tumellero… I would have won more. Like in the Zurich Championships, I was in the breakaway, they told me not to push to help two teammates, Van Springel and Swerts, get back. The two rejoined, then Van Springel attacked and won. I finished second. Then, in an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, I revealed what had happened, and the following year I wasn't confirmed. Never tell the truth.”

Tumellero, tell us a true story: “Once, at Paris-Nice, on the Croix-de-Fer, I found myself in a breakaway with Rik Van Looy, but it was a breakaway from the wrong side, at the tail end of the race. Van Looy was in the final stages of his career, now more embers than fire. He looked me over, framed me, realized I had little left, so he made a gesture, as if to say 'I'll take care of it,' got in front, set the pace and we reached the finish line within the maximum time. Another time, in a training camp with Molteni, on one side Merckx, on the other Marino Basso, Basso was envious of Merckx, the first morning he arrived late to the appointment and Merckx waited, the second morning he arrived late again and Merckx got nervous, the third morning he arrived late again and Merckx had already left with his teammates. Another time again, in the 1969 Giro d'Italia , Terracina stage, I left in counterattack, on the seafront I hit against the wind, I was caught by Claudio Michelotto and Wladimiro Panizza, we wasted time talking, we were swallowed up by Merckx and the others, a photo shows me as I crossed the finish line, seventh, and I looked at the grandstand that was collapsing, that terrible day, a child was crushed to death”.

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