On every afternoon of May, uncle Angelo, the brother of granny Sandrina, would arrive from the nearby village riding a wobbly motorcycle. He would park in the courtyard, come upstairs and get in the house. Grandmother would make him coffee, he would turn on the TV and we would watch the Giro stage together. We were keen on Italo Zilioli, who was always a step away to win the Giro, and then no, he would never win it. But it was good anyway. I was five years old – it was 1969 or maybe 1970.

Gino Cervi has been working in publishing for over thirty years. He has edited and written dictionaries, encyclopedias, illustrated books, literary anthologies, tourist guidebooks, sport tales, particularly bicycle related, (Alfabeto Fausto Coppi, with Giovanni Battistuzzi, Ediciclo 2019 and Il Giro dei Giri, with Albano Marcarini, Touring Editore 2020).