Claudio Marinangeli raises both hands to the sky and beams all over his face. Mamma mia! - Of course, he had no idea what the idea would develop into in 20 years' time. "There were 92 starters at the premiere of L'Eroica," recalls the man who is one of the two organisers of the Tuscan cycling spectacle.
He now stands in a tiny office in the centre of Gaiole in Chianti and looks out onto Via Bettino Ricasoli, which is as busy as the Oktoberfest in Munich on a Sunday - and the start is only tomorrow. Nevertheless, the crowds are already pushing their way through the streets and alleyways in the north of Tuscany. Traders have set up their stalls in every nook and cranny. There are scratchy woollen jerseys, beautiful old steel racers, tonnes of spare parts, everything that gets the retro heart racing...
