Hi Subscribers,
Last week, the legendary team boss Giancarlo Ferretti passed away at the age of 85.
I never had the chance to interview the late Italian, but growing up in the 1990s, his teams were always covered in Cycle Sport and Pro Cycling magazine. A huge figure in cycling, Ferretti ran the show at teams like Ariostea, GB–MG Maglificio, and Fassa Bortolo. I’ve heard stories about him sitting down with riders in smoke-filled cafes and telling them in no uncertain terms that by the end of their lunch together the rider would have signed a contract to join his team. The tactic often worked.
This week I asked the distinguished author William Fotheringham to write a piece about Ferretti. I hope you enjoy it.
Daniel 🫶
The scene is a hotel car park in Castagneto Carducci on the Tuscan coast, on a quiet and very cold January morning in 1995.
The MG-Technogym team are about to set out on a ride as part of their training camp in preparation for the coming season. The eagle-eyed direttore sportivo, Giancarlo Ferretti, spots that Luca Scinto is wearing a headband that isn’t made by the sponsor, a clothing company. He tells Scinto to take it off. Scinto doesn’t want his ears to get cold. The outcome is a very Italian argument, hands everywhere, voices raised, and the outcome is inevitable: the headband comes off, and Scinto’s ears get cold.
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For me, the episode sums up Ferretti, who died on August 9, his 85th birthday. The “Iron Sergeant” was the last legendary Italian DS, a man who didn’t do compromise, who exuded self-confidence, and, as the argument with Scinto showed, one with an eye for every last detail.
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