Newsgroup: it.sport.ciclismo
Titolo: Fabiana Luperini (Compleanno!!) Part 5

Memoirs of A Legend
When Luperini was very young her Dad took her on bike rides and it wasn't 
long before she had the bit between the teeth. Her Mom actually didn't want 
her to be a bike racer as it was kind of dirty or messy, more suited for men 
then women according to her Mom, and she preferred her daughter to pursue 
something else, but once she had the bit between the teeth there was no 
stopping her. Since her Dad was a good climber, I am sure good ole Dad 
encouraged her to ride and race as a kid. I saw a photo of Faby which you 
can see a scar on her leg. When she was young she had a bike accident and 
received 30 stitches. It's quite noticeable, and I wonder if that was before 
or after her Mom decided about her daughter's racing career!
Certainly Luperini would be in the same group with Maria Canins, Jeannie 
Longo, Leontien Van Moorsel, and heck, possibly a few others, Beryl Burton, 
but not many if we are talking about debating who are the greatest women. 
You might know Luperini has been racing in the Pros over 10 years now and 
she is (arguably) still the best climber in the world. (That) is indeed 
impressive! I can't say when Canins started racing exactly and winning in 
the Pros but the depth of talent was in it's infancy and clearly Luperini 
raced against a much deeper field then Canins. Canins raced against Longo 
and Van Moorsel as her biggest opponents, not to mention Catherine Marsal 
and others but the depth of talent was lean then. Luperini beat Longo when 
Longo was in her prime and did it by 8 minutes in 1995.
http://www.procyclingwomen.com/Luperini/Longo-Marsal.jpg
http://www.procyclingwomen.com/Luperini/Leontien-1.jpg
Clearly, Luperini is a better climber then Longo. The problem with comparing 
Canins to Luperini is not that they didn't have plenty of chances. Luperini 
raced against Canins several times in the tours and other races and beat her 
several times. The problem is Canins was at the end of her prime and 
Luperini was (dead) in it, except for just prior to 95. So it's not a fair 
comparison, but based on Luperini's accomplishments, Luperini is the best 
climber of all times, (IMO) and her career isn't over yet. She almost won 
the Giro in (2004) against Nicole Cooke and that is an amazing testimony to 
Luperini. Luperini has more heart then you can possibly imagine. We know 
Canins and Longo went back and forth beating each other in the Grand Tours, 
not so with Luperini. Luperini dominated totally, and had (no) rivals, 
closest was Longo. That's not to say there wasn't some hard veterans in the 
lot, there was.
http://www.procyclingwomen.com/Luperini/Eternal-Duel-Canins-Longo.jpg
http://www.procyclingwomen.com/Luperini/Longo-Canins-1.jpg
http://www.procyclingwomen.com/Luperini/Longo-Canins-1.jpg
In 1989 Canins lost to Longo by 8 minutes in the TDF. Interesting enough as 
a side note there was 4 riders from the USA in the top 10 that year. Inga 
Thompson was 3rd and Susan Elias was 4th. I have an excellent race report 
for the women's 1989 Women's TDF, although that year Lemond and Fignon were 
having their epic battle so I suppose there was little fanfare over the 
women's 89 TDF.
http://www.procyclingwomen.com/Luperini/7-11.jpg
http://www.procyclingwomen.com/Luperini/Inga.jpg
In 1985 and 86, Canins won the TDF. Longo won in 87, 88 and 89. After that 
Van Moorsel dominated in 92,93. Then comes Luperini in 93, 94 but I think 
she was only in the Top 25. From 95 on, in the Giro and TDF plus other races 
I have on tape where there is excellent coverage of the stages and such, 
Luperini drops Canins on the climbs, but granted, given the fact Canins is 
at the end of her career. Not so with Longo, even when Longo was still in 
her prime, Luperini beat Longo in the Tour easily by 8 minutes.
http://www.procyclingwomen.com/Luperini/Longo-1989-2.jpg
In the Giro, Canins won in 1989, I can't find a single year that Longo won 
the Giro, neither did Leontien. Now we know Luperini won both the Giro and 
TDF back to back three years in a row, and almost 4 years back to back as 
she was 2nd in the TDF to Edita by just over a minute. It was reported that 
when Faby lost so much time in the TT in the 1998 TDF, that she had cried 
over that. She was aware of just how much damage was done. She realized she 
was in for the fight of her life. Edita on the other hand was very gutsy and 
thin as a rail that year. On Mount Ventoux she literally did something I 
can't ever remember seeing a rider do, at least not like this. She literally 
threw her bike at the mountain. Faby was first over the top, and Edita in a 
desperate attempt not to lose too much time, used the strangest technique 
that I have ever seen. It's hard to explain but she was literally throwing 
her bike at the mountain. I really have a lot of respect for Edita, she is a 
great champion!
http://www.procyclingwomen.com/Luperini/Luperini-14.jpg
http://www.procyclingwomen.com/Luperini/Luperini-15.jpg
GBMT

 respect for Edita, she is a great champion!
http://www.procyclingwomen.com/Luperini/Edita.jpg
GBMT