LA CLASSICISSIMA

1970

MICHELE DANCELLI

THE THING TO keep in mind is that no Italian had won for 17 years. That may not seem so unusual today, but back then the peloton for Milan-San Remo was 50 per cent Italian. There had been the usual Belgian and French winners, but also a Spaniard, a German and a Dutch guy, and even an Englishman. It had become a nightmare, and with each passing year everyone became more anxious about it.

My problem as a cyclist was that I couldn’t really help myself. If there was a little climb, or even a railway bridge, instinct would take over and I’d just attack. It cost me a lot of races because I was a good sprinter, but the urge to go was just too strong. A lot of people said I’d never be a champion because I didn’t know how to ride tactically, but I’d already won two maglie tricolore and a load of others. I won 73 races in my career, including 11 stages at the Giro. I was maglia rosa for 14 days as well, so I guess I didn’t do too badly.

There was a small climb for a prime at Loano. I went with Carlo Chiappano, but he decided not to continue. We were still 70km from San Remo, so he went back to the group and I was alone. After 20km the car came across. They didn’t really know what to say, because on the one hand they were willing me to try, but objectively the odds were stacked against it. I reasoned that there were some very fast guys in the chase group, and I felt really good. So I decided to commit to it, and everyone knows what happened next.