It's a frequent complaint that some of the romance and mythology has disappeared from cycling in the modern era.
Reading Flavio Zappi's excellent account of the story of the bandit and the champion which tells the story of the relationship between champion Costante Girardengo and bandit Sante Pollastri - it's hard to argue:
Read "Il bandito e il campione (The bandit and the champion)" on Flavio Zappi's blog
What really caught my eye though were the two photographs of Costante Girardengo
How hard does he look? Only Michele Scarponi comes close these days for that sort of grim determined expression with a hint of violence.
This second one caught my eye because of the styling of the jersey which buttons along the shoulder. I'm assuming this was a track jersey rather than a road one. It's a style that I've seen on men's knitwear on occasion which I quite like. No practical but by god it looks good.
