Panache

In recent years cycling team presentations notch in just below tour route announcements as the least exciting news items of the off season. As the new off season approaches I want to reflect on the greatest team presentation of all time. In 2002 Mario Cipolini started the Acqua Sapone team and few thought the Lion King had many wins left in his bronze legs. Rumors flew that he had hired an Italian designer to design the team kit and the team presentation would be broadcast on italian national television. Luckily the rumors were true.



Cipo staged a recreation of the "orgy" scene from Stanley Kubrick's Eye's Wide Shut in his favorite night club. No corners were cut in the curation of the topless circle of kneeling ladies. After all of the ladies dropped their cloaks, the leader of the ceremony dropped her's revealing the soon to be legendary kit designed by Roberto Cavalli. Cipo managed to have the most spectacular team presentation in memory and avoided the always unstylish move of wearing a kit indoors with no intention of riding a bike. Cipo displayed epic amounts of panache in a team presentation, now he needed the first zebra striped froth job.




The critics were silenced with his win at the 2002 Milan San Remo beating Fast Freddy Rodriguez in the habitually ugliest national jersey.





Cipo crushed Fast Freddy again at Ghent Wevelgum 2002 displaying panache at a level yet to be seen in the current peloton.