Cycling: Michele Scarponi, who died on Saturday, was buried yesterday in his hometown of Filottrano. Thousands of cyclists, fans, friends and relatives paid their last respects to the Italian.
With Michele Scarponi, cycling loses a great man
A serious traffic accident occurred near Filottrano on Saturday. A cyclist collided with a pickup truck. He died on the way to the hospital. The sad news quickly made the rounds: It was Michele Scarponi. Five days earlier he won the opening stage of the Tour of the Alps. He will forever be in the history books of the race with this win as it was the inaugural staging of the Tour. Anyway, Michele Scarponi will always be remembered by cycling fans. After all, the Italian made a significant contribution to shaping an entire era. He began his long professional career back in 2002. Many Italian and international professional cyclists, as well as amateur cyclists who are on the bike today, also started this sport because of him. His greatest sporting success was winning the Giro d'Italia in 2011. But Scarponi never drove just for the sake of success. He loved this sport, which the spectators could always see.
Thousands attend Michele Scarponi's funeral
The last public photo of Michele Scarponi shows him with his two sons Giacomo and Tommaso. The twins wore the leader jerseys their father just brought home from the Tour of the Alps. His wife Anna insisted on burying him in his Astana team jersey. Many professionals wanted to be present at this funeral. His former teammate Vincenzo Nibali and World Champion Peter Sagan drove to Filottrano. Everyone will remember Michele Scarponi as a cheerful professional cyclist. His fans think back to his videos with the parrot Frankje, who is now watching over the scene of the accident. Although black and white photos are appropriate by his tragic death, let's not forget the colorful and smiling Michele Scarponi. That's how he presented himself to us in public for over 15 years. That's how he would like to be seen today.
Frankje attendant son maitre… J'ai jamais vu une image aussi triste de toute ma vie. pic.twitter.com/r4njYJRS9S
— Dans la musette (@DansLaMusette) 23 April 2017