Fausto Coppi's Personal Bianchi Track Bike 1946

Fausto Coppi.
A name, two words.
Two words charged so massively with emotion and history that the man behind them was elevated to the status of a legend.
The successes of this man, his life, the stories about him and the role he played for cycling as well as the tifosi - all that became so intertwined that to this day, he is the epitome of cycling sport's glory.
His name would actually be enough of a description for this humble track bike at least it would be enough to define it as one of cycling cultures arch relics.

Fausto Coppi was arguably one of the most talented and certainly the single most influencial cyclist of the 20th century. Just like with Gino Bartali, it is hard to imagine what he could have achieved would not the 2nd world war have robbed him of some of his best years.
His style of racing earned him the nickname Campionissimo, Champion of all Champions: he could be brutally dominant in brakeaways.

His first incredible victory was achieved when he was only 20 years old. The Legnano team had hired him as a 'gregario' for Gino Bartali. But Bartali crashed and injured himself so badly, that his young helper was allowed to race for himself. He went on to become the youngest rider ever to win Italy's most prestigous stage race.

After Fausto was drafted for the military, he was urged to train for and set a new hour record. A sign of sportive dominance from fascist Italy to the world.
What it is with totalitarian regimes and their obsession for sports? Well, we do not know for sure, but Fausto knew that much of his well-being in the army would depend on this attempt. And so he trained to become the fastest man on the track. In 1942 he covered the distance 45871 meters. A record which would stand until the days of Anquetil.

When the war was over and Fausto had cycled and hitchhiked his way home from a POW camp, he immediately started to pick up training and racing again.
He established a collaboration with the Bianchi team which would prove to be the most iconic liaison in cycling history.
During the following years he would modernise everything about racing. From tactics, to public relations, from outfit to technical details and training methods. The whole way a cycling team would operate up until today was introduced by Fausto Coppi. The incredible successes of Anquetil, Merckx, Hinault, Indurain, or Froome all base on changes with which Coppi came up.
And it is no secret that he was interested in a technical improvement of the bicycle itself as well. An interest, that finds its materialisation in our track bike here.

This frame has the serial number 91267 and it was built in 1946 as the first of a batch of six frames made by Bianchi’s Reparto Corse for Fausto Coppi. This included three track and three road frames.
The craftsman responsible for our frame is said to be no one less than master frame builder Luigi Valsassina. And though it is manufactured to his usual standard of precision, it is slightly different in that the lugs seem to have less of a concave cutout on the sides than on some of the later models that were produced in 1948. Furthermore, adding to the uniqueness is the placement of less pointy seat stay tops at a higher level than on earlier or later frames.

The geometry of the frame was very innovative in comparison to other track models. The whole design was much more compact.
For example, the length of the chainstays was reduced from 43cm to 42cm and the distance between the forks and the center of the bottom bracket also is almost a whole cm shorter.
The outcome is a shorter, stiffer and more reactive bike.
taking in consideration the heavy cockpit, crankset and saddle, the bike is sensationally lightweight for its time and size!

It is easy to imagine Fausto Coppi flying on it, speeding around the oval of the Velodromo Vigorelli in Milan.

If you could distill the essence of a turning point in cycling history into one bike, then this bike which Bianchi made for Coppi could be the incarnation.