Road to Valor: A True Story of WWII Italy, the Nazis, and the Cyclist Who Inspired a Nation
Road to Valor is the inspiring, against-the-odds story of Gino Bartali, the cyclist who made the greatest comeback in Tour de France history and secretly aided the Italian resistance during World War II.
Gino Bartali is best known as an Italian cycling legend: the man who not only won the Tour de France twice, but also holds the record for the longest time span between victories. During the ten years that separated his hard-won triumphs, his actions, both on and off the racecourse, ensured him a permanent place in Italian hearts and minds.
In Road to Valor, Aili and Andres McConnon chronicle Bartali’s journey, starting in impoverished rural Tuscany where a scrawny, mischievous boy painstakingly saves his money to buy a bicycle and before long, is racking up wins throughout the country. At the age of 24, he stuns the world by winning the Tour de France and becomes an international sports icon.
But Mussolini’s Fascists try to hijack his victory for propaganda purposes, derailing Bartali’s career, and as the Nazis occupy Italy, Bartali undertakes secret and dangerous activities to help those being targeted. He shelters a family of Jews in an apartment he financed with his cycling winnings and is able to smuggle counterfeit identity documents hidden in his bicycle past Fascist and Nazi checkpoints because the soldiers recognize him as a national hero in training.
After the grueling wartime years, Bartali fights to rebuild his career as Italy emerges from the rubble. In 1948, the stakes are raised when midway through the Tour de France, an assassination attempt in Rome sparks nationwide political protests and riots. Despite numerous setbacks and a legendary snowstorm in the Alps, the chain-smoking, Chianti-loving, 34-year-old underdog comes back and wins the most difficult endurance competition on earth. Bartali’s inspiring performance helps unite his fractured homeland and restore pride and spirit to a country still reeling from war and despair.
Set in Italy and France against the turbulent backdrop of an unforgiving sport and threatening politics, Road to Valor is the breathtaking account of one man’s unsung heroism and his resilience in the face of adversity. Based on nearly ten years of research in Italy, France, and Israel, including interviews with Bartali’s family, former teammates, a Holocaust survivor Bartali saved, and many others, Road to Valor is the first book ever written about Bartali in English and the only book written in any language to fully explore the scope of Bartali’s wartime work. An epic tale of courage, comeback, and redemption, it is the untold story of one of the greatest athletes of the twentieth century.
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You Are Never Wrong When Doing Something Right I became interested in reading Gino Bartali’s story after viewing “My Italian Secret”. I am not disappointed. The writing is clear, concise, understandable and informative. I am discovering facts of a boy who grew up poor and became a man of distinction and valor. I’m learning facts about cycling of which I was not aware. I am learning that Mr. Bartali was able to combine his athletics with a desire to make a difference. Throughout the reading, I do not have the impression that Mr…
Excellent This is the latest of a string of bicycling books that I recently read. I also recently read, and enjoyed, A Dog in a Hat, Bobke II, Domestique, One Day Ahead, and the Bike Snob’s first book. Road to Valor was in some ways the best of the lot. I try to not spoil a book for those who read my reviews, but I can tell you that I would not have enjoyed Road to Valor as much if I had not read Dog in a Hat, Bobke II, and Domestique. The writing in Valor is top-notch, and the research seems to be…