Coppi and Bartali grated against each other, creating an explosive relationship that still captivates Italians. Newspaper articles from the 1940s are reprinted in today’s editions. Books are still being written about them, including one published just in time for this year’s Giro.

“They are part of the history books,” Pinotti said. “You learn about them at home, at school. They are more famous than almost everyone in Italian history because they gave the country hope.”

Before World War II, Bartali won the Giro twice, in 1936 and 1937. He also won the Tour de France in 1938, when it was unheard of for foreign cyclists to wear the yellow jersey. He then headed off to fight for the Italian resistance.

After the war, he won the Giro again in 1946, creating a thrill for a depressed nation. But he is best known for his victory at the 1948 Tour de France. It occurred around the time that Palmiro Togliatti, the leader of the Italian Communist party, was shot and wounded. Bartali’s victory was said to have eased tensions in the country as it appeared headed toward civil war and a possible insurrection by the Italian Communists.

Bartali and Coppi became teammates in 1940, before their rivalry became a national obsession.

Coppi was hired to help Bartali win. While Bartali prayed for divine help as he raced, Coppi insisted that he was simply a machine, riding the roads alone.

Coppi had admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs, including amphetamines. He said he took them only when it was necessary  which was, he once said in a television interview, “almost all the time.”

Although drug use was not yet banned in cycling, the doping infuriated Bartali. He told reporters he would often pick up bottles left behind by Coppi to taste what special concoction was inside. He would scour Coppi’s hotel room to find remnants of the substances Coppi had taken.