How much work goes into a victory? How is a champion’s journey forged? And what role does a team play in transforming individual talent into a collective achievement?

These are some of the questions at the heart of “No One Wins Alone. Andrea Agostini: from Pantani to Pogačar, a life alongside the greats”, the first event in a series of side events inspired by the exhibition “Ruota Libera. The Bicycle in Italy’s Social Evolution”, currently on display at Villa Manin until 30 August.

The event will take place on Tuesday 14 July at 7.00 pm at Villa Manin and is open to the public. Attendance is free, but places are limited and registration is compulsory via the Eventbrite portal.

The guest of honour for the evening will be Andrea Agostini, Chief Operating Officer of UAE Team Emirates – Tadej Pogačar’s team – a figure who has experienced some of the most intense moments in contemporary cycling at first hand, not least through his personal and professional connection with Marco Pantani.

He will be joined in conversation by Alessandro Gallici, a collector from Friuli who contributed to the ‘Ruota Libera’ exhibition with several models from his private collection. The discussion will be moderated by Francesco Tonizzo, a sports journalist for *Il Messaggero Veneto*.

The evening will offer an insider’s perspective on cycling: not just the achievements of individual athletes, but the day-to-day work that enables a champion to perform at their very best. The discussion will cover the creation of a solid, motivating team environment capable of putting athletes in the best possible position; the roles of coaches, support staff, domestiques and the organisation; experiences and friendships with Marco Pantani; and the current situation at UAE Team Emirates alongside Tadej Pogačar. There will also be a look to the future, at youth development programmes and the golden rules for nurturing the champions of tomorrow.

The event follows on from the ‘Ruota Libera’ exhibition, organised by ERPAC FVG at Villa Manin, which is attracting significant public interest. The exhibition brings together 62 historic and contemporary bicycles from various collections, including Alessandro Gallici’s private collection, and offers a journey exploring the bicycle as an object that has spanned two centuries of mobility, innovation, sport and emancipation. Among the models on display are also examples linked to the history of great champions, including Tadej Pogačar’s Colnago and Marco Pantani’s bicycle.

As highlighted by ERPAC’s Director-General, Lydia Alessio-Vernì, ‘Villa Manin has once again proved itself to be a unique space for dialogue between history, culture and innovation. The uniqueness of the “Ruota Libera” exhibition lies in its ability to recount two centuries of social, technological and cultural transformations through an everyday and universal object such as the bicycle’.

Following the event on 14 July, the programme of accompanying events will continue in the coming weeks with new events dedicated to cycling, its history, its key figures and its social value: public talks, storytelling sessions, family activities and in-depth discussions designed to extend the exhibition’s scope beyond the exhibition spaces.