Zanardi attacked his marathon challenge with all the zest that marks his approach to racing - and life. (photo courtesy Alex-Zanardi.com) » More Photos
Alex Zanardi never ceases to amaze. In case you missed it, on Sunday the guy who executed one of the most improbable overtaking maneuvers in racing history at Laguna Seca, who won back-to-back Champ Car titles and who recovered from the traumatic amputation of his legs at EuroSpeedway in 2001 to compete and win in the World Touring Car Championship for BMW's Team Italy/Spain, finished fourth in the hand-powered bicycle class of the ING New York City marathon.
Not bad for a guy competing in his first marathon, but did we mention the 41-year-old Zanardi had never operated a hand-bike before taking one for a spin in October? Or that he beat 49 competitors in his division on Sunday?
The impetus for Zanardi's competitive return to the North American sports scene was the invitation of long-time personal sponsor Barilla pasta to speak at its mega pre-marathon party the night before the race. How mega? Consider that every one of the marathon's 35,000 entrants was invited, along with event officials and volunteers. Barilla estimates upwards of 15,000 people actually showed up, ingesting some 7000 pounds of pasta and 2000 pounds of salad at 38 buffets at Tavern on the Green, adjacent to the marathon finish line in Central Park. Talk about packing carbs.
But what started as a kind of joke rapidly turned into the latest chapter in Zanardi's remarkable career.
Zanardi attacked his marathon challenge with all the zest that marks his approach to racing - and life. (photo courtesy Alex-Zanardi.com) » More Photos
Tag along with Jacques Villeneuve as he makes his NASCAR debut in our December issue, on sale now.
"Fabio Fortina (of Barilla's corporate communications office) told me they have this huge pasta party at the marathon and they'd like to get me involved somehow," Zanardi recalls. "I said, 'Well as long as you are not going to hand me the check for 35,000 people I would love to be involved.'
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"The second thing I said was that as long as I am there I may as well do the marathon. Fabio said, 'Are you crazy? How can you do this?' I said, 'I have heard of this hand-bike, I think they have a division in the race.'
"And he said, 'Yes, but you are not trained. It's impossible.'"
As the U.S. Marines like to say, the difficult is routine, the impossible just takes a little longer.
"When he said 'impossible' . . ." Zanardi smiles. "Up to that point it had just been a joke. But when he said 'impossible' I said, 'OK we'll go to New York and see if it's possible or not."
First, though, Zanardi had to get his hands on a hand-powered bicycle. As he notes, that's not just a matter of going down to your local bike shop and picking one out. However, an Italian bicycle company read of Zanardi's plans and quickly offered him a hand-bike for the marathon. He took delivery of the machine during the WTCC race weekend at Monza on October 7th and tested it the following day, pedaling it around the industrial park where the BMW Italy-Spain race team is located.
Zanardi thoroughly enjoyed the experience, if not for the potential of racing it then for the superb work-out afforded by the hand-bike.
"I have discovered a way with this hand bike to train that is fantastic," he says. "It is something that I thought was very, very difficult for me to recreate – to keep my heart rate up for two hours. It's tough when you have no legs, really difficult. But this is something for sure that I have discovered that I really enjoy and for sure it will have a following, whether it's just going to be as a way of training or more races with the bicycle I don't know yet. For sure it will be more serious than I originally thought, but it does not mean I will quit racing automobiles – I send that as a direct message to the drivers who are hoping to be in line for my seat with BMW!"
