A downhill profile today means a fast stage as gravity does its work. But don’t imagine riders can frolick their way down to Vedelago to the sound of whizzing freewheels. Instead today should see a duel between attackers and sprinters with the soundtrack of the chain clunking between the 11 and 12 sprocket as many will be trying to break away whilst the sprinters teams will want to reel them in.
I’m Ivan Basso. I’m looking for real men who don’t worry about being tired, who are ready to ride many kilometres on the road with the desire to finish first.
No, he’s not looking for new riders. Instead this is a radio advert with Ivan Basso promoting French car maker Citroen’s utility vehicles for small businesses and he wants “traders, artisans, entrepreneurs for Citroen’s commercial vehicles“. The full audio clip is here on youtube:
It’s of minor interest because it is rare these days to see a cyclist in a national advertising campaign. It’s happened in the past but today’s riders are more likely to fry their cycling shoes or even lend their image to sell beach towels but here we have Basso’s voice as central to mixing the idea of riding across Italy with selling vans.
It’s only a 60km drive from Pfalzes to Cortina but the race takes the scenic route across several mountain passes. Look at all those climbs but don’t forget the descents too especially as the race tackles the Passo Giau and then a steep and technical road down to the finish in Cortina which includes a short uphill section too.
The overall classification in the race is beginning to settle and today should start to cement positions amongst the top-10. Those with ambitions might not want to wait until the climb of the Stelvio on Saturday.
Pedalare! Pedalare! A History of Italian Cycling by John Foot
How important is cycling to you? You might enjoy riding and following the pro races but what if cycling prevented a civil war? What if two cyclists formed the greatest sporting rivalry of all time? What if cycling was inseparable from politics, religion, the economy and society? Welcome to Italy, at least to various points in Italian history when these claims have been made.
Look at the profile and you’ll see 173km with three bumps along the way including one to the finish and given the upcoming mountain stages it might be tempting to view today’s route as a mere transition stage.
But the diagram doesn’t do the the final of the race justice because this is a tricky finish with hairpins, cobbles and double-digit gradient ramps. It could be a very exciting finish.
It might look inelegant but the photo above from a seller on ebay reveals the ancestor of almost every modern road bike.
This is the tale of a radical designer and a scrap mountain bike frame meeting mass production and global trade to eventually reshape racing bikes.
The race skirts past Milan, tempting the riders who face another week of racing before they get to finish the Giro for good. The race passes through another region of Italy where cycling remains very popular and where the roads on Sunday morning whizz with immaculate bikes and impeccably elegant middle-aged men. This is the area of the Giro di Lombardia and the Valcava climb is on the route of the late-season race as well as today’s stage.
A double win yesterday for French squad Ag2r La Mondiale. First they won in the Circuit de Lorraine Professionel, a 2.1 stage race on France’s eastern borders thanks to Sébastien Hinault. Then Sylvain Georges doubled-up with a fine solo stage win in the Tour of California.
Until now they had yet to win a race this year and were a day away from “beating” the longest losing streak set by Saunier Duval who didn’t win a race until 19 May back in 2005. This time Ag2r won their two stages on 18 May, a day ahead. But 2012 is a leap year meaning the French squad might have won earlier in May but we’ve had an extra day in the year.
We’re two weeks into the race and if there’s a criticism of things so far it’s that the race has lacked rivalry and contest because the main riders have been waiting for the final week. The overall lead has changed but without a great duel so far. There’s not been much of a “fight for pink” so far. Yes we’ve seen some good racing but at times things have resembled a series of one day races, we’ve lacked a shared story to define this year’s race.
This should all change as the race heads right into the Alps and finishes below the mighty Matterhorn, or Monte Cervino in Italian. The Matterhorn was one of the last great peaks to be scaled and for decades climbers could not find a way to the top until British ace Edward Whymper made it to the top and even then five members of his team died during the attempt in 1865. Thankfully today’s stage is tame but the race shifts from modest uphill finishes to full on Alpine ascending, at least in terms of road cycling.
With the Giro d’Italia and Tour of California approaching the mountains, a moment to look at the subject of climbing.
There are names that stand out. Zoncolan. Angliru. Perhaps after the summer the Grand Colombier could join the club after the Tour de France climbs it for the first time. These are all steep climbs that are considered so hard that they are used sparingly in the big races, appearing only once every few years.
Of course there are other climbs that appear from time to time too. For example Mont Ventoux in France or the unpaved Colle delle Finestre in Italy but the climbs I’m talking about are famed for their pitch, with double-digit gradients. A ramp to the heavens, a “spaceship for the poor man” as Italian journalist Gianni Brera once wrote.
The names of these are used in whispered tones, as if some are fearful of upsetting the mountain gods. Certainly there is plenty for the riders to get angry about with relentless gradients, often well into double-digit percentages meaning these climbs are the place where three weeks of racing can be decided. They can be so steep cars are not used, instead race officials and mechanics hop onto motorbikes.
But if they are steep they are not hard. Their vertiginous gradients can be tamed by low gearing. Indeed the steepest of climbs can be the most predictable. Here’s a look at why the steepest climbs are not always the best.