Giro Guide

69 thoughts on “Giro Guide”

1. Great write up.

   Sad to see the live stream go, it feels like a step back but commercial interests must be satisfied to bring us the show I guess.

   Will you be attending any of the stages like last year at the TDF?

   • I know some of the roads well but I’ve been wanting to do some more detailed previews with visits. But I need some ad revenue to make it worthwhile and to cut several long stories short am still trying to get some partners for this site. Having only space for one ad means the site is clearer to read but it means bookings are harder to juggle plus I’m pressed for time just to cover the sport without doing ad sales.

2. for free TV coverage (not pirate feeds) check filmon they have RAI and ITV so there is coverage through that.

   ps. this is not an advert just advise for people who do not want to pay for their TV. I personally prefer the eurosport player because with very little money you have very good quality…

3. You should get more sponsors for your website. I’m sure with the kind of following you have, there will be no shortage. Also, if the side ads are not flashy, they could some times add galmour to the website.

   Thanks very much for this post, whets your appetite for the big feast.

4. Does anyone know if ITV4 will be televising the race?

   • I should add ITV4 in the UK

     • They didn’t last year, and (from Google) nothing comes up about it this year, in addition I’d have expected them to mention it at the end of their L-B-L coverage but didn’t. I’m a little surprised as they covered the Vuelta in the past when big UK names appeared in it, and with Wiggo going in this Giro I’d have expected them to pick up highlights at least.

       • ITV have the rights to ASO-owned races (which is why they can show the Tour, L-B-L, Paris-Roubaix, Paris-Tours, Paris-Nice, etc) and ASO part-own the Vuelta so they’ve had that for the last 2 years.

         I’d love for them to tie up a rights deal with Flanders Classics and RCS but until they do, no ITV coverage of the Giro, Flanders, etc.

         • +1 to that, it was fantastic coming home from work and putting La Vuelta highlights on! Shame it won’t be the same for the giro.

     • Eurosport with highlights on Sky, apparently. See: http://sport-onthebox.com/cycling/

       • That’s right, British viewers get live coverage with Eurosport and highlight via Sky.

5. Cheers, Inner Ring, great preview.

6. Thorough guide, I am sure INRNG you must be a Coronation flag seller as your “main” occupation. Don’t know where you get the time.

7. Great post as usual, INRNG.
   But why the gratuitous pic of paul smith? (A nod to future sponsors?) In any even someone should tell Mr. smith that one does not wear a belt if sporting a vest — at least you should not if you pretend to be a fashion guru as he does…

   • I believe Paul Smith designed the jerseys.

     • That’s right. Last year’s image was some models posing in the jersey… and equally gratuitous.

   • Perhaps you should tell him Oliver.

8. I checked the beIn SPORT website and there is absolutely nothing about the Giro! They don’t even list cycling as an “other” sport!

   • beIn had MSR coverage and I believe another Italian race earlier in the Spring, so I’d assume they’ll also show the Giro. This is in the US btw.

   • They’re definitely covering it but yes, they’ve not done much to promote it.

   • beIN’s onling programming guide only goes out the Thurs May 2 at this time, so it will be a few more days before the guide will tell us how much coverage, and when, they plan to show each day – unless they start promoting it before then.

     I called Comcast, and I can add the sports package that includes beIN1 and beIN2 for $10/month. I think I’ll pull the trigger if it looks like a decent amount of coverage each day.

9. I would add stages seven and nine to your list of must see viewing. Lots of rollinh hills and I have no doubt the breal will survive on both of these days. Perhaps we will see an escape artist in Pink prior to the long ITT in Stage 8.

   Unfortunately, in terms of excitement and drama, Wiggo will wear pink from stage 8 until the finish in Brescia. This Giro looks more like last years TdF than it does a Giro. So sad, too bad.

   • I think almost all the stages can bring their surprises, picking some to watch invariably means you exclude others and one of the best thing with the Giro is the daily variety, you don’t get several sprint stages in a row.

     • I know you can’t tip them all.

       But, like I said, You could see a rider from the break wearing pink after stage 7 and stage 9 is when the KOM contenders will announce themselves. 32 kom points available that day. For me, the Giro starts that day.

   • It seems the schedule for stages 7 and 8 could have been flipped to promote TV viewing and maybe even the race action; a 55km time trial on the weekend instead of that rolling stage 7 profile? If stage 7 followed the TT it would give GC contenders that lost time in the TT an opportunity to try and escape, as it seems unlikely that a big move will stay away on stage 9.

   • I wouldn’t be quite so sure. I thought Wiggins was the standout favorite but looking at the numerous steep summit finishes, I am no longer convinced. Wiggins certainly can win but someone like Quintana (is he riding?) could spring a surprise. When you crack on these crazy summit finishes, you can lose LOTS of time.

     INRNG, what are the odds of the Galibier being shut so early in May? I have ridden it twice later in the year and both times it was absolutely freezing – I recall it being closed as late as July a couple of years ago.

     A real shame the Giro has moved away from the free streaming. It was a godsend and got lots of viewers. A bit of advertising and they could be onto a real winner there.

     • The Col should be open for the race but the weather is the problem, it could easily be snowing up there which forces the cancellation of the stage. Summer is slow to arrive at these altitudes and the Giro has seen several stages altered because of bad weather in the past.

10. Great preview, grazie! And for a blatant commercial plug – we’ll take a very small group with us to see some key stages in the final week http://www.cycleitalia.com/la-corsa-rosa-tour.htm and we have a few places left at present if anyone out there wants to join us. We promise pedala forte and mangia bene!

11. “If Italy is shaped like a boot, today is a journey south to the toecap and the final climbs will see riders giving each other a kicking on the climb”
    Love it!

12. AWESOME guide!

    This gets me more excited about the Giro and the fact that I’m off work for the whole final week!

13. Thanks INRNG, just wanted to say how much I enjoy this site. Always fantastic updates. Chapeau!

14. Sky squad looks an interesting mix. From Sky press release:

    “Sir Bradley Wiggins – He follows his success at the 2012 Tour de France by mounting a challenge on the next Grand Tour, supported by one of Team Sky’s strongest line-ups to date.

    Dario Cataldo – A strong addition to Team Sky this season, he finished 12th in the last two editions of the Giro and, after winning an epic mountain-top finish at the Vuelta a Espana last season, his Grand Tour credentials are undeniable.

    Sergio Henao – Made an impression on his Giro debut in 2012, routinely riding at the head of the race on his way to ninth position overall. The Colombian has enjoyed a superb start to the season and will be a crucial asset in the mountains.

    Christian Knees – The former German national champion brings power and Grand Tour experience. One of three riders from the Tour-winning team, where he played a key role riding hard on the front and keeping Wiggins out of trouble on the road.

    Danny Pate – Reads a race like few others and his knowledge and selfless work ethic make the American an integral part of the nine-man unit. Pate rode alongside Wiggins as he chalked up a string of stage-race victories in 2012.

    Salvatore Puccio – Makes his Grand Tour debut at the Giro. The young Italian will tackle the biggest challenge of his career to date. Despite being just 23, he has already contested all five of cycling’s monument classics.

    Kanstantsin Siutsou – Brings both power and climbing prowess to the team. A former stage winner back in 2009, ‘Kosta’ makes his Grand Tour return after suffering a broken leg at the Tour de France last year.

    Rigoberto Urán – Team Sky’s highest-placed Giro finisher to date, riding to seventh overall and the young rider’s jersey last year. He has formed an exciting climbing partnership with compatriot Henao and will support Wiggins in the mountains.

    Xabier Zandio – The Spanish domestique is another rider who brings incredible Grand Tour know-how in addition to a laid back, calming and cheerful demeanour.

    Steve

15. What’s the Paolo Conte song you mention, his name is vaguely familiar.

    • Paolo Conte is famous in different ways. Cyclists might know him for his Bartali song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=La5JBSEdIe0 but his song “Via Con Me” has been used in films and ads http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYEjffrFm3c. The song in question for the stage is “La Fisarmonica di Stradella”

16. To me the best idea is to put the uphill TT on the eve of major mountain stages. It’s the kind of TT where all favourites must give all they have… and there might not be a lot left for the day after. I expect some of them will seriously crack on the Stelvio.
    The bad idea is that for this very reason nothing much will happen prior to Pora, except obviously the other TT.

    • The climbers can’t wait too late. But we’ll see with the TT. The worry for the race is that Wiggins takes a commanding lead and then Sky’s mountain train chases down everything but we’ll see what happens.

      • Then its up to the other teams to get away and stay away. One team alone doesnt make or break a race – its a mix of the parcours and how the other 21 (22 in this case) teams play their tactics too.

    • Call me sick and twisted but I’d like to see ’em take another run at a DOWNHILL chrono. They did this in 1989 I think, down the Poggio. Good descenders like Vincenzo Nibali would probably not take huge chunks of time from old geezers like Ivan Basso, so perhaps they use the bonus scheme to reward the guys who are good at going down and willing to take a risk or two? After all, it’s DOWNHILL skiing, no? There’s plenty of uphill stuff already.

      • It was in 1987, Roche’s magical year, and the Irishman outdescended everybody. He was the best descender I’ve seen, more than Nibali, Samuel Sánchez or Savoldelli. He was just flawless choosing his line around the bends, and in timing his braking, and had enormous power to start again after each turn. There is one piece of footage of the 1987 Galibier descent, where you see Delgado (a great descender), in yellow, in a super-aero off-showy position, and there comes Roche from behind, oh-so-naturally, carefully putting his hand on Delgado’s backside, like saying “oh, please, be my guest, you first, Mr. Yellow Jersey”. (Yes, that’s the stage where Roche attacked later from the Madeleine, and Delgado counter-attacked at the foot of La Plagne, only for both of them to finish within 5 secs, and exhausted).
        The thing with downhill TTs is that, spectacular as they surely are, they are deemed “dangerous”. I should certainly love to see one, for example down the Stelvio (Prato side) or Navacerrada (Segovia side). Actually a TT including both the ascent and the descent would be wonderful, with very unpredictable results… But coming to think of it, crashing at 90kph on one of those mountain roads is really no joke, helmet or no helmet… This kind of race would be no more dangerous than F1, but probably no less.

17. Yes Steve! Sky’s line up looks awesome. Pate and Knees are the Diesels. Suitsou seems to have hybrid skills. Uran, Henao and Cataldo are a very impressive set of SMDs. Zandio and Puccio will carry the bottles. Will be interesting to see who Sky position as the VP in case something happens to Wiggins – like if he refuses to come out of his bedroom one day or throws his bike at a mouthy Italian farmer. Henao seems slightly better than Uran but Uran seems to have more seniority at Sky. Or will they leave those 2 to bury themselves in the mountains and keep Swizzoo in reserve?

    Cataldo is a huge add. The Giro was always where he performed in the past and he’ll be key. It’s a slight gamble from Sky to not take Porte or Froome but I guess schedule dictates these things. Cataldo’s experience will be crucial in helping the Colombian young-guns time their efforts and make all the right ‘cacurlehshuns’.

    As for the route, it’s another old Kellyism that I’ll defer to – it’s not the route, it’s the riders. It doesn’t take huge mountains to blow a race apart – it takes aggressive riding. In the TDF last year, Sky’s team was simply too strong for any other team in the race to remotely trouble them. In this Giro, Sky’s team is less potent. However will the other teams be stronger? Will SaxyTinks save their best men for the TDF? Will Katusha do the same? Who will lead Movistar? Surely at least Astana and Nibali will bring the A-squad. They’ll represent a better challenge to Sky than Liquigas’ dismal efforts (they seemed to try much harder for Basso no?).

    Given Nibali’s form last week is it really wise to write him off so easily? Despite Wiggos undeniable talent, one thing he can’t do is go with the super acceleration in the big mountains. If Sky can pull it along at monolithic Sky pace for the whole 3 weeks then they will succeed. But with the amount of climbing (just the right amount really) they simply won’t be able to do it. Swap Henao and Uran for and Porte and froome maybe. But as it stands, no. At some point in week 3 Sir Bradley will be put in a situation where he has to solo chase a definitive megaburst from someone, probably Nibali. Can he chase it? The answer is not clear to me.

    Other contenders? Well I’ve done the reigning champ a disservice by not mentioning him already. He looked scary good in the Giro last year – J-Rod gapped him on the climbs but never came remotely close to breaking him. I think Hesjedal has the drive to repeat and he’s in form. Garmin have a decent selection of domestiques but again, who will they commit to the Giro?

    Caruso may be given semi-leadership of Katusha and he’ll do well. Ag2r will be fun to watch and will cameo on some big stages – can either Pozzovivo or Betancur style their way into the top 5? Rujano is a sleeper pick too, always does well when lots of mountains are involved. Top 10 at least beckons for him. Samu is dangerous and is probably well capable of winning a race like the Giro in his career – will now be the time? A podium should be the least of his ambitions, but then again Euskatel are hardly the most ambitious squad about.

    Also a note on time bonuses – I don’t like them in the big mountain stages. It can make riders reluctant to attack in the final kms because it’s more logical to save yourself for the sprint and gain seconds that way. Happened in the Vuelta last year and was an unnessecary addition to stages already illuminated with attacking riding. Time bonuses have their place in cycling, but not in the big stages of the GTs.

    • Agreed that options may be limited if Wiggins has unexpected issues, especially in the absence of Froome or Porte.

    • Good summary. I think they’ll miss Mick Rogers BTW. He was a good brain to have on the road.

    • Sky will likely go 1-2-3 in bothe the Giro and Tour this year, and the Vuelta if they feel like it.
      Froome is Wiggins 2012 2.0, apparently Porte is now capable of winning tours, and Stannard can now contest monuments.

      Marginal gains at work.

18. SKY have been clueless in the Classic’s and Liege was the icing on the cake. Come back Sean, come back Bobby all is forgiven. Marginal gains my backside!

    • What does their Classics campaign have to do with GTs? BTW Sean Yates wasnt DS for Classics – he was very much the chief stage race DS. As for Bobby J – again, never a DS but a coach – he coached Froome and Porte, amongst others, and they’ve hardly looked weaker by his absence.

      • Yes i was forgetting, there is Spring SKY and then there is Summer SKY and Sean never rode the Classic’s so he would have had no input there would he. Sorry if I am upsetting the Murdoch fan boys.

        • Oh dear, so that’s the best you can do – label anyone who points out something that’s inaccurate in your posts, ‘Murdoch fan boys.’ Room for improvement in your ability to debate, perhaps?

          • And anyway, I fail to see what the A-Team has to do with Cycling.

        • See, now you’ve gone and inspired the wrath of the Sky koolaid club. That’s a dangerous game with the blindly homer crowd as animated as they are at the moment.

          • See, now I’ve gone and inspired the wrath of the anti-Sky bandwagon. That’s a hilarious game with the blindly ignorant whiners as animated as they are at the moment.

19. That’s upsetting that the live Italian feed won’t be available. I used to watch the race early in the morning (PST) on my iPhone or iPad via La Gazzetta TV. Back to pirate feeds that only play on computers. Bollocks.

    • +1, Wake up and watch the final 50K of the Giro in bed on my iPad in bed.

20. I have a kind of nerdy question:
    say, somebody is leading the white jersey competition but is also second in the mountain classification. Now the leader of the mountain competition is also the rider in pink. who gets to wear blue? the rider in 3rd or the the rider in 2nd and the 2nd in the white jersey competition gets the white?

    • It’s not clear! There is normally a hierarchy of the jerseys but I can’t recall for the Giro which way it works. The pink jersey leads and I suspect the blue jersey is the next one.

      • I think it is

        1) Pink
        2) Red
        3) Blue (old gree)
        4) White

21. Quickly,

    I have followed sections of the Tour over the past years camping along the route. Is this permitted during the Giro? Any tips or links to resources would be huge. The clock is ticking! Thanks all.

    • I think you might be ok in the mountains but avoid some of the more urban areas. I suspect farms will be happy if you ask. All this is a guess.

      • Ok, Sounds consistant with what i experienced in France. “No sir, camping on the calanques in Marsielle is not permitted even though the finish was in Sisteron today…”
        That’s all the reassurance I need. Thanks!

    • Everybody and his fratello is on the mountain stages, camping out in whatever space they can find. As InnerRing advises, I’d not try to camp out in the middle of an arrival city though you might get away with it. Get the Giro guide put out by Bicisport (should be out very soon) for all the details..and maybe we’ll see you during the last week?

      • I am basing the trip on the long Pfingsten weekend here in Germany. That puts the galibier as my goal, with as much as can be packed in on either side. Thanks for the tips!

22. I believe that no.1 favourite is Nibali. He has the form, he has the team, he is Italian and the many of the stages are suited to him.. I believe that Astana strategy will be to bring Nibali and Wiggins at equal term to the first TT and then hope to loose around a minute.. With such a time gap there will be enough stages to take the win in Brescia.

    As for Wiggins and Sky, it is all about TT’s and control! Be infront of Astana in the TTT, not loose any time even through bonus seconds to Nibali before the TT and then try to maintain the gap until the second TT.

    For the rest I believe it is a point of just hanging on to the Sky and Astana trains and try to find small opportunities to attack!

    Usually there is a suprise in every GT, I just hope that someone has the legs to attack the two favorites and spice up the race..

    • Nibali is toast. Whatever Sky is doing, Nibali won’t be able to hang, while their (formerly) second tier riders drop the best climbers in the world.

      Which is a crying shame, as he is the most exciting grand tour racer in the world right now.

23. The Stelvio and Gavia passes are beautiful places and the Amalfi Coast Road is absolutely stunning. Yet the riders are doing all of these before the TV coverage starts.

    Even the Top Gear guys love the Passo Di Stelvio http://www.topgear.com/uk/videos/worlds-best-road

24. Dear all,

    I have organized a fantasy league for the Giro d’Italia on Scorito.com and would like to invite you too!
    The game is great fun and works easy:
    –       Choose a team of 16-20 cyclists
    –       Choose 3 team leaders
    –       Pick your line up of 9 cyclists for each stage
    –       Pick one team leader for each stage

    It is possible to join until Saturday 4th of May (5 minutes before start of the first stage). Let’s see who has the best knowledge of cycling! Click on the link below to join!

    http://www.scorito.com/giro2013/basdebrouwer

    Regards, Bas de Brouwer

    • Looks great, I’m joining. On that note, which sprinters are going to be to the fore? Cav and Meersman seem to be obvious choices, but who are the other contenders for the sprints? Perhaps some dark-ish horses like Gatto…anyone else come to mind?

      • Nice that you will join the game Chris, let’s find out who is the best cycling manager 😉

        about the sprinters: I think you should not select Cav and Meersman both because they are in the same team. I think Meersman is pulling the sprint for Cav en therefor he will not finish in the top 5…. but that’s my opinion.

        Good luck!

25. Hesjedal was a DNG in Romandie today. Not sure if that was planned, to get ready for the Giro, or if something is wrong. He didn’t have a great prologue either.

    • It was planned. Weather getting worse and he was only along to stretch his legs anyway. Ryder will be fine.

26. GIRO time, always something nice to look at besides the bikes and a few years ago I spotted a tree decorated in pink ribbon it looked simply beautiful. Great how some go to great lengths to add to the race.

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