Having read La Gazzetta Dello Sport last week, time to review how most Italians follow the Giro: on TV via the national broadcaster RAI. As well as the live race coverage there’s plenty more in and around the race to watch. What it’s like to spend a day watching this?
Today’s stage of the Giro features the sharp climb of the Forcella Mostaccin near the finish. The climb gets the attention because of the race yet the small town of Maser which lies at the foot of the hill is arguably more interesting because it’s central to the sport. This town and the area around it is host to Pinarello, Sidi, Campagnolo, Selle Italia and more, while Segafredo coffee and Oakley sunglasses all have connections to this small part of Italy. More than ever they’re crucial to the Italian economy.
The Giro needs a rest after a busy opening week with many stages that have seen the script ripped up. Climbers went backwards on mountaintop finishes and took time in time trials. It’s been a week of skirmishing with riders battling for seconds. The race is heading to the Alps this week and the promise of real battles among the top riders. So far so good.
Do you have a morning routine? With the Giro d’Italia on there’s nothing better than starting the day with some Italian coffee and La Gazzzetta Dello Sport, the official newspaper of the Giro. Here’s a look at the newspaper, it’s history and what it’s like to read.
There’s something wrong with a foreign start of a grand tour. The Giro starting in the Netherlands is the equivalent of ordering a pizza with toppings of herring and gouda. Yet each time these foreign starts happen they’re a success enjoyed by thousands.
Did Arnaud Démare cheat his way to Sanremo? Even asking the question is explosive as it’s a rhetorical device, a loaded question. The Milan-Sanremo winner has seen his win tarnished by allegations first aired in La Gazzetta Dello Sport from two riders that he was driven up the climb of the Cipressa in order to get back to the peloton after his crash. So far there’s no proof but the story is interesting for the way it shows us how internet polemics and conspiracy theories work.
Part of Milan-Sanremo’s ultimate double-act, the Cipressa could be seen as inconsequential climb for the way no rider has managed to launch a winning move here for 20 years. However compared to the Poggio it is by far the harder of the two climbs and if it doesn’t pick the winner, it makes for plenty of losers who must race for over six and and half hours only to see their hopes vanish on these slopes. What’s it like to ride on an ordinary day?
Liège-Bastogne-Liège was first run in 1892, Paris-Roubaix in 1896, the Tour of Flanders in 1913. These races have become legendary thanks to their rich history. The Strade Bianche race can trace its history back to 2007, a time when Jay-Z and Rihanna topped the charts. This weekend marks the tenth edition of the race. It has become an instant classic.
With new races springing up and 21 new applicants for the World Tour calendar what can the instant success of this race tell us?
Religion and sport combine once a year in Italy as the Tour of Lombardy passes the Ghisallo chapel. This year’s edition was a communion between Vincenzo Nibali and Italian cycling fans. With 16km to go Nibali attacks on the descent from Civiglio and uses his descending skills to distance a select group of climbers.
The first summit finish of the 2015 Giro d’Italia, the road up Monte Gomito to Abetone is something to look forward to but also a worry. It’s harder than the profile suggests and coming at the end of Stage 5 it could reveal who will win the race outright. Fanciful? Not really, it’s happened before.
But enough fretting about the future, it’s been a classic climb and the launchpad for Fausto Coppi’s first Giro win. But most of time the Passo dell’Abetone is a regular destination for thousands of cyclists in central Italy keen to test their form on a long climb.