A big day in the Apennines on roads where the Giro seldom ventures. This is a day many will have marked for the breakaway while the GC contenders will hope to avoid any traps.
Who Can Replace Nibali?
As friends on the Bidon podcast remarked in their Giro preview show, the Giro is on course for the longest ever streak without an Italian winner, the last time the race had a home winner was Vincenzo Nibali in 2016. He’s just announced he’s retiring and it’d be nice to be able to list several candidates rising up the ranks who could replace him but that’s not easy… still let’s have a go.
Giro d’Italia Stage 6 Preview
A trip up the coast and a likely sprint finish, a blogger’s rest day with a route so obvious there’s more to say about citrus fruits than the coastal course.
Giro d’Italia Stage 5 Preview
A sprint stage. Yes there’s a climb of over a thousand metres to scale along the way but it’s featured in recent years and the stage has ended in a sprint so it’ll take a team or two to really apply themselves to change the outcome.
Giro d’Italia Stage 4 Preview
The Giro is back in Italy and it’s straight into the mountains with a summit finish on Mount Etna.
Book Review – Al Giro d’Italia by Dino Buzzati
With a rest-travel day in the Giro, why not pull out a book whether you’re travelling or looking for something to replace the TV coverage for a day? Dino Buzzati’s account of the 1949 Giro d’Italia stands the test of time. A writer dispatched as a special correspondent it is as much the story of Italy and its people as it is of the race where Fausto Coppi and Gino Bartali duel. Many of the Giro’s sights and sounds from 1949 often find a reflection or an echo today.
It’s been translated into English, Spanish, German and French so many readers can enjoy it.
Giro d’Italia Stage 3 Preview
A stage for the sprinters including a dragstrip finish along the shores of Lake Balaton.
Giro d’Italia Stage 2 Preview
A time trial stage to reshape the overall classification. It’s also a small GC day, a form test and also because today supplies one third of the Giro’s total TT distance so anyone hoping to use their time trial bike as a tool to gain time on their rivals needs to get the most out of this stage.
Giro d’Italia Stage 1 Preview
The Giro begins with a road stage that’s all about the uphill finish at Visegrad. Who will take the maglia rosa?