Part 2 of our alphabetised take on Giro101! (If you haven’t read Part 1 yet, click here)
N is for Nera
The maglia nera to be precise – the Giro’s version of the Tour’s lanterne rouge. The honour went to Guiseppi Fonzi in 2017 and in the Giro’s unlikeliest double, he repeated the feat this year. In a remarkably consistent fashion to boot.
It all nearly went very wrong when Fonzi got into the breakaway on stage 18 and found himself upwards of 15 mins ahead. Could a stage win be looming?
He made it to Rome and even had a little fun when the racing eventually started by popping off the front with a teammate
The black jersey may not be presented on the podium, but it’s an honour to receive it nonetheless
Here he is with the maglia rosa. Fonzi n Froome – has to be a Happy Days spin-off there, surely! [Aaaaaayyyy – ed]
O is for Over
Bike racing is capricious. One minute everything is going to plan, the next your hopes and dreams are snatched away from you and it’s over.
There is something about this image from Matthew Beaudin that captures the emptiness of Simon Yates in the aftermath of stage 19. when he lost the maglia rosa and tumbled out of the top ten in spectacular fashion. He gave his interviews afterwards, but right there it just hurt. What words are there in moments such as these?
One stage later and Groupama FDJ’s captain Thibaut Pinot saw his dreams of a podium in Rome slip away on the first climb of the day. He’d been magnificently stomping his way through Italy but now he could hardly pedal. Surrounded by teammates he (unwisely) gritted his way to the finish only to be rushed to hospital dehydrated and suffering from pneumonia. It was hard to watch.
Embed from Getty ImagesP is for Peloton point of view
From Tom Dumoulin‘s expressive quotes
To the dry wit of Trek Segafredo’s Ryan Mullen
We’ve been spoilt for choice for the inside scoop from those that know how it feels to wake up in the morning knowing you have to face the Zoncolan, not just watch the action from the sofa
Nico Denz (AG2R La Mondiale), the young German riding his first Grand Tour, has written a blog about his experience Here’s a little translated excerpt from the stage where he was just pipped to a stage victory by Matej Mohoric.
Embed from Getty ImagesWhat a day. I’ll probably remember that for a long time. At the moment I am still a bit confused. I am not sure if I am disappointed not to have won or would rather be happy about my 2nd place. At the moment, the disappointment prevails over the big coup.
But still; there are not many such crazy days and then to be at the very front in the end still fills me with pride.
In contrast, Sunweb’s Chad Haga distilled the complexity of every stage to twitter-sized jewels with his over-simplified stage reviews
Over on Instagram, Alex Dowsett‘s post’s provided a snapshot of life in the Katusha-Alpecin camp.
If you’ve not been listening to Mitchell Docker‘s Life in the Peloton podcasts, then you have missing a treat. He’s produced a whole series for the Giro interviewing his EF Education First teamies.
Q is for Quirky
It’s always the out of ordinary that catches my attention. Whoever is running the Quick-Step Floors twitter account deserves a medal for quirkiness. Sure, there’s all the stage action and post-stage reports, but mixed in among them have been some real gems…
And I’d say they were definitely Lord of the Rings fans
Wijtze Valkema produced a charming set of illustrations to mark the finishing position of Laurens Ten Dam for each of the 21 stages. You can find them all on his Twitter account as #liveslowdrawfast
This is my favourite….
Staying with drawing skills, the Global Cycling Network team challenged riders to draw a bike in 15 seconds.
R is for Roommates
Taking part in a Grand Tour means you’re spending close to four weeks with your team. Take it from King Kelly, you need a shared sense of humour and synchronised sleep patterns
Trek Segafredo’s Mads Pedersen and Ryan Mullen tick both boxes
S is for Side by side
Winning stages
Embed from Getty ImagesJourney’s end
Through no man’s land
Chatting in your mother tongue
Embed from Getty ImagesMission accomplished
Two old friends
T is for Tanti auguri a te
A birthday on Zoncolan day? Surely an extra slice of cake for Alessandro De Marchi
Birthday pie! What more would anyone wish for on their special day
Except perhaps to pop the prosecco on the stage winner’s podium
Embed from Getty ImagesHappy Birthday Mikel Nieve, a brilliant finish to a storming Giro by the Mitchelton-Scott guys.
U is for Unforgettable
Whichever way you want to slice it, Stage 19 will be talked about for years to come.
With the Colle della Finestre on the menu (my favourite climb in Italy), fans were abuzz with excitement. Everyone was expecting a huge day for the GC contenders and the word around the team buses was that Sky would attack.
I don’t think anyone predicted precisely what went down on the Queen stage. Sky set out their stall with a blistering pace on the hairpins at the start of the day. Riders were shed from the bunch faster than maple leaves in autumn – including the maglia rosa who never regained the favourites group again.
That last fierce pull by Kenny Elissonde to launch Chris Froome‘s attack – I’ve never seen him ride better. Well you know, except when he conquered the Angliru in Vuelta 2013 and rode for days as King of the Mountains in Vuelta 2016 – his coming-of-age ride #myleftfoot
The 80km solo raid. The complexity of the chase behind.
A 3 minute 22 second deficit overturned; the pink jersey changing hands; the reaction. Even now, the whole stage seems unreal… unbelievable…
It’s never all about the podium on days like these…
Rusty Woods captures the brutality day…
V is for Vivz
Elia Viviani was bitterly disappointed to miss the 100th Giro last year. This year, with a Quick-Step team in full pomp, he came, he raced and he conquered. Four stage wins, two in Israel and two in Italy and styling it out in the maglia ciclamino from Tel Aviv to Rome.
Embed from Getty ImagesEach win was taken with track-skill smarts and speed that only an Olympic Omnium champion could bring. Add that to a team with the power and discipline to control a chaotic finale, the experiences to put things right and the best lead-out men in the business and it’s no wonder the QuickSteppers walked away with the maglia ciclamino for the second year running.
Embed from Getty ImagesLast word to …
W is for What happens in Roma stays in Roma
Ten circuits of the heart of Rome’s Centro Storico, neutralised for the GC after three circuits due to the cobbles, corners and the crater-like condition of the road. The final sprint was taken by a jubilant BORA-hansgrohe team and Sam Bennett‘s third stage win. Then, the pink confetti of the final podium presentations and the Giro all over – la basta
Finally, the riders can relax and celebrate getting through a hard three weeks of racing and social media comes alive
It didn’t all go smoothly, however
As for after Rome, I’ve gotta say I prefer Sacha Modolo‘s plan to the reality of Dan Lloyd‘s.
X is for X-files
Strange happenings for which I have no explanation…
Y is Yates – Simon Philip Yates
Simon Philip Yates is a born racer (but why we’ve all of a sudden decided to call him by his full name, we have no idea). He knew he needed a buffer for stage 16’s time trial and three minutes was the figure bandied about. In true British fashion, he set about gaining seconds and letting the minutes worry about themselves. Mitchelton-Scott were immensely strong and even when their ace up the sleeve Esteban Chaves had a jour sans they carried right on controlling the race and setting up Yates for those all-important bonus seconds.
Chris Juul Jensen explains all about the engines in the team…
A second place on Mount Etna put him in pink and from then on Yates attacked with panache on every finish that suited his style.
Victories on the ramps of Gran Sasso, Ossimo and Sappada, a second at Monte Zoncolan and he was sitting on a nest egg of 2:11 mins before the time trial, and still holding nearly a minute on Dumoulin after it. A dreadful day on the slopes of Colle della Finestre tumbled him right out of contention. The best rider over 18 stages? Without a doubt. A race leader, on the attack, is what every bike race needs. We know he’ll learn the lessons and come back stronger and smarter in his next Grand Tour.
Z is for Zoncolan
Or the mythical, mighty Monte Zoncolan to give it its full title. As soon as the route was announced the excitement about this stage started to build.
At 11 kilometres, 12% average gradient with vicious ramps at 23%, Zoncolan is brutal, relentless and agonising. From the moment you ride through the gates of hell at the start to the exit from the tunnel into that iconic natural amphitheatre at the finish.
Chris Froome adds the climb to his palmares…
… but it’s an experience none of the riders will forget. There was even a Dane in the break!
Embed from Getty ImagesJack Haig supplied the obligatory wheelie #chapeau
In case you were in any doubt how brutal this climb is…
You would not get me in one of these crazy, swinging cubicles for love nor money – stuff of nightmares
That’s it from #Giro101 roundup. Here at VeloVoices Towers, we love the Giro with a passion that cannot be quenched. And we all agree that the trophy, the Trofeo Senza Fine, is second to none in beauty and elegance. Long may it shine.
Embed from Getty ImagesAmore infinito
For all stage results and final classifications, go to the official Giro website.