By Fabio and Janna
Grande Ciclismo. The Giro reminds us of great racing history - the seven men
who doubled (Giro and Tour de France) - Coppi, Anquetil, Merckx, Hinault, Roche,
Indurain, Pantani - or the man with the most podium places in one race - that
would be Gimondi, with nine. There are other epic moments, such as Tyler
Hamilton, who not only finished the race last year with a broken shoulder, but
climbed the podium as well. And this year, Mario Cipollini, who looks to tie or
better Alfredo Binda's record 41 Giro Stage victories (the Lion King is also
close on the heels of Merckx for overall Giro and Tour victories - the Cannibal
has 159).
But even without avalanches, snow or the fact that the road calls the true
luck of the race, other external factors have wreaked havoc in recent years,
changing entire seasons for some, careers for others. Any way you look at it,
for the tifosi, the Giro is a kind of "hold your breath" race - one never knows
what will happen, how soon, or who will be struck.
Nevertheless, nineteen teams take to the roads of Italy tomorrow - ten
Italian teams and nine "straniere" (foreign teams). The Daily Peloton will be bringing you live race coverage every day
starting Saturday, as well as special daily reports from Locutus (some of you
may recall his Vuelta "Jamon" Awards or the Tour's "Jambon Awards" from last
year) as well as the latest news, which hopefully will not include perqusizioni
dei carabinieri (anti-drug police raids) this year...
Additional Giro information including details on the climbs, the jersey and
Giro palmares, as well as complete coverage of the race when it commences, is
available on the Daily Peloton Giro d'Italia hub
page.
And now, without any further ado, here are links to the latest news articles,
profiles and maps for each of the 21 stages.
The Giro Countdown
Stage Maps and Profiles (click for larger images)
Stage One: May 10 - Saturday: Lecce (Giro del Salento) - km. 192
Map
Stage 2: May 11 - Sunday: Copertino-Matera - km. 174
Map
Stage 3: May 12 - Monday: Policoro-Terme Luigiane - km. 145
Map
Stage 4: May 13 - Tuesday: Terme Luigiane-Vibo Valentia - km. 175
Map
Stage 5: May 14 - Wednesday: Messina-Catania - km. 169
Map
Stage 6: May 16 - Friday: Maddaloni-Avezzano - km. 218
Map
Stage 7: May 17 - Saturday: Avezzano-Terminillo - km. 146
Map
Stage 8: May 18 - Sunday: Rieti-Arezzo - km. 217
Map
Stage 9: May 19 - Monday: Arezzo-Montecatini Terme - km. 160
Map
Stage 10: May 20 - Tuesday: Montecatini Terme-Faenza - km. 200
Map
Stage 11: May 21 - Wednesday: Faenza-San Doną di Piave - km. 199
Map
Stage 12: May 22 - Thursday: San Doną di Piave-Monte Zoncolan - km.
185
Map
Stage 13: May 23 - Friday: Pordenone-Marostica - km. 155
Map
Stage 14: May 24 - Saturday: Marostica-Alpe di Pampeago - km. 162
Map
Stage 15: May 25 - Sunday: Merano-Bolzano (ITT) - km. 42
Map
Stage 16: May 26 - Monday: Arco di Trento-Pavia - km. 207
Map
Stage 17: May 28 - Wednesday: Salice Terme-Asti - km. 130
Map
Stage 18: May 29 - Thursday: Santuario di Vicoforte-Ponte Chianale -
km. 175
Map
Stage 19: May 30 - Friday: Canelli-Cascate del Toce - km. 236
Map
Stage 20: May 31 - Saturday: Cannobbio-Cantł - km. 122
Map
Stage 21: June 01 - Sunday: Milano Idroscalo-Milano Piazza Duomo (ITT)
- km. 40
Map
Maps and profiles courtesy of La Gazzetta dello Sport/Giro d'Italia.
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