We’re into day three of the Six Days of the Giro series, and it’s time to hit the dirt.
If ever a Keepers Tour goes to Italy, then we’re doing this climb. No doubt. Climbing on gravel up a real mountain, what’s not to love?
In fact, you could probably do an entire Italian Gravé KT, such are the number of iconic dirt roads in the country’s great races. The Gavia (before they went and ruined it with tarmac), Plan Des Corones, Strade Bianche, they’ve all seen their share of legendary racing on their unpaved surfaces, but the one that stands out most for me is the Colle delle Finestre.
Coming from a mountain bike background, the notion of racing road bikes on dirt really tickled my fancy, as if it needed tickling anyway; so when the organisers of Il Giro announced they were sending Stage 19 of the 2005 race up the Finestre, well, we needed to witness that one live. But the month of May wasn’t on the radar of TV stations in Australia back then, and even July only got selective attention. If you were lucky enough (meaning you could afford it) to have pay tv, the genius idea was to subscribe to Italian station RAI for the month, and watch every stage of the Giro live, complete with Italian commentary. It didn’t matter if we weren’t proficient in the language, we could recognise the riders’ names, dammit.
So we gathered that Saturday night, with a gut-full of pizza and Nastro Azzuro to fuel us through the late/early hours. We had an interpreter, or so we told one of the gathered throng who spent the night believing the updates coming from the K-Man were actually genuine. “What are they saying now?” “Ah, still climbing.” “Getting tired.” “Di Luca still on the front.” To this day, that guy probably thinks Italian cycling commentators are the masters of stating the bleedin’ obvious.
What was bleedin’ obvious was that the racing was pretty good, but the spectacle on the mountain was amazing. Thousands lined the roadside and clung to craggy cliffs, creating a stadium-type atmosphere on the higher reaches of the Alpine pass. Being on the tail-end of the EPO era (I mean, Gonchar climbing with those guys? Come on!), the combatants rode the climb at a fast, even tempo; Di Luca, resplendent in all-white of the Pro Tour leader, never left the front for the entire climb, with Simoni and Rujano (an Evanescent if ever there was one) in wheels two and three. They never budged. Maglia Rosa Savoldelli was losing time each kilometre, and Simoni was virtual leader on the road as they summited. Il Falcone used his famed descending skills to pull back time on the descent and save his GC lead. Luckily, Frank wasn’t on the descent and Paolo made it down in one piece this time.
If the stage had finished on the gravelly summit, it would have been decisive, but just for shits and giggles they sent the riders up to Sestriere for some added cruelty. But the Finestre had made its mark on the race, and on me.
Full video of the climb and stage finish:
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Great racing! We have a little gem here in P-Town called "Otto Miller". It's a soul crusher:
Hmmmm, that was a fantastic stage. I remember watching that. DiLuca in his all white kit. I liked him back then. He must have been well "prepared" that day. This is what separates the Giro from the Tour, epic stages like this one, festooned with fans right up to the sharp edged summit.
Anatomy of this photo -- FrancoPinkCastelliGuidoSpriteCocaCola74GiroVictory
Just reread SABOTAGING THE SABOTEUR for first time in a long time. While the story was funny enough on its own, well the introduction of @Adrian put it over the top.
I just got this when I clicked on the link to Frank's sabotage:
@pakrat
Fuck me, that @adrian introduction and KitCarson's Yoda replies are too damn funny, Jarvis too. We are a funny bunch when an Adrian stumbles into the room. Gold I say!
An all-gravel KT would be hot!
@G'rilla
No CX bikes though... I'm onto you.
Cracking article and so addictive to watch that kind of stage. I was at the Tour of Turkey this year and had a long chat with Team Saxo Bank after the race and it was really interesting some of the things they were telling me. The most interesting thing was that they were running their Paris-Roubaix bikes for the whole of the ToT because the road conditions were deemed to be so bad. Got me to thinking about what kind of kit changes they make for such an interesting type of climb and surface as this? Is the only difference to the road bike the addition of some gatorskin type tyres in order to minimise punctures?
Also if you really want to get close to the riders, as in sit and talk for a good 30 to 40 minutes then the Tour of Turkey is great for that especially the last stage in Istanbul. Pictures aren't that great as I was chatting and completely forgot to get some taken with me, oh well next year!
@brett Great article. Stick that into the Italian KT itinerary and I'll definitely be there.
There's something about riding in the mountains, the sense of remoteness, that really adds to the occasion. To do it properly, the KT Ghiaia Del Colle Delle Finestre would have to be done without a SAG wagon.