Ginger or Mary Ann? Cats or dogs? The Beatles or the Rolling Stones? VHS or Beta? Mary-Kate Olsen or Ashley Olsen? Some arguments are as old as time itself. In the context of cycling, choosing between the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France may be as difficult as choosing between VHS and Beta was for me.
It took me so long to make that decision that both formats became obsolete by the time I settled on Beta. So I bought a DVD player, only to realize that Blu-ray was the new standard. Luckily, as cycling fans, we don't have chose one over the other. We can enjoy both, and relish the unusual factors that play into each race. If you're new to cycling, or new to the Giro, let me fill you in on a few details.
In the Giro, the leader's jersey is pink, the roads are often unpaved and narrow, riders may encounter snow, and the climbs are so steep that riders sometimes end up riding upside down, like that one rollercoaster at Six Flags. It's this type of lunacy that makes the Giro what it is. This year's edition is no different. Set to commemorate the 105th anniversary of Italy's unification, this edition of the race will celebrate the nation's history the only way that Italian race organizers know how: an unbelievable amount of climbing, seven mountaintop finishes, and one uphill time trial. Favorites VIncenzo Nibali, Denis Menchov and Michele Scarponi started their effort to dethrone Alberto Contador today. A difficult task, since the Spaniard has won the last five Grand Tours that he's raced in.
Today's stage was a 11.9 mile team time trial through the streets of Torino. Like other team time trials, this one could be seen as anti-climactic by some, but I think otherwise. Even if the dynamics of a TTT bore you, there are always other aspects of the race to enjoy. Take team Geox-TMC, for example, whose riders gave themselves the sign of the cross at the start ramp more times than any Pope will during his lifetime. Stefano Garzelli stepped onto the start ramp with a custom painted helmet, which made it hard for viewers to decide whether they should look at the paint job on the helmet, or his unusually shaped eyebrows. Not to be outdone, Farnese-Vini riders wore more dayglo clothing than the average cycling commuter.
But of course there was a sporting component to the day's activities as well. As expected, Katusha lost a significant amount of time today. They finished 20th, 1 minute, 4 seconds down from HTC Highroad. This puts Katusha leader Joaquim Rodriguez in a tough position, and perhaps in an even bigger deficit that he would have put himself in, had this been an individual time trial. Most surprising today, was RadioShack's second place, especially considering the strength of the team (or lack thereof) that they brought to the Giro. Overall, this promises to be a wildly entertaining Grand Tour, one that will perhaps settle the whole Tour versus Giro question. As for VHS versus Beta ... the jury is still out as far as I'm concerned.
It took me so long to make that decision that both formats became obsolete by the time I settled on Beta. So I bought a DVD player, only to realize that Blu-ray was the new standard. Luckily, as cycling fans, we don't have chose one over the other. We can enjoy both, and relish the unusual factors that play into each race. If you're new to cycling, or new to the Giro, let me fill you in on a few details.
In the Giro, the leader's jersey is pink, the roads are often unpaved and narrow, riders may encounter snow, and the climbs are so steep that riders sometimes end up riding upside down, like that one rollercoaster at Six Flags. It's this type of lunacy that makes the Giro what it is. This year's edition is no different. Set to commemorate the 105th anniversary of Italy's unification, this edition of the race will celebrate the nation's history the only way that Italian race organizers know how: an unbelievable amount of climbing, seven mountaintop finishes, and one uphill time trial. Favorites VIncenzo Nibali, Denis Menchov and Michele Scarponi started their effort to dethrone Alberto Contador today. A difficult task, since the Spaniard has won the last five Grand Tours that he's raced in.
Today's stage was a 11.9 mile team time trial through the streets of Torino. Like other team time trials, this one could be seen as anti-climactic by some, but I think otherwise. Even if the dynamics of a TTT bore you, there are always other aspects of the race to enjoy. Take team Geox-TMC, for example, whose riders gave themselves the sign of the cross at the start ramp more times than any Pope will during his lifetime. Stefano Garzelli stepped onto the start ramp with a custom painted helmet, which made it hard for viewers to decide whether they should look at the paint job on the helmet, or his unusually shaped eyebrows. Not to be outdone, Farnese-Vini riders wore more dayglo clothing than the average cycling commuter.
