Giro 100 preview and remembering Michele Scarponi
The 2017 Giro d'Italia - the 100th edition of the race - will be veiled in sadness and mournful reflection as the peloton and the wider cycling world comes to terms with the untimely death of one of the most charismatic and well-loved Italian cyclists ever: Michele Scarponi. L'Aguila di Filottrano (The Eagle of Filottrano) was killed after being hit by a van near his home after a training ride and had only just returned from finishing fourth in the Tour of the Alps 24 hours earlier where he won stage one.
A diminutive figure at only five foot seven, Scarponi's personality and boundless charisma made him the comic relief of the peloton and the teams he rode for, often joking around before a big stage to lighten the mood or start a sing-song in the middle of the peloton during a long stage. At 37, Scarponi was a veteran of the peloton and despite not achieving the individual success of his contemporaries - Alejandro Valverde for example - was an invaluable domestique and a key part of Astana teams that won a trifecta of Grand Tours across three seasons with Vincenzo Nibali (2014 Tour de France and 2016 Giro d'Italia) and Fabio Aru (2015 Vuelta a Espana).
The only blot on his career came in 2006 with a 21 month ban after he was implicated in the Operacion Puerto doping scandal of which his team, Liberty Seguros, was at the centre. He admitted blood-doping and being a client of Doctor Eufemiano Fuentes.
Scarponi's only major individual successes came in 2009 and 2011 when he returned from his ban, riding for Diquigiovanni-Androni and Lampre respectively. In 2009 he started the season winning the Italian spring classic Tirreno-Adriatico - only taking the overall lead on the penultimate stage - and went on to win a stage of that year's Giro, while in 2011 he marked the biggest achievement of his career by finishing second in the Giro d'Italia. He was later awarded first place (pictured above) after Alberto Contador was stripped of the maglia rosa for a positive drug test at the previous year's Tour de France.
He will be remembered as a warm, genuinely larger-than-life character and will be commemorated on this year's race when the peloton passes over the Mortirolo on stage 16 before the peloton tackle a loop that brings them over the Stelvio twice. It made its Giro d’Italia debut in 1990 and has been ridden 11 times since then. In 2010, Ivan Basso attacked on the Mortirolo, a move that would put him into pink, with teammate Vincenzo Nibali, but Scarponi was hot on their tail. Scarponi would easily beat the pair to take his last of three Giro d’Italia stage wins. He would finish just short of the overall podium.
Giro 100 Route
In this 100th edition of the Giro, organisers RCS Sport have honoured history by drawing up a route that covers almost the entirety of Italy (logistically the west coast couldn't be included) and visits the birthplaces of Italy's most famous cycling rivals: the innovative, industrial hero Fausto Coppi and the conservative, religious Gino Bartali.
Both riders represent different eras of Italy - in a country that at the time of their rivalry in the 1940s and 50s had only been united fewer than 100 years previously - Bartali: the establishment favourite who was well acquainted with the regime of Prime Minister Benito Mussolini, and Coppi, his younger by five years: who represented the working class and the beginning of the golden age of cycling. These two sub-narratives of Italian society were first brought together on Bartali's team in 1940 and became combustible, to the point where they imploded at the 1948 World Championships held in the Netherlands, where both climbed off rather than help the other. The Italian cycling association said: "They have forgotten to honour the Italian prestige they represent. Thinking only of their personal rivalry, they abandoned the race, to the approbation of all sportsmen". Their rivalry would dominate cycling coverage and define Italian sport for years to come until Coppi's death in 1960, aged just 40.
Starting in Alghero on Sardinia, the race takes its first rest day after stage three and heads south east to Cefalu on Sicily for stage four and an ascent of Mount Etna, before crossing to the coastal city of Reggio Calabria on the south eastern toe of the Italian mainland on stage six.
The middle part of the race traces a path from the toe of Italy, along the bridge to the heel, and gradually winds its way up through the Apenines to stage nine, where the challenging finish up to Blockhaus is sure to give the race its first big general classification shake-up.
After the penultimate rest day it's the first of two flat individual time trials at Foligno before the peloton heads through Bartali's birthplace of Florence on stage 11, into the Alps and finally to the Dolomites for the final stage - an individual time trial from the Monza circuit to Milan.
Undoubtedly this Giro will be decided with a sequence of some of the toughest mountain stages in Grand Tour history. It begins with stage 14 starting from Castellania - the birthplace of Coppi - before the Queen stage on the 16th race day which summits the Stelvio pass twice - the Cima Coppi (largest climb of the Giro) - finishing with a fast 30km descent into Bormio. Heading east into the Dolomites, stage 17 doesn't contain any monstrous climbs but isn't to be taken lightly either whereas stage 18 features no fewer than three Cols in the Trentin-Alto Adige region. The penultimate stage, stage 20, takes on the infamous site of many First and Second World War battles, Monte Grappa, before a flat run into Asiago.
The final week will play a huge part in making this race the most thrilling in its history, with the contenders keen to take control of the maglia rosa but not use all their energy before the final day's 28km time trial.
Speaking to The Cycling Podcast, Giro d'Italia organiser Mauro Vegni said he wanted Giro 100 to be "designed as to include the whole of Italy" and show "Italianicity": "We have the aim of commemorating and celebrating individuals who've brought glory to the country in sport.
"Above all though, what this 100th edition will hopefully convey in some way, is the desire to be Italian - what we call 'Italianicity' - which is valued abroad but perhaps less so in Italy. It's about this pride in being Italian and the sense that we're a country that's loved and admired all over the world.
"In the 100th edition of the Giro, we wanted a route and a race that would tell our story through cycling. The central theme is this idea of 'Italianicity'. This idea of living 'Al Italiana', which is something that gives us prestige and kudos in so many other countries, because we represent the 'Il Bel Paese' - the Beautiful Land. We wanted to show the world a country with fantastic landscapes, culture, art, fashion, a country that has everything but that we Italians ourselves don't fully appreciate sometimes.
"This is the story we want to tell. What it means to be Italian, what are we Italians like, what's our history, how many difficulties and disappointments we've endured but what ability we have to get back up and to rise again. At the moment we look as though we're about to breath our last breath, that's when you see the Italians come to the fore. The Italian will wriggle out of trouble, an Italian will rise up and the Italian will do it in a blaze of glory. This is what we wanted to show."
The Contenders
We know which are going to be the decisive stages, but who is going to be consistently vying for the pink jersey? Unfortunately the big Italian hopeful, Astana's leader Fabio Aru, was hurt in a crash a few weeks ago and won't be at the Giro, leaving the race with only Vincenzo Nibali, the reigning champion, as the main contender representing Italy. What makes it an even sadder loss for Aru is the race starts in his hometown. Speaking of hometowns, the dauntingly monikered Shark of Messina, Nibali, will be racing into Messina on stage five, although he won't have a chance of victory, seeing as the stage is earmarked for the sprinters.
It's fair to say there are around 12 riders who could win a place on the podium, but in my opinion only five have a chance of winning the coveted maglia rosa.
Nairo Quintana
We haven't seen much of Movistar's Colombian mountain goat this season, but of the three stage races he's entered this season he's won two, including his second Tirreno-Adriato title.
The Giro, as a race in general, definitely suits him with its vast amount of climbing and makes the 2014 winner easily the out and out favourite with no Chris Froome in the race.
In the eight Grand Tours he's ridden since 2012, Quintana has won two and only finished outside the top four on two occasions, making him one of the favourites for every race he enters.
Vincenzo Nibali
There's nothing much to say about Bahrain-Merida's Nibali other than he's in the top five of the best Grand Tour riders in the world right now - alongside Chris Froome, Nairo Quintana, Alejandro Valverde and Alberto Contador.
As reigning champion and only major Italian representative (other than in the sprinting classification) Nibali will be more than able to battle Quintana for the pink jersey. He's proved he's the best rider on Italian soil with two wins in the last three editions and it's going to take either a major crash/injury or big time loss somewhere to keep him off the podium. Not to mention he's a crazy descender so may end up taking time on his GC rivals that aren't brave enough to follow the shark.
Steven Kruijswijk
Dutchman Kruijswijk very nearly won the Giro last year, but crashed agonisingly into a snow drift after summiting the Cima Coppi, Colle Dell'Agnello, losing four minutes to his GC rivals on stage 19 and in the process losing the maglia rosa to Orica-Scott's Esteban Chaves. As a result of injuries sustained in the crash he couldn't even maintain his podium spot finishing fourth.
While the 29 year-old LottoNL-Jumbo rider isn't exactly in hot form going into the Giro, he was in exactly the same kind of condition last year and ended up nearly having the best result of his career.
Whilst not favourites it's worth mentioning Kruijswijk's Dutch compatriots who'll be in contention in separate parts of the race. Tom Dumoulin will be heavily favoured for the time trials while Bauke Mollema could be an outsider for a mountain stage win.
Geraint Thomas
It has been well reported for months now that Team Sky's 'G' has focused his entire season on this race. He's sharing Team Sky leadership duties with Mikel Landa and it's not beyond the realms of possibilitiy that both riders could get a top five finish. Landa finished on the third step of the podium in 2015 and by winning stages 15 and 16, landed himself the Azzuri d'Italia jersey.
Thomas is in stunning form having just won the Tour of the Alps - with a one-two stage finish with Landa on stage two - and given the climbing strength he's demonstrated while helping Chris Froome in the Tour de France in recent years, has a very realistic chance of battling Quintana and Nibali for the maglia rosa.
Adam Yates
Adam's progression over the last two seasons has been nothing short of phenomenal and after a fourth place finish and the Best Younger Rider's white jersey at the Tour de France last year he should be fancied for a decent finish in the Giro too.
The Orica-Scott man from Bury, Greater Manchester, only has this Grand Tour to focus on this season, given that his teammate Esteban Chaves has been chosen to be team leader at his first Tour de France in July. This will surely give Adam extra incentive to assert himself on the world stage as the next British star of road cycling.
Prediction
1st - Nairo Quintana
2nd - Vincenzo Nibali
3rd - Geraint Thomas
Outsider - Adam Yates
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| Scarponi (centre) receives his maglia rosa in 2011 after Contador was stripped of the Giro title for a positive drug test Credit: cyclingnews.com |
The only blot on his career came in 2006 with a 21 month ban after he was implicated in the Operacion Puerto doping scandal of which his team, Liberty Seguros, was at the centre. He admitted blood-doping and being a client of Doctor Eufemiano Fuentes.
Scarponi's only major individual successes came in 2009 and 2011 when he returned from his ban, riding for Diquigiovanni-Androni and Lampre respectively. In 2009 he started the season winning the Italian spring classic Tirreno-Adriatico - only taking the overall lead on the penultimate stage - and went on to win a stage of that year's Giro, while in 2011 he marked the biggest achievement of his career by finishing second in the Giro d'Italia. He was later awarded first place (pictured above) after Alberto Contador was stripped of the maglia rosa for a positive drug test at the previous year's Tour de France.
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| Scarponi with his macaw friend, Frankie, on a training ride Credit: thebikecomesfirst.com |
Giro 100 Route
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| Credit: cyclingweekly.com |
Both riders represent different eras of Italy - in a country that at the time of their rivalry in the 1940s and 50s had only been united fewer than 100 years previously - Bartali: the establishment favourite who was well acquainted with the regime of Prime Minister Benito Mussolini, and Coppi, his younger by five years: who represented the working class and the beginning of the golden age of cycling. These two sub-narratives of Italian society were first brought together on Bartali's team in 1940 and became combustible, to the point where they imploded at the 1948 World Championships held in the Netherlands, where both climbed off rather than help the other. The Italian cycling association said: "They have forgotten to honour the Italian prestige they represent. Thinking only of their personal rivalry, they abandoned the race, to the approbation of all sportsmen". Their rivalry would dominate cycling coverage and define Italian sport for years to come until Coppi's death in 1960, aged just 40.
Starting in Alghero on Sardinia, the race takes its first rest day after stage three and heads south east to Cefalu on Sicily for stage four and an ascent of Mount Etna, before crossing to the coastal city of Reggio Calabria on the south eastern toe of the Italian mainland on stage six.
The middle part of the race traces a path from the toe of Italy, along the bridge to the heel, and gradually winds its way up through the Apenines to stage nine, where the challenging finish up to Blockhaus is sure to give the race its first big general classification shake-up.
After the penultimate rest day it's the first of two flat individual time trials at Foligno before the peloton heads through Bartali's birthplace of Florence on stage 11, into the Alps and finally to the Dolomites for the final stage - an individual time trial from the Monza circuit to Milan.
Undoubtedly this Giro will be decided with a sequence of some of the toughest mountain stages in Grand Tour history. It begins with stage 14 starting from Castellania - the birthplace of Coppi - before the Queen stage on the 16th race day which summits the Stelvio pass twice - the Cima Coppi (largest climb of the Giro) - finishing with a fast 30km descent into Bormio. Heading east into the Dolomites, stage 17 doesn't contain any monstrous climbs but isn't to be taken lightly either whereas stage 18 features no fewer than three Cols in the Trentin-Alto Adige region. The penultimate stage, stage 20, takes on the infamous site of many First and Second World War battles, Monte Grappa, before a flat run into Asiago.
The final week will play a huge part in making this race the most thrilling in its history, with the contenders keen to take control of the maglia rosa but not use all their energy before the final day's 28km time trial.
Speaking to The Cycling Podcast, Giro d'Italia organiser Mauro Vegni said he wanted Giro 100 to be "designed as to include the whole of Italy" and show "Italianicity": "We have the aim of commemorating and celebrating individuals who've brought glory to the country in sport.
"Above all though, what this 100th edition will hopefully convey in some way, is the desire to be Italian - what we call 'Italianicity' - which is valued abroad but perhaps less so in Italy. It's about this pride in being Italian and the sense that we're a country that's loved and admired all over the world.
"In the 100th edition of the Giro, we wanted a route and a race that would tell our story through cycling. The central theme is this idea of 'Italianicity'. This idea of living 'Al Italiana', which is something that gives us prestige and kudos in so many other countries, because we represent the 'Il Bel Paese' - the Beautiful Land. We wanted to show the world a country with fantastic landscapes, culture, art, fashion, a country that has everything but that we Italians ourselves don't fully appreciate sometimes.
"This is the story we want to tell. What it means to be Italian, what are we Italians like, what's our history, how many difficulties and disappointments we've endured but what ability we have to get back up and to rise again. At the moment we look as though we're about to breath our last breath, that's when you see the Italians come to the fore. The Italian will wriggle out of trouble, an Italian will rise up and the Italian will do it in a blaze of glory. This is what we wanted to show."
The Contenders
We know which are going to be the decisive stages, but who is going to be consistently vying for the pink jersey? Unfortunately the big Italian hopeful, Astana's leader Fabio Aru, was hurt in a crash a few weeks ago and won't be at the Giro, leaving the race with only Vincenzo Nibali, the reigning champion, as the main contender representing Italy. What makes it an even sadder loss for Aru is the race starts in his hometown. Speaking of hometowns, the dauntingly monikered Shark of Messina, Nibali, will be racing into Messina on stage five, although he won't have a chance of victory, seeing as the stage is earmarked for the sprinters.
It's fair to say there are around 12 riders who could win a place on the podium, but in my opinion only five have a chance of winning the coveted maglia rosa.
Nairo Quintana
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| Quintana wins the Giro - his first Grand Tour - in 2014 Credit: youtube.com |
The Giro, as a race in general, definitely suits him with its vast amount of climbing and makes the 2014 winner easily the out and out favourite with no Chris Froome in the race.
In the eight Grand Tours he's ridden since 2012, Quintana has won two and only finished outside the top four on two occasions, making him one of the favourites for every race he enters.
Vincenzo Nibali
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| Reigning champion Nibali wins his fourth Grand Tour and second Giro in 2016 Credit: cyclingnews.com |
As reigning champion and only major Italian representative (other than in the sprinting classification) Nibali will be more than able to battle Quintana for the pink jersey. He's proved he's the best rider on Italian soil with two wins in the last three editions and it's going to take either a major crash/injury or big time loss somewhere to keep him off the podium. Not to mention he's a crazy descender so may end up taking time on his GC rivals that aren't brave enough to follow the shark.
Steven Kruijswijk
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| Kruijswijk despairs after his stage 19 crash costs him the lead Credit: cyclingnews.com |
While the 29 year-old LottoNL-Jumbo rider isn't exactly in hot form going into the Giro, he was in exactly the same kind of condition last year and ended up nearly having the best result of his career.
Whilst not favourites it's worth mentioning Kruijswijk's Dutch compatriots who'll be in contention in separate parts of the race. Tom Dumoulin will be heavily favoured for the time trials while Bauke Mollema could be an outsider for a mountain stage win.
Geraint Thomas
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| Thomas is in great form after winning the Tour of the Alps last week Credit: cyclingnews.com |
Thomas is in stunning form having just won the Tour of the Alps - with a one-two stage finish with Landa on stage two - and given the climbing strength he's demonstrated while helping Chris Froome in the Tour de France in recent years, has a very realistic chance of battling Quintana and Nibali for the maglia rosa.
Adam Yates
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| Credit: cyclingnews.com |
The Orica-Scott man from Bury, Greater Manchester, only has this Grand Tour to focus on this season, given that his teammate Esteban Chaves has been chosen to be team leader at his first Tour de France in July. This will surely give Adam extra incentive to assert himself on the world stage as the next British star of road cycling.
Prediction
1st - Nairo Quintana
2nd - Vincenzo Nibali
3rd - Geraint Thomas
Outsider - Adam Yates
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