As we enter into the final week of the Giro, things should be heating up. Though with Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) nearly 7 minutes ahead of Geraint Thomas the GC battle may well be over in all but name.
So, to keep you all entertained, we thought we’d share some of our favourite Road Book contributions which show the Giro in all its glory over the years. Despite the complaints of many, we think Pogačar’s dominance has been quite some spectacle. His lead enforced through intrepid attacking performed with balletic grace and all the elan of a chivalric knight.
It’s not just the Slovenian at it either, with a considerable sprinkling of fairy-tale victories spread throughout the peloton, the Giro d’Italia 2024 has been one for the romantics. Julian Alaphilippe’s (Soudal--Quick-Step) typical daring brilliance saw him take his first grand tour stage win since 2019 with panache, and stage wins for Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis), Valentin Paret-Peintre (Decathalon-AG2R-La Mondiale), Filippo Ganna (INEOS Grenadiers) and others were equally deserved whilst Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) has lit up the race in the Maglia Ciclamino.
In fact, below the surface, there has been a lot to enjoy. So lets look back on some recent classics in the race’s history, as we wait for that iconic final sprint into Rome to roll around…
In the Winners’ Words: Chris Froome (The Road Book 2018)
One of the inaugural examples of our ‘In the Winners’ Words’ series and still, by far, one of the best. Chris Froome breaks down his first ever Giro d’Italia victory, one which completed a hattrick of Grand Tour victories and meant that he simultaneously held all three jerseys: Yellow, Red and Pink. Froome ponders his ‘most ingenious’ Grand Tour victory, and one which he took in challenging contextual circumstances as his ‘adverse analytic finding’ case from the 2017 Vuelta remained unresolved.
‘Completing the Set’ – Dan Martin (The Road Book 2021)
‘The Giro truly has a character that is missing from other races. It’s all very… Italian.’
In characteristically candid style, Dan Martin talks us through his experience riding the 2021 Giro d’Italia. If you want a riders’ eye perspective of the Giro, summed up in just a few thousand words, then this is for you. Concise, but full of character and brimming with the intense pain, and unbounded joy that comes with a top 10 GC finish and stage win at a race which has consistently vexed you. Certainly, little more that could be asked of Dan Martin, and his contribution is an intimate portrayal of the undulating emotions and fortunes the peloton must endure to survive this unique Grand Tour.
In the Winners’ Words: Tao Geoghegan Hart (The Road Book 2020)
The first time Tao Geoghegan Hart wore the leader’s jersey at the Giro, the race had already finished. It was a truly extraordinary finale to a mighty edition, which came to a crescendo on the famous Stelvio Pass when he announced himself as a genuine GC threat after being paced up the climb by the exceptional Rohan Dennis. Before that, Geoghegan Hart had already ridden to victory at Piancavallo – a win he dedicated to the memory of Nicolas Portal, the much-loved Team Ineos DS who had died in the spring. The young Londoner won again on stage 20, to tie exactly with Australian Jai Hindley on a completed 88 hours, 22 minutes and 7 seconds. A short time trial in Milan would seal the Giro, and see Geoghegan Hart reunited with his partner, and fellow professional racer, Hannah Barnes. It was a fairy-tale ending to the most unexpected Grand Tour outcome for generations.
Have a read through Tao’s fantastic piece detailing this monumental victory through his own eyes, drawn from our third volume of the Road Book which detailed a season heavily affected by the ravages of COVID-19 and a year unlike any other.
‘The Giro Seen as a Work of Art’ by Angelo Zomegnan (The Road Book 1989)
Zomegnan breaks down the 1989 Giro d’Italia in all its beauty. Though the performances of its various stars (Laurent Fignon included) are eloquently elocuted by Zomegnan, their sporting brilliance is contextual background to the real meat of this piece. A break down of the incredible ambition of Mario Schifano: ‘the painter who wanted to revolutionise the Giro d’Italia by turning it into a sublime work of art.’
It may sound obvious, but cycling is a visually breathtaking sport. Often, in our increasingly statistics focused obsessive consumption of all sport, but especially with ours (who honestly cares what size chain riders are using), this beauty is forgotten. In a year where one rider is outstripping all, this piece serves to remind us that the most beautiful race in the world, is about much more than some bloke powering himself up a hill. As a peninsular which still seems to struggle to reconcile its internal differences, the Giro d’Italia’s beauty, and the tales its riders weave, provide a welcome unifying catalyst. If only for a few months in May.
In the Winners’ Words – Mark Cavendish (The Road Book 2023)
This piece needs little introduction, and if you haven’t picked up a copy of The Road Book 2023 to have a flick through this exclusive interview with the Manx Missile himself, what on earth have you been doing?
There are few more iconic sights in cycling, than Mark Cavendish sprinting to victory, especially at Grand Tours. The Brit has won 34 stages at the Tour de France, joint most with a certain Eddy Merckx, and had never walked away without a stage victory from an edition of the Giro which he’d started. Despite this, in 2023, as the peloton set off towards Rome, Cav was yet to take a win. With the pace increasing and the chaos of a bunch sprint shredding his lead out, it looked like that might happen. That is until a certain friend of Cav’s stepped in, ankles tucked, to take him home.
Read through these final few kilometres in Mark’s own words and enjoy one of the Giro d’Italia’s most sensational victories ever.
There you have it! Which of this year’s stage winners would you like to see immortalised in the Road Book’s pages? And which was your favourite edition of the race? Let us know over on Twitter or Instagram!
Use the code: GIRO24 to get two FREE sets of The Road Book Postcards when you purchase any volume of our book.
Written by Henrik Bassett
Race Photography Courtesy of Russ Ellis
Illustration by Matthew Green
