Doppio: 07

a weekly double-shot of road racing

Wednesday 1st May 2013

issue 07

rapha.cc

STAGE 19 199 km

TRE CIME DI LAVAREDO VAJONT LONGARONE MORI RIESE

SILANDRO VAL MARTELLO

STAGE 18 244 km

PONTE DI LEGNO IVREA

GALIBIER

POLSA

VALLOIRE

BARDONECCHIA CERVERE

STAGE 11 184 km

ALTOPIANO DEL MONTASIO

CORDENONS

BRESCIA VICENZIA

STAGE 21 162 km STAGE 10 167 km

TREVISO

CARAVAGGIO CESANA TORINESE

STAGE 20 154 km

TARVISIO

STAGE 12 127 km

BUSSETO

CHERASCO

STAGE 15 156 km

GABICCE MARE

STAGE 8 55.5 km

FIRENZE STAGE 16 17.4 km

STAGE 14 156 km

SALTARA

STAGE 13 242 km

SANSEPOLCRO STAGE 7 162 km STAGE 9 189 km

PRESCARA

SAN SALVO

STAGE 17 212 km

MARGHERITA DI SAVOIA STAGE 1 156 km

STAGE 6 154 km

NAPOLI

10

MOLA DI BARI

ISCHIA SORRENTO MARINA DI ASCEA

MATERA POLICASTRO BUSSENTINO

STAGE 2 17.4 km

STAGE 3 212 km STAGE 4 244 km

COSENZA SERRA SAN BRUNO

STAGE 5 199 km

1909

d o you reme mber cip o’s # pr ost y le?

a weekly double-shot of road racing

Wednesday 1st May 2013 tour de romandie review

giro d’italia preview

maglie

Froome­for­one­more­ Simon Spilak KATUSHA

2

Chris Froome TEAM SKY

Rui Costa MOVISTAR

1

3

Never mind the fuss in the media this week: the Tour de France will be won on the road, and Chris Froome, by taking the Tour de Romandie in style, has staked his claim to be Team Sky’s Tour de France leader in the strongest possible terms.

He took the yellow jersey by winning the opening uphill individual time trial, and defended it over the course of the race, even seeming assured when the Team Sky machinery left him slightly vulnerable. On stage four, the Queen stage, a depleted peloton welcomed a route alteration that avoided the second climb and dangerous descent of the Col de la Croix. Yet once Porte had swung off with 2 kilometres to go, Froome looked comfortable in the terrible conditions, covering attacks, bridging to the leaders and then jumping again with Simon Spilak to take more than a minute from the bunch. After that, the final time trial was a formality.

Races like Romandie are not just rehearsals for Grand Tours, and it should also be remembered for a great ride by Garmin-Sharp’s Ramunas Navardauskas to deny Gianni Meersman (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) a trio of stage wins. But, perhaps inevitably, this is the point where people look forward. In the past two seasons the winner of the Tour of Romandie has gone on to win the Tour de France, and Froome has also now won in Oman, at the Critérium International and at Romandie. Only a second place in Tirreno, after a brilliant Cannondale coup, tarnishes what is, thus far, an otherwise perfect record in 2013.

 ­ e­K­­eys­to­the­Giro Maglia Rosa e Giro leader’s jersey has since 1931 been pink, matching the colour of the Gazzetta dello Sport.

Maglia Rossa Once the preserve of Mario Cipollini, the Giro’s red jersey is contested by the sprinters.

stage 8 a long individual time trial, will set the tone for the mountains. It is here that Bradley Wiggins will hope to damage his rivals’ hopes – and they will hope to limit their losses and claw them back in the mountains. stage 10 plunges the riders back into the thick of things, as the first of five summit finishes points the race towards the real battlegrounds of the Giro, the Dolomites. stage 15 is a cross-border raid into France to race up the Télégraphe and Galibier, which nicely tees up a breathtaking final weekend.

Maglia Azzurra Named rather poetically for the sky, the blue jersey is for the Giro’s climbing king.

stage 18 is an individual time trial which, while short at 20.6km, will be sure to inflict pain – it climbs over 1,000 metres in that distance. stage 19 tackles the Passo di Gavia and the Stelvio, two giants of the Dolomites: huge climbs and a short stage are an explosive combination

Maglia Bianca White for freshness and innocence, says the Giro’s official guide – it’s the Giro’s young rider prize.

giro d’italia stages 1-4 profile

STAGE 1, 130km Napoli – Napoli A dizzying dash around Naples: the cut-down format guarantees a sprint finish and time for ice cream.

e 96th edition of La Corsa Rosa begins in Naples, a somewhat edgy but apposite location to host the start of a Grand Tour famed for its unpredictability. e opening week is generally one for the sprinters and, after a boat journey to the tiny island of Ischia for a team time trial, which will give a good indication of who has the worst kit, we get into the stages where the maglia rosa will be decided.

stage 20, the penultimate stage, sees a summit finish on Tre Cime de Lavaredo, a climb steeped in myth as well as punishing gradients. Long before the concluding parade to Brescia, it’s a course sure to have the tifosi on the edges of their seats and the riders at their thresholds.

race type: Grand Tour | distance: 3,524 km | region: Italy

STAGE 2, 17.5km Ischia – Forio A second visit to the island of Ischia for the Giro: a technical team time trial on twisty coastal roads.

STAGE 3, 222km Sorrento – Marina di Ascea Two stings in the tail during a day on the beautiful Amalfi coast. A small bunch finish, and the maglia in danger?

d o you remem ber cip o’s # pr ost y le?

STAGE 4, 246km Policastro-Bussentino – Serra San Bruno A long day’s riding, with 5km after the final climb for any scalatori to be reeled back in.