The signature climb of this weekend's Giro di Lombardia is the climb from Bellagio to the chapel of the Madonna del Ghisallo, designated by Pope Pius XII in 1949 as the patron saint of cycling.

The climb itself lacks the mythical status of the Gavia or the Stelvio, but it's a challenging and breathtakingly beautiful ride. More importantly, it is a pilgrimage, to a shrine both religious and secular, quintessentially Italian, but welcoming to cycling fans from the world over.

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Cycling fans in Amsterdam will have easy access to the first three stages of the 2010 Giro d'Italia, as the city will host the starts of all three stages.

According to a press release issued today by RCS, stage one will be an individual time trial, starting and finishing at Museumplein, one of Amsterdam's main squares.  Stage two will also start at Museumplein, and will finish in Utrecht.  Stage three will start in the Zuidas district of Amsterdam, and finish in Middelburg.

No word yet as to what happens after that.  A transfer to Italy after just three days of racing would make for a very early rest day, leading to speculation that stage four may also take place outside Italy, perhaps in Belgium.  This would follow the pattern of this year's Vuelta, as well as the 2006 Giro, which had four stages in Belgium before a transfer/rest day on day five.

For anyone who thought this year's Giro was a bit light on the traditional trashtalking, perhaps the Tour will be more to your liking.

This article from the Sydney Morning Herald quotes from a new book by John Wilcockson, Lance Armstrong - The World's Greatest Champion (catchy title; I guess it's back to the drawing board for all you Roger Federer and Michael Phelps hagiographers out there).

Quoth the Herald,

In the book, Armstrong also reveals the strength of his belief that his winning days are far from over.

"I'll kick their asses," he told author John Wilcockson in a conversation soon after last year's Tour while discussing his planned comeback. "The Tour was a bit of a joke this year. I've got nothing against Sastre … or Christian Vande Velde. Christian's a nice guy, but finishing fifth in the Tour de France? Come on!"

 

Ooh, la la!  Let the games begin.

The setting for the Giro finale could not have been more dramatic.  It was so much more special than the usual finish on Corso Venezia in Milan, marking a fitting end to the spectacular centenary Giro.

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The ride up Vesuvius was incredibly cool.  The ride to the base of the climb, on the other hand, was nightmarish.

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Di Luca got a hero's welcome at the stage start in Sulmona, just 70 kilometers from his home in Pescara.  Here he is riding from the sign-in area to the start line.

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"The earth shakes, not our heart.

Go, Danilo!!!

Abruzzo flies with you."

Di Luca fan or not, you would have needed a heart of stone to ride up the Blockhaus climb on Wednesday and not end up wanting Di Luca to win the stage.  All the way up, almost every sign was for Di Luca, and they weren't of the typical "Go, Danilo!" variety.  They said things like, "Il cuore di Abruzzo e con te," (the heart of Abruzzo is with you), and "Il terremoto non ci ferma," (the earthquake won't stop us), and again and again, "Grazie, Danilo!"

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For the riders, it was a Monday in hell.  For me, another fantastic day at the Giro.

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In Firenze, the race security let those of us with press passes remain closer to the finish line than usual, in the area usually reserved for holders of photographer passes.  It was exciting, but because I was up there rather than back with the soigneurs, I didn't get the usual post-stage pictures of the riders.

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I didn't get a lot of pictures at the Milano show, but this is my favorite, Renshaw and Boasson Hagen celebrating just after crossing the line.  The stage headquarters was far from the finish area, so I skipped the podium ceremony to be sure I made it to the press conference, and I'm glad I did.

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