Even though Chris foolishly has maintained my editorial privileges, I decided this was only worth a fanpost.  A little video I made in 2008 that maps out the final climb on L'Alpe d'Huez.

Stage 20 :: Saturday May 29, 2010
178km :: Bormio - Passo del Tonale

Cioppino. Amore. Prosciutto. Pizza Margherita. Valpolicella. These words could all compete for favorites in the Italian language for me, but for my money, nothing beats the two word combo of "Cima Coppi". It combines culture, sport, history, heroism, dedication and nationalism in two words that mean so much to folks like us.

To bear the imprimatur of Il Campionissimo means you are the highest mountain climbed in that year's Giro and the Centenary edition combines love of Coppi with love of PodiumCafe as the Passo di Gavia is the Cima Coppi this year.

While not Chris' beloved Stelvio, the Gavia (and how strange it is to write about it and not mean she of the floppy hat and salty plank) is epic in it's own right. 2618m high, 24.9km long, rising one and a third kilometers in elevation over that distance and averaging 5.6% while maxing out at 14%. But numbers don't tell the whole story. What does it take to win the Giro? What dedication to suffering? What limits must one push past? The Passo di Gavia provides the ultimate answer in a picture that is worth more than any words that could be spoken on the topic. Andy Hampsten, Stage 14, Giro d'Italia, 1988.

Five rated climbs on Saturday: Forcola di Livigno (a brute and a half), the Passo di Eira, Passo di Foscagno, Passo di Gavia and the final summit finish in Ponte di Legno.  I don't think there's a single section without a gradient in the whole stage.  We also cross from Italy into Switzerland (Hey Will! Moo!) and then back into Italy.

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Stage 19 :: Friday May 28, 2010
195km :: Brescia - Aprica

Prepare yourselves because chances are, this is the last chance for the remains of the GC hopefuls to really pull out the Buford stick and take it to the head of the pack.

The stage is shaped like a balloon on a string, starting in Brescia and ending in Aprica.  There are three summits that give us four climbs on tomorrows stage, looping around from Edolo to Aprica around the back to Sernio, up to Mazzo di Valtellina, through Edolo again and then finishing back in Aprica.  The finish is a summit (in Aprica, climbed twice), with a run over Trvigno and the great Passo del Mortirolo.

Brescia is called The Lioness of Italy, which makes me wonder what would happen if Johan Museeuw and Brescia got together.  Flandritalian Lion Cubs?

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Stage 18 :: Thursday May 27, 2010
151km :: Levico Terme - Brescia

The riders must get from one mountain to the other, and why not have them do it on a bike... on a transition stage... riding by a pretty lake...

Yep, not much gonna happen on this stage tomorrow.  Breakaway's will flourish, the tempo will be tranquilo and the gradient will average out to being negative from start to finish. It's a snoozer... but a snoozer with a lake.  So it has that going for it.

PS: Ivan Basso must narfle the Garthok.

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Stage 17 :: Wednesday May 26, 2010
173km :: Brunico - Peio Terme

I'm under the gun here at work. No time to sit and play :(

I do like the city names though, Brunico in particular does roll of the tongue quite nicely.

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Stage 16 :: Tuesday May 25, 2010
12.9km :: Plan de Corones (ITT)

Plan de Corones: 2273m. 12.9km long rising 1086m over that span. The average gradient is 8.4%.

The maximum gradient is 24%.

This is brutal territory; this is the sort of time trial reserved for the professionals... athletes able to measure their power output in four digit wattages. This is the sort of stage that makes Cavendish weep and Jens! grin wolfishly. This is ultimately a test of the will. (Not that Will. Moo.)

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Stage 15 :: Sunday May 23, 2010
218km :: Mestre - Monte Zoncolan

Zoncolan - do not beg him for forgiveness.  Zoncolan - do not ask him for mercy.

How do these specs grab you:  four rated climbs totaling 32km; 21km come in the last 80km; the lowest average gradient for any of those finishing climbs is 6.2%; the stage ends as a summit finish on the most brutal of those three climbs.  Gruesome.

Monte Zoncolan is 10.1 km long and averages 11.9%.  I just looked at my protractor and saw it weep.  This is how you pay the peloton back for 2 days of beach riding.  Also, the feed zone is in a town called "Spilimbergo" which makes me think of Steven Spielberg's non-union Mexican equivalent.  Drink up, Judah Ben Hur.

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Stage 14 :: Saturday May 22, 2010
201km :: Ferrara - Asolo

Mountains!  Finally!  Or rather... a mountain!  Only one rated climb on this, but it's nice leg stretcher to get everyone ready for the fireworks that start on Sunday.

The climb from Semonzo to the summit of Monte Grappa will be an arduous one and comes 40km from the finish in Asolo, so while GC might not get itself sorted on this stage (in fact, most assuredly wont), expect the GPM contenders to be riding off the front for the tasty, tasty points.  The profile for this stage looks like a car after a road accident: nice and smooth and sleek and flat until you see a couple dents and then the massive OMG.

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Stage 13 :: Friday May 21, 2010
222km :: Porto Recanati - Cesenatico

Nope.  Not gonna talk about it.  Not gonna talk about what? You know what I'm not gonna talk about :)

222km on route today from Porto Recanati to Cesenatico (can someone educate me?  Is that pronounced "CHes" or "Ses" enatico?).  We'll have two short, sharp climbs and a whooole lot more beach time. The climbs come a decent way from the stage finish, so they might help a breakaway, but they won't have much effect on GC. Breakaways never have any effect on GC, right :D

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Stage 12 :: Thursday May 20, 2010
191km :: Città Sant'Angelo - Porto Recanati

Well, that wasn't solemn or somber was it, particularly not for my VDS team (Venga Sastre!)

A new GC table and a few stages for it to settle in and let everyone get a bit of rest.  The peloton is heading to the beach and is gonna stay there for a day or so. And by beach, I mean I had to force Google Earth to route them that close to the sand.

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Stage 11 :: Wednesday May 19, 2010
256km :: Lucera - L'Aquila

Kind of a somber stage up ahead.  We're going to be heading into Abruzzo, the region that was absolutely devastated by an earthquake little more than a year and one month ago.  Being a native Californian, my heart goes out to the families, some of which are most likely still working to recover from the after effects.

Sad tidings aside, this should be a sweet stage.  Rolling, climby, with a gorgeous finish.  Three rated climgs along the way and a northward bend to the course that can mean only one thing: we're finally pointed towards the alps.  They may still be about a week away, but we're not going to the south anymore.

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Stage 10 :: Tuesday May 18, 2010
220km :: Avellino - Bitonto

Stop me if you've heard this already this year: from the Tyrrhenian Sea to the Adriatic the riders will be crossing the ankle of Italy tomorrow.

That's right, it's Tirreno-Adriatico Redux (as in, "we've taken Tirreno-Adriatico and added a long winded scene involving a French Expatriate family living on a plantation in Cambodia). 

Not much to say about this one, so I'll let the others take over for a moment...

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Stage 09 :: Monday May 17, 2010
188km :: Frosinone - Cava De' Tirreni

This could very well be one of the more beautiful stages in the most beautiful of the stage races.  Heading to the Amalfi coast, one of the most stunningly picturesque parts of Italy, the racers will head past Vesuvio (insert de rigeur plinytheelder joke) sight of the end of Stage 19 last year.

Even though this is the Giro, and even though we are in Italy, I cannot help but think of this every time I see the name of the city at the start of this stage.

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Stage 08 :: Sunday May 16, 2010
189km :: Chianciano Terme - Terminillo

Everybody form a conga line!  Summit, Summit Finish!!!!  Summit, Summit Finish!!!!

That's right, we're ending Sunday's stage with our first mountain finish, and considering that at 83km from the finish we're gonna be at 96m above sea level, and ending at 1668m above sea level, well, there's a whole lot of uphill in that last 80km or so.  For those mathematically inclined (hehehehe), that makes nearly the entire last half of the stage average out to a 2% constant gradient.

More details below...

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Stage 07 :: Saturday May 15, 2010
215km :: Carrara - Montalcino

If Saturday's stage doesn't smell like oregano and put you in mind of equilibrium challenged towers, then you're watching the wrong race.  We're going into Tuscany, my friends, within bottle-hurling (or bike hurling if you're Mr. Millar) distance of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and through country side that I suspect may look like it was deep fried to a tasty golden color mixed with rolling green hills. (I didn't say you couldn't get your shirt deep fried, Homer!)

Three climbs on tomorrow's stage, including the nasty little Poggio Civitella about 5km from the finish.  Good times, good times.  The usual suspects below the fold...

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Giro Stage 06 Preview: Fidenza - Carrara

Stage 06 :: Friday May 14, 2010
166km :: Fidenza - Carrara

Continuing our southward jaunt, we head to the Mediterranean coast tomorrow in a (relatively) short stage with our first non-you-gotta-be-kidding-me climbs.  I mean, they're not Mont Ventoux, but they're not the bunny hops of Holland.

We swing by the town of Parma, and, already having mentioned ham in a previous stage preview, allow me to wax rhapsodically for a moment on the beauty of a well made Italian proscuitto.  The taste can almost be nutty, with just a hint of smokiness, the texture buttery.  If you have a good butcher, you can get it sliced super thin and separated between individual sheets of wax or parchment paper so there's no risk of tearing it when you serve it.  My recommendation: either a piece of sourdough with a little bit of butter on it, or crostini rubbed with garlic.  Then just lay that gorgeous prosciutto right on top. (Sorry Megabeth :) )

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Stage 05 :: Thursday May 13, 2010
168km :: Novara - Novi Ligure

Team Fun Time is behind us now (new proposed name for a team time trial... I smell another letter to Angie), and it's on with the business of moving from one town to the other in order to give the sprinters and breakaway artists a reason for getting their passports stamped.  We'll be heading directly south most of the day with a couple of uninteresting climbs but some fantastic city names.

Tortona, where we have the traguardo volante (Say that outloud... it's fun!) for this stage, always reminds me of Tortoni, a hazelnut ice cream treat they serve at the Italian Restaurant down the street from me.  And the rifornimento (not quite as fun to say) in Rocca Grue which always reminds me of the following phrase...

"It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue."

Let's move S then S then W then "open door" and see what's on the flip...

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Stage 04 :: Wednesday May 12, 2010
32.5km :: Savigliano - Cuneo (TTT)

The beloved Team Time Trial.  Also known as the eco-friendly way of transporting your entire professional cycling team from one town to another.  In fact, I think there should be a Team Time Trial in between all stages, leading from the finish of the first, to the start of the second.

Hold on a sec while I write a quick letter to RCS...

Dear Angie (Zomegnan loves it when I call him Angie)... There's no lovin' in our souls and no money in our coats.  You can't say we're satisfied.  What's going on big boy?  It's me again, Crashdan.  Remember how I told you last year that I would never write to you again if you promised that you'd send Luca Brassi to "visit" Marc Segeant?  Well, you dropped the ball on that one so it's time for me to bring up the topic of Team Time Trials.  We'd like more of them.  Thanks!

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Stage 03 :: Monday May 10, 2010
209km :: Amsterdam - Middelburg

How does La Gazzetta dello Sport describe tomorrow's stage to Middelburg: "plain".  Now that's just not very charitable is it.  From what I can tell, it's far from plain to start three stages in a row from the same town, and all the pictures I've seen of Middelburg make it look like a downright charming Dutch town, complete with canals and badass churches.  Not only that, but the route travels across the crinkled coastline of Holland, so if Frinky doesn't use the word "echolon" in Frinking's Corner, I'll be disappointed (ed: I would like to point out that I wrote this on Thursday May 6th, and Frinky emailed me his comments on Friday May 7th)

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Stage 02 :: Sunday May 9, 2010
209km :: Amsterdam - Utrecht

The Giro is underway now, the prologue is behind us and a road course awaits, 200+ km through the Dutch country side between Amsterdam and Utrecht.  It seems like we were here just yesterday, celebrating that greatest of Dutch bicycle races: La Vuelta a España.  But this race is about pasta not paella; prosciutto not Show romanizationjamón.  We celebrate those differences by not being in either Spain or Italy for this stage, but rather in Holland, where Google Translate tells me the dutch word for "ham" is "ham".

Well, whether you call it "ham" or you call it "ham", it's a bike race and this will be one for the sprinters.

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Hey all... I just wanted to point you quickly to the complete Giro map we put together for the race. It's a KMZ file that you can download and then open using Google Earth. Load up the "terrain" feature and zoom in, out, around, and generally play with the parcorso in all the fun 3D ways you can.

Link here: Giro 2010.kmz

Stage 01 :: Saturday May 8, 2010
8.0km :: Amsterdam (ITT)

Hey everyone!  Welcome to the first of the stage previews for the 2010 running of the Giro d'Italia.  For the next three weeks, the routes will be mapped in pink,  the climbs mapped in red, the Rifornamiento points shown as cups of cappucino and we'll have regular contributions from those who know about what's to come.  Gavia is back with knowledge, intrigue and history, I'm pasting in Chris' commentary from his "Personal Guide to Watching the Giro", and Frinking is back with "Frinking's Corner" where he will ... well... be Frinking.

I'll do the wrangling and write a bit, but I'm primarily here to bring the previews together and add a bit of window dressing in the way of screen captures from Google Earth.  Speaking of stages, this is a preview of stage 1, the Amsterdam ITT.  So bring a bottle of Genco Olive Oil for Don Ciccio, a glass of Heineken, some Bitterballen, steam the premium Zeeland Mosselen, grab lots of cheese, and meet us all over on the flip for maps, impressions and commentary.

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Oh, you thought it was all Ardennes and Cobbles and Maglia Rosa and Mellow Johnnies around here did you? Well, I drew the short straw and get to tell you all about the Rund um den Finanzplatz Eschborn-Frankfurt being run on May 1st. Here, in a nutshell is all you need to know about historic Frankfurt:

1. Frankfurt is the ugliest city in Germany
2. The Turkish coke dealers wear Raybans
3. You'll get kicked out of the hostel by breaking into the kitchen through the window at 3AM.
4. Suitcases make lousy pillows, but the grass on the banks of the Main River is surprisingly comfortable if you have nowhere else to sleep.

Join me on the umgekerteandereseiteflip...

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Wired is running a crowdsourced review for Google Maps new "Bike Route" feature. They are asking for people to try it out and send in blurbs with pictures.  As I'm led to believe that there are loads of people in the cafe with bikes, I thought you might be interested in this.

Since you ARE a cafe member, you probably would want to let all of us know what your thoughts are on it too, so rather than just blasting your review to Wired, drop your blurb into either the comments of this fanpost (with pics! Use imgur.com to host if you want), or create a fanpost if you think yours is worthy!

Link to Wired, here.

I put this together for the end of the '08 Tour de France, but I thought I'd repost it to raise the heat in the Cafe. Please, oh please bring on the cobbles already!

Well? Tell your dear sweet Uncle Crashdan... what is best in life? (and Drew/Jimbo/Itswells/Jens don't just jump right in, I expect better of you. I expect a full answer, step by step).

Stage 21 :: Sunday September 20, 2009
110.2km :: Rivas-Vaciamadrid - Madrid

The closing stage of the 2009 Vuelta. A rolling parade to Madrid with the typical closing circuit on the streets of the city.

I haven't had a chance to really watch the race other than tuning in to Universal about 15 seconds before a couple of sprint finishes, consequently, I haven't had time to play around much in the live threads.  But from all of us here at the Stage Preview, thanks for taking the time to read and comment and participate in this lovely thing called PodiumCafe.

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Stage 20 :: Saturday September 19, 2009
27.8km :: Toledo ITT

Is it done and dusted? Probably, barring some catclysmic performance in the top rankings of the sort only capable by a mutant Mencov/Rasmussen hybrid.

But we can't stop here. This is bat country.

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