The Giro d’Italia is the first Grand Tour of the year – before the Tour de France and the Vuelta a Espana – giving us the first opportunity to see each rider’s form. The rider finishing with the fastest cumulative time across all 21 stages wins the overall title (“general classification”) and gets the final claim to the famous pink jersey - the maglia rosa.
As well as the overall title, there are awards for best team, best young rider, best climber, and the rider who wins the most points across all stages. In 2021, the Giro started on 8 May and will finish this Sunday (30 May) with a breathtaking time trial in the fashion capital of the world, Milan: the main contenders will all be hoping that pink is their colour.
The second day of the Italian Grand Tour saw a poignant tribute to the late Belgian cyclist, Wouter Weylandt who sadly passed away after a horrendous crash 10 years ago in Stage 3 of the 2011 Giro. Although crashes and injuries can be an almost daily occurrence in a sport as gruelling as endurance road cycling, deaths are, thankfully, extremely rare. The moment’s silence before the start of the day’s racing on 9 May 2021 stood as a telling reminder of how dangerous the sport can be.
Indeed, this year has seen its share of incidents. Stage 6 saw Deceuninck-Quick Step’s Pieter Serry knocked off his bike after being hit from behind by the Bike Exchange team car. The driver has since been fined and excluded from the race. Although the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) introduced a host of new safety measures this year, some crashes have occurred such as the nasty collision between Bahrain Victorious’ Mikel Landa and 2 other cyclists as well as a marshal.
These instances do not detract from the skill and unfathomable stamina of the competing cyclists. Strong British contenders, Simon Yates and Hugh Carthy have both had an impressive Giro and are still in contention. However, the stand-out talent is team Ineos Grenadiers’ Egan Bernal despite a tough day at Stage 17 when Irish rider Dan Martin won spectacularly. The Colombian Bernal won the 2019 Tour de France – becoming the first Latin American to do so – and he is a popular choice for this year’s Giro. Bernal emotionally thanked his teammates for their ongoing support after his awe-inspiring attacking win at Stage 9.
Still to come are stages through the Plain of Po, a mountain finish on the Swiss border, the magnificent San Bernardino Pass, and finally finishing in stunning Milan. Fans will be hoping for better weather over the final days after some mountain-stage coverage has been interrupted after the media helicopters were not permitted to fly.
Expect to see many of the incredible cyclists from the Giro d’Italia compete in races later in the year. Check out the Tour de France, the Vuelta a Espana, and the UCI Road World Championships.