Gran Fondo La Marmotta - Sestriere - Colle Delle Finestre

Were you impressed with the Colle Delle Finestre in this year's 20th stage of the Giro d'Italia? A major new event for Gran Fondo enthusiasts has been announced that will take place on 2 August: the first gran fondo “La Marmotta - Sestriere - Colle Delle Finestre“, organised by SSD RCS Active Team a r.l.

There are two routes, both starting at Cesana Torinese and finishing at Sestriere, and both crossing the mythical Colle delle Finestre, the highest point of the 2015 Giro d’Italia.

“La Marmotta - Sestriere - Colle Delle Finestre“ for the “Via Lattea” Trophy (110km)
Start: Cesana Torinese – Sauze di Cesana – Sestriere (2035 m) – Cesana Torinese – Oulx – Susa – Colle delle Finestre (Categorised climb 2176m) – Balboutet – Usseaux - Pragelato – Finish: Sestriere (Categorised climb 2035m).
The ascent of the Colle delle Finestre will be timed and a classification issued.

“La Marmottina” (tourist route, 85km)
Start: Cesana Torinese – Oulx – Susa – Colle delle Finestre (Categorised climb 2176m) – Balboutet – Usseaux – Pragelato – Finish: Sestriere (Categorised climb 2035m).
The ascent of the Colle delle Finestre will be timed, but no classification published.

Fabio Aru, winner of the penultimate stage, explains the secrets of the Colle delle Finestre climb:
"It could look strange but the easiest part of the Colle delle Finestre climb is the one on gravel roads. The hardest bit is the first one. In the first 4km there are 29 of the 45 total hairpins."

"The toughest inclines are faced in the first 1,500m of climbing. It's a very nice climb. The descent is not that difficult though. There are three bends in which you need to put more attention, first one to the left after 500m from the top."

"To face a climb like this at the Giro I was using 39 x 29 as the easiest gear ration. But I'm a professional rider and for us, easy to say, it's different. I think that an expert sportive rider could use a 34 in front, while a less expert rider should consider using 32."

"Anyone who rides with tubulars should think about using an anti-puncture liquid. The tire pressures should be half a bar less than usual both on front and back wheels. You need to adapt pedaling style too. If you're not used to riding a mountain bike it's better to choose the cleaner lines."

More details at www.gfsestriere.it

Content for the Italian Cycling Journal is now based upon contributions from readers. Please contribute. Stories about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, racing, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com.

2016 Giro d'Italia Start: Netherlands, 6 May

The Netherlands’ Province of Gelderland, will host the Giro d’Italia 2016 start, from 6 to 29 May, organized by RCS Sport / La Gazzetta dello Sport. The 99th edition of the Corsa Rosa will start for the 12th time from outside the Italian borders, it will be the third time from the land of tulips and windmills, following Groeningen in 2002 and Amsterdam in 2010.

THE 11 PREVIOUS FOREIGN STARTS OF THE GIRO D’ITALIA
1965 San Marino (General Classification winner: Vittorio Adorni); 1966 Monte Carlo – Monaco (Gianni Motta); 1973 Verviers – Belgium (Eddy Merckx); 1974 Vatican City (Eddy Merckx); 1996 Athens – Greece (Pavel Tonkov); 1998 Nice – France (Marco Pantani); 2002 Groeningen – The Netherlands (Paolo Savoldelli); 2006 Seraing – Belgium (Ivan Basso); 2010 Amsterdam – The Netherlands (Ivan Basso); 2012 Herning – Denmark (Ryder Hesjedal); 2014 Belfast – Northern Ireland (Nairo Quintana).

START ON FRIDAY 6 MAY
Thanks to the concession of the Union Cycliste Internationale to allow the long transfer from the Netherlands, the Giro will have an extra rest day on Monday 9 May, when the Carovana Rosa will return to Italy straight to the southern part of the country. The stages:

Stage 1, Friday 6 May – The first stage, an 8.1km Individual Time Trial, will go through Apeldoorn, finishing in the city.
Stage 2, Saturday 7 May – 180km stage for the fastest wheels in the peloton, starting from Arnhem and finishing in Nijmegen.
Stage 3, Sunday 8 May – The third stage, which is expected to be a bunch sprint, will start from Nijmegen and end in Arnhem after 190km.
Rest Day, Monday 9 May – Rest day and transfer to Italy.

Content for the Italian Cycling Journal is now based upon contributions from readers. Please contribute. Stories about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, racing, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com.

From Wool to Carbon: Santini Celbrates 50 Years

Yesterday Santini (Santini Maglificio Sportivo, "SMS")celebrated its 50th anniversary; 50th anniversary video above.

This is how Santini sees the history, from their beginnings, of product development in cycling apparel:

THE 60’s/70’s – WOOL AND EMBROIDERY - Until the mid seventies cycling clothing was little different to the apparel used in the pre-war period, items worn by champions such as Coppi and Bartali. In this period the standard textile of choice were wool blends, (50% wool and 50% acrylic). Both the shorts and jerseys were developed using these materials. The application of these textiles, obviously had numerous limits; seventies wool was not a perfect match for the sport clothing sector, was complicated to work with and not a perfectly hygienic solution.

The textiles were usually supplied only in solid colours and creative elaboration was limited to very basic geometric inserts of alternative dyed wool fabric. Add to that the complication and cost of the manufacturing process and you had a product that was genuinely time consuming and difficult to make. Additionally up until this point the jerseys still came with shirt style collars and buttoned pockets both front and back. At that time too, the shorts (also made from a wool blend fabric) were not provided with braces and came supplied with a chamois made from real leather - to maintain the flexibility of the chamois, especially after washing and drying, it was necessary to constantly treat it with emollient in order to soften it.

But the real difficulty was related to the customisation of jerseys adding sponsors names and logos - the text and graphics were embroidered directly onto the garments by skilled workers. Generally speaking, one worker could only finish a maximum of four or five jerseys in one day. As an attempt to speed up the application of logos and text, at times letters and images were cut out from separate fabric pieces and sewn onto the garments.

THE 70’s/80’s – “SILK” AND ZIPS - With the arrival of synthetic fabrics like acrylic and other ‘silk-like’ textiles in the mid-70’s, it was the beginning of the end for use of wool fabrics in cycling apparel production. A new era was starting which promised must faster productions times and a higher output capacity of product. The production process became more streamlined and automated, leading to an overall better regulation of quality. As such Santini placed itself at the avant-garde of these change and embraced the future; the choice of fabric colours grew and button closures on apparel made way for the zip. However still, in some cases sponsor’s names and logos were still embroidered on the garments. Furthermore it became common for shorts to be developed using interlocked synthetic fabrics better styled and designed to a rider’s needs and often packaged more attractively.

THE 80’s/90’s – THE SYNTHETIC CHAMOIS AND FLOCKING - In the eighties the use of the leather chamois for bib shorts fell out of popularity, not least because it was deemed not acceptable to actually hunt the Chamois deer for the use of its hide in apparel production. So experimentation began on finding new diverse materials to replace it, often these synthetic fabrics were worked on to promote softness and in some instances materials like rubber were used as inserts in the products. The most notable advancements in textile production saw the introduction of the Lycra yarn into various polyester materials - enabling an incredible degree of elasticity in fabrics that previously had not been achievable.

Professional cycling saw a huge increase in popularity, an increasing amount of companies used the sport as a means to promote themselves. This often meant accurately reproducing specific colours and logos, which before, when applied by hand to garments, resulted in a time consuming process. So towards the end of the 80’s a new and more rapid solution is born: flocking. A process whereby many small fibre particles are applied to the surface of the garment and bonded in place with a special hot adhesive in the shape design of the required logo or sentence of text. The final result produced a velvety finish to the graphic that looked good but was very intolerant to washing and general wear. As such, at the same time screen printed graphics were an alternative mode of reproducing logos and images on apparel - a process whereby insoluble ink is directly applied onto the actual item.

THE 90’S – POLYESTER FABRICS AND THE GEL CHAMOIS - The 1990’s saw a true revolution in cycling apparel; with Santini introducing new textile trends and methods of production to the cycling world. Years of development in the textile industry saw the launch of new, highly advanced polyester fabrics that were resistant to very high temperatures; paving the way for high quality sublimation printing on sportswear - a process were ink is diffused into the actual yarn of the fabric at temperatures greater than 200 degrees, which from a design standpoint enabled total customisation of the apparel, rapidly increasing produc tion time while also reducing costs. Meanwhile other advancements in textile manufacturing saw fabrics become more aerodynamic and much greater attention was put on the actual construction of the apparel. Bib short design became far more advanced not least in the development of the chamois - a variant with gel inserts was launched at this point, helping to absorb variations and improving comfort in the saddle.

THE 2000’S, HYBRID FIBRES AND NANO TECHNOLOGY - Research into new polyester textiles greatly progressed, combining other exotic materials into specially made yarns, such as carbon fibre strands, to create lighter, more durable and comfortable fabrics while stile controlling the percentage of polyester to preserve colour fastness. Huge developments in the realm of cutting and seeing were introduced to accomodate these new advanced materials - some of which were manufactured with specific textured surfaces to promote aerodynamic efficiency or other various fabrics that incorporated elements of high visibility while cycling in low light conditions. In some of the very last collections from this period certain fabrics were developed using nano-technology - creating apparel with antiallergic, anti-UV, water resistant and cooling or heating properties such as the Acquazero, BeCool and BeHot ranges of garments. Certainly this period saw Santini drive forward to accommodate the high technical demands of the modern cyclist.

THE EVOLUTION GOES ON
Even after 50 years of evolution side by side with cycling the research hasn't stopped; today Santini produce more than 3,000 pieces per day, exporting 80% of this production outside of Italy. The company is investing constantly in research for techniques and innovative developments in collaboration with world-class athletes, constantly striving to improve its range of clothing in order dress the cyclists of the future.

Content for the Italian Cycling Journal is now based upon contributions from readers. Please contribute. Stories about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, racing, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com.

Under Sparkling Stars with Moser 51.151, June 12

If you are going to be near Trento on June 12th you might want to make a reservation for an evening at Francesco Moser's Maso Villa Warth for a tasting of Trentodoc 51.151, food (tortel con carne salada and tortel con marmellata) and music. email info@cantinemoser.com for reservations. 51.151 is a spumante.

In January 1984, Francesco Moser set a new hour record of 51.151 km (31.784 mi).

Content for the Italian Cycling Journal is now based upon contributions from readers. Please contribute. Stories about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, racing, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com.  

How It Works: Pinarello K8-S Suspension

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Colle delle Finestre

Photo: Jered Gruber

Fabio Aru (ASTANA PRO TEAM) won Saturday's Stage 20 of the 2015 Giro d'Italia between Saint-Vincent and Sestriere (199km), a stage which included the Colle de Finestre. Alberto Contador (TINKOFF SAXO) was dropped on the Finestre but defended his Maglia Rosa. It was epic watching!

The Finestre, with its 8km of dirt road, was first used in the Giro in 2005.

A must read, in words and images,  of Saturday's stage is Jered and Ashley Gruber's "Race Day: Finestre".

Content for the Italian Cycling Journal is now based upon contributions from readers. Please contribute. Stories about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, racing, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. 

Alberto Contador Wins the 98th Edition of the Giro d'Italia

Alberto Contador (Tinkoff Saxo) has won the 2015 Giro d'Italia, although the final stage was as drama-filled and unpredictable as the previous three weeks of racing. Contador finished safely in the peloton at the end of the final stage, Torino - Milano (178 km).

In GC Fabio Aru finished 1'53" behind Contador, with his team-mate, Mikel Landa, third at 3'05". The fourth-placed rider overall was the Costa Rican, Andrey Amador, whose time was more than eight minutes adrift of Contador.

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION (TOP FIVE)
1 - Alberto Contador (TINKOFF SAXO)
2 - Fabio Aru (ASTANA PRO TEAM) at 1’53”
3 - Mikel Landa (ASTANA PRO TEAM) at 3’05”
4 - Andrey Amador (MOVISTAR TEAM) at 8’10”
5 - Ryder Hesjedal (TEAM CANNONDALE - GARMIN) a 9’52”


JERSEYS
MAGLIA ROSA – BALOCCO – Alberto Contador (TINKOFF SAXO)
MAGLIA ROSSA – ALGIDA – Giacomo Nizzolo (TREK FACTORY RACING)
MAGLIA AZZURRA – BANCA MEDIOLANUM – Giovanni Visconti (MOVISTAR TEAM)
MAGLIA BIANCA – EUROSPIN – Fabio Aru (ASTANA PRO TEAM)


Alberto Contador (Tinkoff Saxo), 2015 Giro d'Italia champion
Q: How did this Giro d'Italia differ from the other two?
A: My preparation for this Giro d'Italia was optimal. In 2008 I came at the last minute, and I didn't know the race, or how I'd be received, or what the climbs were like. In 2011, I prepared conscientiously, but only after a very intense start to the season. This time, by contrast, I raced in the start of the season, but it's also true that it is the first part of an objective that I've set myself, and for that reason, perhaps, I'm calmer or more reflective while I am racing.

Q: Did you make any errors that you feel you must not repeat at the Tour?
A: No, I don't think so. Perhaps I see it like this: there were days when I could have been more ambitious. I decided to to ride more tactically, and I think it was the right thing to do, in the end, because look at yesterday: I had a bad day because my strength was declining. No, there is nothing I think that I could improve on for the Tour. Perhaps my main memory of the Giro is the leg pain with which I finished the race, and the tired body.

Q: What will you do now?
A: My Tour de France starts now. My preparation starts now. Tonight, to the extent to which it is possible, I'll go and rest as early as possible. Tomorrow I want to go to Spain. I want to take three or four days before I start concentrating again on the Tour, in complete isolation. So tomorrow I'm looking forward to a nice day.

THE GIRO IN NUMBERS
Here’s the story of the 98th edition, in numbers:

35 – business partners who have contributed to the success of the Giro, showing their brands on this edition of the Corsa Rosa
50 – vehicles in the Giro d’Italia caravan
98 – the editions of the Corsa Rosa
163 – riders who finished the Giro d’Italia in 2015
171 – countries in which the Giro was broadcast daily
201 – the bib number of Alberto Contador, winner of the Giro d’Italia
1,067 – the number of media credited for the event
1,750 – the number of vehicles credited for the event
3,501 – the Corsa Rosa race distance in kilometers
33,000 – the number of passes released, representing 62 countries in the five continents
350,000 – followers on Twitter
680,000 – Facebook fans on the official page
3,440,000 – page views (daily average) on the official Giro d’Italia site and the Giro App combined
3,500,000 – the average number of viewers that host broadcaster RAI had during the last hour of race in the Sestriere stage with the Colle delle Finestre climb

Tsgabu Grmay, Team Lampre-Merida, was the first black African cyclist ever to complete the Giro d'Italia.

Content for the Italian Cycling Journal is now based upon contributions from readers. Please contribute. Stories about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, racing, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com.