- Mar 24, 2011
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Only one day to go, people! 
Start List: http://static2.giroditalia.it/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/GIT-17_Riepilogo-partenti_NO-UCI-ID.pdf
Start List: http://static2.giroditalia.it/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/GIT-17_Riepilogo-partenti_NO-UCI-ID.pdf
Eshnar said:STAGE 1: Alghero – Olbia 206 km
START TIME: 12.10 CEST
Technical Overview:
The 100th Giro starts in Sardinia, where it's been only 4 times in its history, the first time only in 1961, celebrating the 100th anniversary of Italian unity. Three out of the 88 times the Giro started in Italy, it did in Sardinia. the previous two being in 1991 and 2007. For only the third time in the 3rd millennium, the Giro starts with a road stage. From the town of Alghero, on the north-west, the riders will go to Olbia, on the north-east coast, on a stage almost entirely along the coast, the famous Costa Smeralda (“Emerald Coast”). Here, the main difficulties will be wind and twisty roads. There are also three categorized climbs: the first two come fairly early and are very easy. Multeddu (GPM4, 4.6 km at 3.3%) and Trinità d’Agultu (GPM4, 6.1 km at 4.4%) will probably decide the first blue jersey, but the peloton will barely notice them. The last categorized climb instead might have a much bigger effect. S.Pantaleo (GPM4, 3.3 km at 5.6%) is at 21 km to go, which is a lot, but it wouldn't be impossible for a group of attackers to stay clear if they break away there, considering that the peloton should be tired enough by that time, because of the rough terrain they'll be riding on the whole day. Those last 20 kms however are easy, on much simpler roads than the rest of the stage, and the final kms in the town of Olbia don't present particularly dangerous spots.
The Climbs:
Multeddu GPM4
Easy. Very easy. No profile provided.
Trinità d’Agultu GPM4
As above. A bit harder than the first climb, though.
San Pantaleo GPM4
Short and easy overall, but with a solid first km and a steep ramp in the middle. Might give trouble to some riders if the pace is high.
What to expect:
It's very hard to call. Echelons might occur, crashes almost certainly will and the little bump might be enough to break the mass sprint, which in any case is still likely. I'll go for a reduced bunch sprint (~80 units).
Story Time:
It was 1931 when Armando Cougnet, the director of the Giro since the first edition, decided to introduce a jersey for the leader of the GC. He chose pink, as the color of the pages of Gazzetta dello Sport since 1899. The first Maglia Rosa was given to the winner of the first stage of 1931, from Milano to Mantova. The winner was the local hero Learco Guerra, who would not win the Giro that time (that one would be won by Francesco Camusso), but would get a pretty good consolation prize by winning the World Championship that same year. He then managed to win the Giro in 1934.
The pink jersey quickly became a symbol of the Giro, and a cycling icon. The rider who wore it most times is, unsurprisingly, Eddy Merckx (78 times), followed by Francesco Moser (57) and Gino Bartali (50).
From its inception, only a few stages had no Maglia Rosa at the start. Only one day, however, there were multiple pink jerseys. It was on stage 2 of the Giro 1971, when the whole team Salvarani, winner of the team relay race on stage 1, got to wear the precious jersey.
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