Giant Tour de France. Ciccone will be able to act as “the referee”

It’s been more or less like this for 120 years and 110 editions. A group of young men on bicycles hit the road to reach Paris as quickly as possible. It was also July 1st in 1903, when the first edition of the Grande Boucle started in front of the Reveil Matin hotel in Montgeron, on the outskirts of Paris. In the end, after 6 stages (for a total of 2428 kilometres!) Maurice Garin won, the Aosta Valley chimney sweep from Arvier who emigrated to France when he was 14 years old. After 120 years, the Tour that starts today from Bilbao remains the most prestigious and sought-after adventure on two wheels.

the duels

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The bikes of the protagonists weigh half (around 7 kilos) of that of the moustached Garin, but they remain metal (or rather carbon) triangles on two wheels driven by a transmission belt (the chain). The finish line is always in Paris after about 3400 kilometres, but divided into 21 stages, including just one time trial. The truly anomalous route crosses France diagonally from the Pyrenees to the Alps passing through the Puy de Dome, which refers us to the legendary 1964 duel between the noble Anquetil and the unfortunate “Donald Duck” that was Poulidor. This year the announced duel is between Vingegaard, the winner of the last edition and Pogacar, the Slovenian beaten in 2022, but splendid winner of the two previous editions (2020 on Roglic and 2021 on Vingegaard). The two are one, maybe even two steps above the rest of the bill. The Colombian Bernal, himself winner of the Tour in 2019, would also be at the start, but his presence, after the terrible accident that made him lose all of last season, is already a miracle.

battle

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The bikes of the protagonists weigh half (around 7 kilos) of that of the moustached Garin, but they remain metal (or rather carbon) triangles on two wheels driven by a transmission belt (the chain). The finish line is always in Paris after about 3400 kilometres, but divided into 21 stages, including just one time trial. The truly anomalous route crosses France diagonally from the Pyrenees to the Alps passing through the Puy de Dome, which refers us to the legendary 1964 duel between the noble Anquetil and the unfortunate “Donald Duck” that was Poulidor. This year the announced duel is between Vingegaard, the winner of the last edition and Pogacar, the Slovenian beaten in 2022, but splendid winner of the two previous editions (2020 on Roglic and 2021 on Vingegaard). The two are one, maybe even two steps above the rest of the bill. The Colombian Bernal, himself winner of the Tour in 2019, would also be at the start, but his presence, after the terrible accident that made him lose all of last season, is already a miracle.

fat

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As for the Italians, it is sad to consider that there are only 7 at the start. A leap back 40 years, when Italian formations rarely left the borders. In the small but qualified squad is Ciccone, who can beat anyone in the mountains on good days, he has already worn the yellow jersey for two days in 2019. The last Italian success dates back to that Tour, when Nibali won in Val Thorens. Here, Giulio is called to break our fast and perhaps act as referee, on some mountain, in the duel between Vingegaard and Pogacar for the final goal: the yellow jersey in Paris.