Seven of the stages planned for the 2020 Giro d'Italia will take place in part in an edition that will be virtual, like all the cycling we've been seeing for a few weeks now.
This virtual Giro d'Italia, from April 18 to May 10will mix on the same professional cyclists, amateurs and legends on the same routesAll funds raised will be donated to the Italian Red Cross.
At the start today stars such as Primoz Roglic, Matteo Trentin, Alberto Bettiol and Jakob Fuglsang. will be joined by legends such as Claudio Chiapucci, Andrea Tafi, Stefano Garzelli and Alessandro Ballan..
A group of names that have survived the passing of time, including that of Ivan Bassoexcited about an edition whose virtual label "gives it the power of the moment and the ability to see and experience it at the same time as others".
"In this race, in these moments, all the participants can feel maglia rosa" explains Ivan Basso.
A stage through the heart of Abruzzo.
The opening day will take place between this Saturday and next Tuesday, a section that reproduces the finish of which is tenth stage of the Giro 2020which goes from San Salvo to Tortoreto.
In this case it will start from Controguerra, named city of oil and wine a few years ago, and will end at the "lungomare of Tortoreto, where Filippo Casagrande, Francesco's brother, won in the 1995 Giro" recalls the world ambassador of Gobik.
"On the route we have two steep slopes typical of the area we are riding in, the Abruzzo. They are not very long, about two kilometers and with some hard slopes that go up to 17%" continues the double winner of the Giro.
For this stage the pros are expected to set the stopwatch at fifty minutes and the amateurs at an hour and a quarter.
"It's important to approach the stage with a warm-up beforehand and to pedal in a ventilated place to regulate the body temperature. The work on the roller is more enjoyable between 15 and 18 degrees and a fan comes in handy" advises Ivan Basso.
Memories of the Giro
This time Ivan travels back to his earliest childhood, at the age of six, when his teacher Maria Rosa took him to see the Giro d'Italia pass through Varese, his hometown.
"It was the Giros of Saronni and Moser, Maria Rosa took us to see the Giro, it was the first time I saw the race live, a great emotion. Maria Rosa was the wife of the cyclist Wladimir Panizza, who even wore the maglia rosa on one occasion," recalls Ivan Basso of those years.
Texts:JoanSeguidor's Notebook
