The Giro d’Italia: May 9, 2009 – May 31, 2009

EPIC

I love that word. We all know what that word means, without having to add much more to it. We have all been there; we know what the experience before during and after Epic entails. Yesterday, Stage 16 of the 2009 Centennial Giro d’Italia was deemed Epic. It seemed that jointly everyone decided that the day deserved that title.

I saw videos of the men dazed holding the pink profile maps in their hands before the race. The maps that showed what lay ahead for the day – the 4 category climbs plus the many non-category but race defining climbs over 143 miles with dirt and small passages and winding technical descents in and out of small towns. Over 7 hours would be spent in the saddle racing in a heatwave.

I saw the crowded conditions between support vehicles, riders, fans and motorcycles, and the steep roadside drop-offs. I watched the breaks, the repeated attacks, the faces of pain, the faces of defeat, the untimely mechanicals and the new time gaps resulting at the finish line. I watched men that by now couldn’t remember where they were or where they were headed, but knew that what they had just experienced was Epic.

Now I realize that when we apply the word Epic, what we are really saying is that we never want to experience that again. Epic is only fun to talk about after the fact; Epic is not fun to live in the moment.

Johan Bruyneel’s quote today on Twitter: “Success isn't permanent, and failure isn't fatal”. The stage winner Carlos Sastre’s average speed for the day was 20.25mph. Mick Roger's quote of the day after admitting he had thought of quitting cycling on the second to last ascent, “Had there been a small lake I would have abandoned the race for a swim”.


Giro d’Italia 2009 Stage 16 GC Standings:
1 Carlos Sastre (Spa) Cervelo Test Team 7.11.54 (32.646km/h)
2 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank 0.25
3 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) LPR Brakes - Farnese Vini 0.26
4 Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas 0.29
5 Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Acqua & Sapone - Caffe Mokambo 1.19
6 Francesco Masciarelli (Ita) Acqua & Sapone - Caffe Mokambo 1.21
7 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas
8 Tadej Valjavec (Slo) AG2R La Mondiale 2.11
9 Jose Serpa (Col) Serramenti PVC 2.35
10 Lance Armstrong (USA) Astana 2.51
11 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Astana
12 David Arroyo (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
13 Jackson Rodriguez (Ven) Serramenti PVC
14 Kanstantsin Siutsou (Blr) Team Columbia - Highroad 3.02
15 Michael Rogers (Aus) Team Columbia - Highroad

Giro d’Italia is one of the three Grand Tours. Numerous articles are available on CyclingNews.com and VeloNews.com. Stage 16 profile, map, and google earth images available on SteepHill.tv. Read a rider diary of the day by Michael Barry. Race viewing online – follow the option to Universal Sports on CyclingFans.com, or turn on your TV to 9-3 or 250, the action continues every day until Sunday, except for today when riders need a rest day after an Epic.

Raise a Glass to the Classics

1 month, six races, and 1 cheater later

Let’s raise a glass as April slips away and the Classics are now a memory. Ah but not just any glass, a glass of Belgium’s finest. So on your next trip to the “store” search out the best. There are only seven breweries in the world officially entitled to call themselves “Authentic Trappiste Breweries”. Six are located in Belgium and one is in the Netherlands, (la biere trappiste) they are :

Achel, Westmalle, Rochefort, Chimay, Westvleteren, Orval, and Koningshoeven (La Trappe)

It is time to learn to order a beer:

• Flemish Belgium (Dutch north): to order a standard working class Belgian beer ask for een pintje (a pint, pronounced "ayn pinch ya"). An pintje is beer like jupiler, stella, maes, and other Beers in this category. The better Belgian beers - Rodenbach, kriek, gauze…. are always called by the name of the beer. This is also true for the trapist beers above. To order these it is best to order them by name.
• French-speaking Belgium (French south): ask for une bière (pronounced "oon bee-yair").

Other things you need to know:
How to say “one more beer please”:
In Dutch: Nog een pintje a.u.b.
In French: Encore une biérre s’il vous plait
In German: Noch ein bier bitte

In Flemish Belgium (Dutch north), a stamcafe is where the locals hang out.

“Cheers” is proost or gezondheid in Flemish (north), and santé (sahn-tay) in French (south). They also say ‘Santé’ in the North but this is more dialect. Obviously it is very important to know where you are at all times in Belgium, so a map is always handy.

What you should eat with your Beer:
Specialties like mussels, the world's best fries (frites!), wild hare, hop sprouts, leeks, smoked ham from the Ardennes region, soups, eels, a variety of tarts and of course waffles.

Read more about Belgian Trappist Beer and more history about Beer and the Monks

Next stop – ITALY! and the Giro d'Italia beginning May 9th!