Squadra: Italian for team.
Squalificato: Italian for disqualification. When Marco Pantani was found to have a high hematocrit near the end of the 1999 Giro, he was tossed from the race. He suffered a squalificato.
S.T.: Same time. See “@”.
Stage race: A cycling competition of two or more separate races involving the same riders with the results added up to determine the winner. Today the victor is usually determined by adding up the accumulated time each rider took to complete each race, called a “stage”. The one with the lowest aggregate time is the winner. Alternatively the winner can be selected by adding up the rider’s placings, giving one point for first, two points for second, etc. The rider with the lowest total is the winner. The Giro used a points system between 1909 and 1912 because the judging was simpler and cheating could be reduced. Because points systems tend to cause dull racing during most of the stage with a furious sprint at the end, they are rarely used in determining the overall winner. Because points systems favor sprinters, most important stage races have a points competition along with the elapsed time category. In the Giro the time leader wears pink and the man ahead in points wears red. In the Tour de France the leader in time wears the Yellow Jersey and the points leader wears green. The race’s ranking of its leaders for the overall prize is called the General Classification, or GC. A rider can win the overall race without ever winning an individual stage, as Carlo Oriani did in the 1913 Giro.
Stayer: A rouleur.
Strada bianca (pl. strade bianche): Italian “white roads”, used to denote unpaved gravel roads.
Switchback: In order to reduce the gradient of a mountain ascent the road engineer has the road go back and forth across the hill. The Stelvio climb is famous for its 48 switchbacks as is l’Alpe d’Huez for its 21. In Italian the term is tornante.
Tappa: Italian for stage.
Il tappone: Italian for the Queen Stage of stage race. It is the hardest, most demanding stage and is always in the high mountains.
Team time trial: See time trial. Instead of an individual rider, whole teams set off along a specific distance at intervals. It is a spectacular event because the teams go all out on the most advanced aerodynamic equipment and clothing available. To maximize the slipstream advantage the riders ride nose to tail as close to each other as possible. With the riders so close together, going so fast and at their physical limits, crashes can occur. Some teams targeting an overall win practice this event with rigor and the result is a beautifully precise fast-moving team that operates almost as if it were one rider. Sometimes a team with a very powerful leader who is overly ambitious will be shattered by his making his turns at the front too fast for the others. Skilled experienced leaders take longer rather than faster pulls so that their teammates can rest.
Technical: Usually refers to a difficult mountain descent or time trial course on winding city streets, meaning that the road will challenge the rider’s bike handling skills.
Tempo: Usually means riding at a fast but not all-out pace. Teams defending a leader in a stage race will often go to the front of the peloton and ride tempo for days on end in order to discourage breakaways. It is very tiring work and usually leaves the gregari of a winning team exhausted at the end of a Grand Tour.
Tifosi: Italian sports fans, sometimes fanatical in their devotion to an athlete or team. The term is said to be derived from the delirium of typhus patients.
Time Bonus: See Bonification
Time Limit: To encourage vigorous riding, the Grand Tours impose a cutoff time. If a racer does not finish a stage within that time, he is eliminated from the race. This prevents a racer’s resting by riding leisurely one day, then winning the next. To calculate the time limit, they increase the stage winner’s time by some percentage. Because it is the intention of the races to be fair, the rules are complex. On flat stages where the riders have less trouble staying with the peloton and the time gaps are smaller, the percentage added to the winner’s time is smaller, and in the mountain stages it is higher. The faster the race is run, the higher the percentage of the winner’s time allowed the slower riders. Riders who have unusual trouble can appeal to the commissaires for clemency.
Time trial: A race in which either an individual or team rides over a specific distance against the clock. It is intended to be an unpaced ride in which the individual or team is not allowed to draft a competitor. The riders are started at specific intervals, usually two minutes. In the Giro and the Tour the riders start in reverse order of their standing in the General Classification, the leader going last. Usually the last twenty riders are set off at three-minute intervals. If a rider catches a racer who started ahead of him the rules say that he must not get into his slipstream but must instead pass well to the slower rider’s side. This is one of the more often ignored rules in cycling. The Giro’s first time trial was in 1934.
Tornante: Italian for switchbacks.
Track: See Velodrome.
Trade team: A team sponsored by a commercial entity. Until the mid-1950s, cycle team sponsorship was limited to companies within the bicycle industry. Real change came in 1954 when Fiorenzo Magni’s bicycle manufacturer, Ganna, fell into financial difficulty. Magni was able to supplement the shortfall by getting the Nivea cosmetic company to sponsor his team. The move was initially resisted but it is now the standard. Bicycle companies today usually do not have the monetary resources to finance big-time racing teams.
TTT: See Team Time Trial.
Transfer: Usually a Giro stage will end in a city one afternoon and start the next morning from the same city. When a stage ends in one city and the next stage starts in another, the riders must be transferred by bus, plane or train to the next day’s starting city. This schedule is normally done so that both the finish and start city can pay the Giro organization for the privilege of hosting the Giro. The racers loathe transfers because this delays their massages, eating and resting.
UCI: The governing world body of cycling, the Union Cycliste Internationale.
Ultimo Kilometro: Italian for the final kilometer.
Velodrome: An oval bicycle racing track with banked curves. They can be sited either indoors or outdoors. Olympic tracks are usually 333⅓ meters around but indoor ones are smaller and have correspondingly steeper banking. Some road races like Paris–Roubaix have the riders ride onto the velodrome and finish the race with a couple of laps on the track. In the past, the Giro would regularly do this, often with the rider’s time being clocked as he entered the velodrome. With a 200-man field in modern Giri this is impractical. The disappearance of velodromes is also a major factor in this trend.
Ventaglio: Italian, literally a fan, but in cycling slang it means echelon.
Virtual Pink Jersey: When a rider has a large enough lead on the Giro leader, so that if the race were to be ended at that very moment he would assume the leadership, he then is called the Virtual Pink Jersey.
Washboard: A rough riding surface with small bumps or irregularities. Like the pavé, riding on washboard requires a lot of power and puts the smaller riders with less absolute power at their disposal at a disadvantage.
White Jersey: In the 1930s Giri it was worn by the leader of the unsponsored class of riders, called independents. Today it is worn by the best rider under 25.
Yellow Jersey: Worn by the rider who is leading in the General Classification in the Tour de France.
Bibliography
Books marked * are highly recommended. Abt, Samuel. Up the Road: Cycling’s Modern Era from LeMond to Armstrong. Boulder, Colorado: VeloPress, 2005.
Armstrong, David. Merckx: Man and Myth. Silsden, England: Kennedy Brothers Publishing, undated.
*Bobet, Jean. Tomorrow, We Ride. Norwich, England: Mousehold Press, 2009.
Bergonzi, Pier and Elio Trifari. Un Secolo di Passioni: Giro d’Italia 1909–2009. Milan, Italy: RCS Libri sp
a, 2009.
Bergonzi, Pier and Giuseppe Castelnovi. Giro d’Italia, Le storie e le foto piú belle della leggenda rosa. Milan, Italy: SEP Editrice, 2000.
Berto, Frank J. The Dancing Chain. San Francisco, California: Van der Plas Publications, 2009.
Duggan, Christopher. A Concise History of Italy. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1994.
Brunel, Philippe. An Intimate Portrait of the Tour de France: Masters and Slaves of the Road. Denver, Colorado: Buonpane Publications, 1995.
*Buzzati, Dino. The Giro d’Italia: Coppi Versus Bartali at the 1949 Giro d’Italia. Boulder, Colorado: VeloPress, 1999.
Calamai, Franco. Alfredo Martini, memorie di un grande saggio del ciclismo. Milan, Italy: Edit Vallardi, 2008.
Cervi, Gino and Paolo Facchinetti. Il Giro d’Italia: Strade Storie Oggestti di un Mito. Bologna, Italy: Bolis Edizioni srl, 2009.
Castelnovi, Giuseppe and Marco Pastonesi. Una Vita da gregario. Milan, Italy: SEP Editrice, 2004.
Conti, Beppe: 100 Storie del Giro, 1909-2009. Torino, Italy: Graphot Editrice, 2008.
Conti, Beppe and Gian Paolo Ormezzano. Il Giro e L’Italia, un storia d’amore. Ancarano (TE), Italy: Editoriale Diemme srl, 2007.
Cornand, Jan. 57th Giro d’Italia: Tour of Italy 1974. Keighley, U.K.: Kennedy Brothers Publishing, 1974.
————. 58th Giro d’Italia: Tour of Italy 1975. Keighley, U.K.: Kennedy Brothers Publishing Ltd., 1975.
————. 59th Giro d’Italia: Tour of Italy 1976. Keighley, U.K.: Kennedy Brothers Publishing Ltd., 1976.
Duker, Peter. 61st Tour of Italy 1978. Keighley, U.K.: Kennedy Brothers Publishing Ltd., 1978.
Fignon, Laurent. We Were Young and Carefree. London: Yellow Jersey Press, 2010.
Fotheringham, William. A Century of Cycling. St. Paul, Minnesota: MBI Publishing, 2003.
*————. Fallen Angel: The Passion of Fausto Coppi. London: Yellow Jersey Press, 2009.
Fretwell, Peter and A.Gadenz. 55th Giro d’Italia: Tour of Italy 1972. Keighley, U.K.: Kennedy Brothers Publishing Ltd., 1972.
————. 56th Giro d’Italia: Tour of Italy 1973. Keighley, U.K.: Kennedy Brothers Publishing Ltd., 1973.
Godaert, Janssens, Cammaert. Tour Encyclopedie (7 volumes). Ghent, Belgium: Uitgeverij Worldstrips, 1997.
*L’Équipe. The Official Tour de France Centennial 1903–2003. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2004.
Henderson, N.G. Continental Cycle Racing. London: Pelham Books, 1970.
————. Fabulous Fifties. Silsden, England: Kennedy Brothers Publishing, Ltd. Undated.
Howard, Paul. Sex, Lies and Handlebar Tape: The Remarkable Life of Jacques Anquetil, the First Five-Times Winner of the Tour de France. Edinburgh, Scotland: Mainstream Publishing, Ltd., 2008.
Kirkpatrick, Ivonne. Mussolini, A Study in Power. New York: Avon Books, 1964.
*Lazell, Marguerite. The Tour de France, An Illustrated History. Buffalo, New York: Firefly Books, 2003.
*Maertens, Freddy. Fall From Grace. Hull, U.K.: Ronde Publications, 1993.
Martin, Pierre. The Bernard Hinault Story. Keighley, U.K.: Kennedy Brothers Publishing Ltd., 1982.
————. Tour 80. Keighley, U.K.: Kennedy Brothers Publishing Ltd., 1980.
————. Tour 82. Keighley, U.K.: Kennedy Brothers Publishing Ltd., 1982.
————. Tour 83. Keighley, U.K.: Kennedy Brothers Publishing Ltd., 1983.
————. Tour 84. Keighley, U.K.: Kennedy Brothers Publishing Ltd., 1984.
————. Tour 85. Keighley, U.K.: Kennedy Brothers Publishing Ltd., 1985.
————. Tour 88. Keighley, U.K.: Kennedy Brothers Publishing Ltd., 1988.
————. Tour 90. Keighley, U.K.: Kennedy Brothers Publishing Ltd., 1990.
*Mulholland, Owen. Uphill Battle. Boulder, Colorado: VeloPress, 2003.
Negri, Rino. Parla Coppi. Trent, Italy: Alta Anaunia Editrice, 1971.
*Nye, Peter. Hearts of Lions. New York: W.W. Norton Company, 1988.
*Ollivier, Jean-Paul. Maillot Jaune. Boulder, Colorado: VeloPress, 2001.
Pastonesi, Marco. Gli Angeli di Coppi. Portogruaro (VE), Italy: Ediciclo Editore srl, 2006.
Picchi, Sandro. Il Giro d’Italia, Storia Illustrata (2 Volumes). Florence, Italy: Ponte alle Grazie Editori srl, 1992.
Pratolini, Vasco. Al Giro d’Italia. Milan, Italy: La Vita Felice, 2001.
*Rendell, Matt. The Death of Marco Pantani, A Biography. London: Phoenix, 2007.
Roche, Stephen. My Road to Victory. London: Stanley Paul & Co., 1987.
Ronchi, Manuele and Gianfranco Josti. Man on the Run: The Life and Death of Marco Pantani. London: Robson Books, 2005.
Sánchez, Javier Garciá. Induráin: A Tempered Passion. Norwich, U.K: Mousehold Press, 2002.
Serantoni, Ildo. Felice Gimondi: The Story of a Man who was also a Champion in Life. Milan, Italy: SEP Editrice, 2005.
Seray, Jacques. 1904, the Tour de France Which Was to Be the Last. Boulder, Colorado: Buonpane Publications, 1994.
Sergent, Pascal. Paris–Roubaix. London, U.K.: Bromley Books, 1997.
*Sykes, Herbie. The Eagle of the Canavese: Franco Balmamion and the Giro d’Italia. Norwich, England: Mousehold Press, 2008.
*————. Maglia Rosa: Triumph and Tragedy at the Giro d’Italia. London, U.K: Rouleur Ltd., 2011.
*Thompson, Christopher S. The Tour de France: A Cultural History. Berkeley and Los Angeles, California: University of California Press, 2006.
Vanwalleghem, Rik. Eddy Merckx, the Greatest Cyclist of the 20th Century. Boulder, Colorado: VeloPress, 2000.
*Voet, Willy. Breaking the Chain. London: Yellow Jersey Press, 2002.
*Walsh, David. From Lance to Landis: Inside the American Doping Controversy at the Tour de France. New York: Ballantine, 2007.
Wilcockson, John. Marco Pantani: The Legend of a Tragic Champion. Boulder, Colorado: VeloPress, 2005.
*Witherell, James. Bicycle History, A Chronological Cycling History of People, Races and Technology. Cherokee Village, Arkansas: McGann Publishing, 2010.
*Woodland, Les. The Crooked Path to Victory. San Francisco, California: Cycle Publishing, 2003.
*————. Tourmen: The Men Who Made the Tour de France. Cherokee Village, Arkansas: McGann Publishing, 2010.
*————. The Yellow Jersey Companion to the Tour de France. London: Yellow Jersey Press, 2003.
Magazines: Various issues of Velonews, Procycling, Cycle Sport, Bicisport, Bicyclist
Websites www.memoire-du-cyclisme.net
www.letour.fr
www.bikeraceinfo.com
www.cyclingnews.com
www.velonews.com
www.gazzetta.it (the website of La Gazzetta dello Sport)
www.wikipedia.com and others
Conversations, letters and e-mails over the years with the following generous people, not in any particular order: Owen Mulholland, John Mulholland, Larry Theobald, Les Woodland, James Witherell, Fiorenzo Magni, Giorgio Albani, Greg LeMond, Brian Robinson, Marcel Tinazzi, Felice Gimondi, Joe Lindsey, Steve Lubanski, Celestino Vercelli, Paolo Guerciotti, Valeria Paoletti, Antonio and Mauro Mondonico, Faliero Masi, Rene Moser, Derek Roberts, Franco Bitossi, Pier Bergonzi, Italo Zilioli, Ferdy Kübler, Freddy Maertens, Jac van Meer. Thank you all so much. Memories of stories told to me over the years of my career by the many people in the bike industry whom I have had the good fortune to meet.
Photos
Winner Gösta Pettersson
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Eddy Merckx in action on stage fourteen.
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Roger de Vlaeminck wins at Castrovillari in stage six.
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Gimondi climbs the Vajolet in s
tage nineteen.
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Saronni wins the 1979 Giro.
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Bernard Hinault in stage sixteen.
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Francesco Moser in pink.
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Stephen Roche (right) in stage twenty-one.
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Hampsten in the snow
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Fignon in pink, with Gianni Bugno
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Gianni Bugno takes the stage at Vallombrosa.
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Berzin winning the stage eight time trial at Follonica.
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Gotti (front, in pink) and Tonkov (Mapei kit) duke it out.
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Pantani wins the stage in Montecampione.
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Pantani wins another stage wearing pink, at Madonna di Campiglio.
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Garzelli (foreground, in pink) and Pantani enjoy a moment of cameraderie in stage twenty-one.
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Simoni rides alone in the rain.
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On the Colle delle Finestre, Savoldelli is in the center group, chasing.
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Vinokourov slogs through the mud.
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The Story of the Giro d'Italia: A Year-by-Year History of the Tour of Italy, Volume 2: 1971-2011 Page 35