1996 Giro D'Italia Breaking Away Tour

1996 Giro D'Italia Breaking Away Tour
by Lisa Curran

General

I knew this was going to be a great trip. I set off with friends Karen Langeman and Judy Barnes and hooked up with the 40-person Breaking Away tour group to to cycle the beautiful Lake region and the Dolomites of Italy while following the Giro d'Italia. This was as fun as the Tour de France trips I've done. It's hard to say which was better. There's a little more hype associated with the TdF, which is good because it's incredibly exciting but it also makes the logistics and the daily schedule a bit more demanding. I liked the FOOD way better in Italy and I found the people-watching more interesting because the Italians are so colorful. The Dolomites are awesome (as are the French Alps and the Pyrenees.) The Dolomitic formations are spectacular to look at and the climbing is challenging. We climbed "the Marmalada", which is the most challenging climb I've ever done because it ends with a killer 3K of about a 15ish percent grade.

The lake region was really nice. After taking a ferry across Lake Como, we climbed from the town of Bellagio up to the Santuario Madonna Del Ghisallo. This is a church dedicated to cycling and is filled with cycling memorabilia like photos, bikes, and jerseys of famous cyclists. Fabio Casertelli's bike is there now. (Fabio died competing in last year's TdF). I'd seen his bike atop the Motorolla team car last year in France. It was sort of strange to see it again. But it all seemed strange - a church full of cycling stuff - the priest blessed our cycling trip. On another day of riding we sampled cappuccinos in various quaint lakeside towns on lakes Orta and Stressa, and we stayed in a hotel overlooking Lake Maggiore.

Race viewing plus

We got to see a good mix of events: A race start, a couple of finishes, a time trial, and a good bit of race viewing on switchbacks (my favorite). The racers are most relaxed at the start so we took advantage of that time when they are approachable and got some autographs. That proved worthwhile because it caused us to become familiar with some of the racers we hadn't heard of. Roberto Pelliconi was quite friendly and because of that we enjoyed cheering for him and in a couple of instances over the next several days he was able to respond a little to our cheers. That was fun.

My favorite race view was probably the one from the Passo Pordoi, where we could see the racers enter town below, then climb a switchback below us (we'd have time to look up the racers' numbers to identify them if we didn't recognize them) and we'd cheer and get a good look at them as they climbed passed us on our switchback. This is also the day we accepted drinks from and chatted (in Italian) with three partying Italians.

We got offered lots of drinks. The Italian spectators liked interacting with cyclists - especially women cyclists. We women would be cheered (and sometimes got a welcomed push!) by the masses as we climbed the passes of the Dolomites. Race fans would yell Bella! Bellisima! Mama Mia! Fortza! (strong!), and Maria/Claudia! (female equivalent to Mario/Claudio Cippoline/Ciapucci). It was positive attention but I did joke that all the yells made it feel like we were riding passed a really big site of construction workers.

Overall the race was very exciting because the pink leaders jersey juggled around a bit even in the final days.

Time Trialing with Berzin

On a time trial day we rode the course, stashed our bikes, then stood on the side with the daily pink sports newspaper in hand, Il Gazzetto dello Sport, that guided us as to who to expect to come up the road. (Il Gazzetto is the cheif sponsor of the Giro, which is why the leader's jersey is pink). While we were riding we came upon three Gewiss racers warming up on the course in between a lead and a trail car. As we approached I recognized one of my favorite racers, Eugeni Berzin. I looked over and said hello as we passed and we quickly got out of their way. A few times we'd slow down as we looked for turns or negotiated cobblestones in the small town centers and the Gewiss team would pass us. We leapfrogged each other a few times. One time I looked over and Berzin was RIGHT ON JUDY'S WHEEL. Tee hee.

Ron Keifel and Eve Stephenson

Retired pro racer Ron Keifel (1985 Giro stage winner and many time participant in the TdF) was a special Breaking Away staff member who greatly contributed to the exceptionalness of the trip. At night after the delicious group dinners he'd tell stories, give tips, and entertain questions. He's a warm person and a great story teller. I want to get a tape of the '85 Giro and see his stage victory he told us about so animatedly . His fabulous fiancee, Eve Stephenson, World Team Time Trial Champion, who was a guest on the trip was a pleasure to interact with, a beautiful rider, and told a great story of her experience leading up to winning World Gold.