Cyclopaat, an alter ego with a twist
Towards the end of 2024, the Secretary of the Treasure sanctioned the organization of a Giro d’Italia 2025.
HELL YEAH!!!
However, as the costs for an apartment in the Dolomites was still way over our budget, we settled for one in the Ortler Alps.
After two forced changes in reservation, our base camp was smack in the middle of Bormio at the foot of the Stelvio, the Gavia and the Foscagno.
So, how did I fare this Giro d’Italia 2020, compared to what I had in mind beforehand?
Well, I choked on the Mortirolo (from Mazzo) again and – barely – made it up the Bernina, all the way from Tirano.
The difference with last year being, that this did not happen during the same stage and that the Mortirolo was just as hot, but the Bernina was the coldest of all.
But, I kinda, sorta, had my revenge on the Mortirolo, as I was on its summit no less than four times, twice during the same stage.
I also ended up on the Stelvio summit three times, during my prologue and as finishes for stages 7 and 9.
And, I was able to complete the Maratona dles Dolomites, which had been on my to-do/wish list, since I first visited the Dolomites in 2011.
Not surprisingly, that stage (6) also came with the highest elevation difference (D+) of all stages: almost 4,250 meters.
Contrary to my past ‘Grand Tours’, I’m not going to write a road book for my Giro d’Italia 2020.
Every time I put a lot of effort in it and while I usually manage to generally follow the stages I had in mind, I frequently have to change plans anyway.
This can be for any number of reasons, my advancing age probably not being the least important.
But, I’ve also suffered from a cyclist nodule and intense, hernia induced or incident related (back) pains.
Bless me father…For I have sinned. It has been… Well, forever.
Oh, fuck that – I haven’t heard any complaints about the lack of updates on this site over the past six months or so, so I’m not apologizing.
Besides, the Corona / Covid-19 crisis has kept everybody busy with other, more important stuff.
And although we are now in the middle of a worldwide protest around police brutality, while all sorts of other shit is going wrong, that’s my alter ego’s department and I have an announcement of my own to make.
How did this Giro d’Italia come to be?
Well, late 2019, we initially booked a vacation on Tenerife, where I would cycle up and down El Teide and Paula would bake in the sun.
Then Corona/Covid-19 happened and we decided to not take avoidable risks and cancelled that trip.
Paula being who she is, then asked me if I would be in for an alternative, like Italy, maybe the Dolomites…
The occasional visitor of this site will know that I didn’t need a lot of time to think that over.
HELL YEAH!
So, for the Giro d’Italia 2020, we found a hotel in Ponte di Legno, at the base of…
Drum roll…
