No women, no Giro
The main colour of the Giro d’Italia is pink, so it’s not surprising that there are so many girls following it as fans or working at the race. For example, you can see them dancing in the publicity caravan, the colourful parade of official sponsors that precedes the riders every day, distributing giveaways to the spectators waiting along the road for the big cycling show. And, of course, during the first three stages in Israel, you couldn’t miss the local beauty Bar Refaeli, godmother of the Giro’s first Grande Partenza outside Europe.
On the podium of every stage, you can also meet the wonderful women ready to award the pink jersey for the leader of the general classification, the cyclamen jersey for the points classification leader, the blue jersey for the best climber and the white jersey for the best young rider.
A voice very familiar to the riders is that of official announcer Barbara Pedrotti, who welcomes them every morning at the Start Village, while one voice that is heard every day in the team cars is that of Isabella Negri – she translates into English the information that comes from the Italian race radio about the situation during the stage: the advantage of the breakaway, the composition of the different groups, rider withdrawals and much more.
Many of the riders may have occasion to thank Shimano’s Veronica Passoni, team leader for sports marketing and events, who coordinates the Shimano assistance team that is ready to help in case of any technical problem that may affect a bike and that can’t be solved immediately by the staff in the rider’s own team car.
Then, at the end of the stage, it’s time for Federica Manzin, Giorgia Monguzzi and Sara Cavallini, three of the many female photographers who follow the Giro around the country, to document the celebrations of the stage winner and the jersey presentations on the podium.
At the same time, RCS Sport press officer Elena Fiume tries to stop the leaders for quick quotes and brief interviews with TV and press from all over the world. Finally, the riders may be lucky enough to meet their wives or girlfriends who have come all the way to the finish just to congratulate their heroes and give them a kiss. An example? Ask Sam Bennett, who was well rewarded after his second victory in this Giro, in Imola. Just so you know, it’s impossible to stage the Giro without women.
Photo and video credits:
Luigi Sestili – Marco Alpozzi – LaPresse