Turin gets up on the pedals, on the eve of the Big Start of the Giro d’Italia. You run in the balance between symbols of the present and the past, between myth and glory, between history, geography and epic.
The pink shirt with an insert in homage to Grande Torino, a grenade shirt created specifically to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Superga tragedy (“on May 4th we are all Taurus”, say the mayor Stefano Lo Russo and the governor Alberto Ciriogoing beyond their black and white faith) and the reproduction of Kha’s Egyptian necklace: here is the triple prize for the winner of the first stage, the Venaria Reale-Turin (140 km with a climb also in Superga) which on Friday 3rd will christen the 107th edition of the Tour.
The Corsa Rosa links its history to that (glorious and tragic) of Valentino Mazzola and his companions but also to that of ancient Egypt, in a union between Turin and Turin excellences. Today was the day of the presentation at the Egyptian Museum and of parade of the 22 teams at the Valentino Castle. The latest news comes from Egypt itself, which is celebrating its bicentenary: whoever wears the first pink shirt will therefore receive a shebyu necklace inspired by the one worn in 1400 BC by Kha, the starchitect of the pharaohs. The necklace constituted the so-called “gold of valor” with which the pharaoh rewarded the most capable officials.
As Evelina Christillin, president of the Egyptian Museum: «The director Christian Greco had a brilliant idea: with the necklace of Kha, the architect who supervised the work on the pyramids, we add more history and glory to the Giro». Warn Paolo Bellino, CEO of RCS Sport: «The first stage will immediately be exciting, to win Kha’s necklace we will have to work hard». The governor Cirio he does the math and smiles: «Every euro invested in major sporting events returns tripled or quadrupled in terms of economic benefits».
Will Pogacar immediately wear pink and maroon? He replies Vincenzo Nibali, winner of two Giros in 2013 and 2016: «It will be Tadej against everyone. He comes from a great success at Liège-Bastogne-Liège and has a great team. But this Giro will present many difficulties from the very first day of the race.”
Piedmont is rooting for Filippo Ganna, six stage successes and five days in the squad between 2020 and 2021: «Pippo has grown a lot, also becoming a rider for the great classics. At the last Milan-Sanremo he had a lot of bad luck. This Giro will help him relaunch himself, aiming for some stage successes. We are all rooting for him.”
The Shark of Messina knows well the great passion of Piedmontese cyclophiles: «Winning my second Giro d’Italia right here, in Turin, in 2016, was truly fantastic. I was late, I had to catch up – recalls Nibali, who with three stages to go was 4’43 behind Kruijswijk -. A whirlwind of typhus overwhelmed me, here in Piedmont. And the arrival in Turin was the apotheosis.” In 2016, Nibali was awarded in Piazza Gran Madre, where the first pink jersey will be awarded, with fifty or more shades of history and myth.
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