thewashingmachinepost




..........................................................................................................................................................................................................

100 greatest cycling climbs of italy. a guide to the famous mountains of the giro d'italia and beyond. simon warren. little brown book group softback. 238pp illus. £12.99

100 greatest cycling climbs of italy - simon warren

with dave stoller, in 'breaking away', it was masi; with me it was colnago. and there's every likelihood, if you'll pardon my misappropriating a fictional back story, that dave was little better informed over the reason behind his obsession with italiana than was i. or, to be perfectly honest, than am i. though i still own a couple of colnagos from an earlier period than that featured on the cover of rouleur's desire special, i still drool over any campagnolo groupset and have harboured continual arguments with myself whether i should go ahead and order a campag embroidered sweatshirt.

granted, colnago and fiat are about the only two words of italian in my vocabulary and in these modern times, italy exerts considerably less influence over the peloton than in the days of bartali, coppi, with no homegrown team currently competing at the top level. yet always hovering in the background are thoughts of chromed italian steel, tribute to which has been gloriously paid by the timeous officina battaglin release, with its pink, steel giro frameset celebrating giovanni's 1981 victory in verona. and since we are but a few stages into the 2019 giro d'italia, any discussion involving the words 'pink' and 'bicycles' is surely wholly appropriate?

100 greatest cycling climbs of italy - simon warren

as indeed is the publication of the latest book from the inestimable and seemingly irrepressible simon warren, the only normal human being of whom i know, able to breathe through his ears while commentating on the steepness of the climb he appears to be ascending with relative ease. it is very much in his favour that the opening page not only celebrates italy's grand tour, but is printed on a pink background. and in his paean to the giro, warren echoes the thoughts of many a sunday morning peloton.

"In our globalised age, the race now aims to emulate the worldwide appeal of the Tour, but I hope it always stays uniquely Italian, because if it didn't, it just wouldn't be the Giro,"

i am possibly one of the least qualified individuals to review this, or any other of mr warren's books, given that my home island is pretty much bereft of death-defying ascents (though any cyclist arriving by ferry at port askaig, might not agree). however, having read richard moore's 'in search of robert millar' at least twice and failed miserably to ride over the big hill at dundonald in ayrshire, i live in hope that i might be considered at least an apprentice grimpeur.

100 greatest cycling climbs of italy - simon warren

simon has already filled a box set of british climbs with eight volumes, augmented by several others, including the compellingly compulsory hellingen, describing the climbs of belgium. however, belgium was so last month; now it's 'bongiorno' time, for which it may be necessary to undertake some serious girding of loins. italy has some utterly stoaterish mountain climbs, many of which will be particularly familar to the pelotonese, the tone of which is set by the very first, colle san carlo, featuring an average gradient of 9.8% and topping out at 15%. this is probably the first book i've ever reviewed for which it may be necessary to train.

ever the teacher of note, the author precedes our lactate threshold by advising that "WARNING! One last thing before we get started. While it may be 30 degrees Celcius in the valley, that doesn't mean it won't be snowing at the top! So always, ALWAYS take a jacket."

as a self-confessed campagnolo aficionado, no matter the imposition placed on my meagre climbing skills by the other 99 ascents, the croce d'aune pretty much stopped me in my reading tracks: "This climb isn't famous for its steep gradient, its monumental length, or the part it has played in deciding the winner of the Giro d'Italia. No, this climb is famous because of one man: Tullio Campagnolo." mind you, with an maximum gradient of 13%, it's the last place you'd want your quick release skewer to give trouble, even if your fingers weren't frozen.

100 greatest cycling climbs of italy - simon warren

each climb offers a succinct précis of its features, including altitude, average and maximum gradient, along with the height gain, a graphic profile, location thumbnail and simon's description of the purgatory to be endured. he's also helpfully graded the climbs out of a maximum of ten (though ascents such as the zoncolan and via scanuppia (45%!) both garrner 11/10. the poggio manages 1/10) these have been presaged by a narrative account of mr warren's accumulated journeys to the boot of europe, whereby he rode and catalogued the included five-score climbs before, presumably, having to lie down in a darkened room for a month or two. it's no wonder the back cover attests to the eight years it took to complete.

for those of us more than happy to sit in a leather armchair, watching the latter stages of the giro, the colour illustrations will suffice until medical science finds a way to offer leg transplants. ride it or read it, this is brilliant, and not only because someone other than me had to do it.

tuesday 14 may 2019

twmp ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................