The 107th edition of the Giro d'Italia 2024 started from Turin. At DOVE, we were there, by bike, to discover the emotions of the first stage, in the company of the Tudor team.
22 teams and 176 cyclists set off from Venaria Reale on Saturday May 4 to face the first stage of the pink race.
According to experts, in terms of altitude difference, it will not be the toughest Giro in recent years. But as always, there will be no shortage of unexpected events and surprises. Entertainment therefore guaranteed on the 20 stages, in view of the arrival in Rome on May 26. More than 3,300 kilometers of asphalt and a good dose of adrenaline distributed equally between five mountain stages, two time trials, six sections for sprinters and eight “moves”, for a total of 42,000 meters of altitude difference.
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Social ride along the Giro d'Italia route
At DOVE, we covered part of this same stage, on a racing bike, helped by the electric motor, to experience the emotions of racing professionals and enjoy the beauty of the landscape.
The snake left around nine in the morning from the meeting point, the bike workshop with bar. Good music and good food, a bicerin and a slice of “grandmother’s cake” and the last bike assembly, . At the helm of the group were the Tudor team leaders, a few representatives of the Swiss company and, following them, a handful of journalists from around the world.
Ritual photo on a Vittorio Veneto square dressed in pink and full of people since the morning, then start of the social stroll under a warm spring sun.
Leaving the village and the heart of the city, a few flat kilometers along the Po river to stretch your legs and start the climb.
The muscular bikers achieved the feat using the strength of their legs; the others with electric aid, which did not cancel out the pleasure of the effort, but was certainly a balm especially if you don't have the legs trained to face significant differences in altitude. Like the one that leads to the Maddalena hill, which we “climbed” in the freshness of lush vegetation (even greener thanks to the abundant rains of recent weeks).
About seven kilometers and almost 700 meters of elevation gain later, a short break at the top of the hill and then the descent towards Moncalieri. A few technical turns and a fast straight line are enough to face the last effort, optional for the group, obligatory for Giro cyclists: the San Vito wall, a short but intense section, almost a kilometer and a half over 367 meters. altitude difference. To experience, on a small scale, the emotions of professionals.
Venaria Reale-Turin: the first stage
It was Jonathan Narvaez who won the first stage of the Tour of Italy 2024stealing the show from an excellent Tadej Pogačar, sprinting on Corso Moncalieri in front of a packed crowd.
140 kilometers and the three GPM of the day placed in increasing difficulty: Colle Maddalena only 22 km from the finish line, but what makes a clear difference, in the final, is the climb towards San Vito, a very hard, 10% on average. In short, a stage for cyclists with legs of steel.
To add an extra touch of pink, the move to Superga on the 75th anniversary of the Grande Torino tragedy.
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Tudor and the Giro d’Italia 2024
Timing is everything when it comes to professional cycle racing. The samples are actually distinguished by fractions of a second.
The greatest precision in measuring race times is entrusted, once again this year, to You sleepconcerningconfirmed Official watch of the Giro d'Italia. With something new, or rather two.
For the first time at the 107th edition of the pink race, the Swiss company will be among the competitors with the Tudor professional cycling team. Eight cyclists in the saddle, part of a team of 28 young athletes selected and trained by former Swiss champion Fabian Cancellara, among whom the two spearheads are the Italians Alberto Dainese, 2019 silver world champion, and Alberto Dainese, already won two stages at the Giro. Plus the Australian warehouseman.
From human capital to product, in this special tour TUDOR presents the other great novelty: the new Pelagos FXD Chrono “Cigling Edition”a chronograph developed specifically for the cyclists of the Tudor Pro Cycling Team.
The lightest ever
In addition to the bold aesthetic that strikes you at first glance (the matte black dial with red details, the “Snowflake” hands and the square indexes, emblematic elements of Tudor since the 1960s), the lightness of the Pelagos FXD is surprising. The case (43 mm) in carbon composite and powered by a high-performance manufacturing caliber, and the ring bracelet in black technical fabric with coordinated metal elements, made on the 19th century jacquard looms of the region's Julien Faure company French from St.‑Etienne, together they weigh only 700g.
Designed for competitive cycling, it is a resistant and robust watch, thanks to the presence of titanium elements. What makes it a useful and functional object of desire is the “special” tachymeter scale recalibrated to adapt to the speeds sustained by cyclists. “Wrapped” in a spiral around the dial, it allows you to read at a glance the average speeds at which athletes usually pedal.
Like every Tudor watch, the new Pelagos FXD Chrono “Cycling Edition” is assembled and tested to the brand's high standards in the new Tudor factory in Le Locle, Switzerland. Completed in 2021 after three years of work, the Manufacture is connected both physically and visually to the Kenissi Manufacture, the industrial unit founded in 2016 for the production of Tudor movements.
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Furthermore, the Swiss company's latest arrival perfectly embodies the brand's claim “Born To Dare”, which has its roots in the brand's history, and references the vision of Hans Wilsdorf – founder of Tudor, which decided to create watches capable of withstanding the most extreme conditions and adapting to the most adventurous lifestyles – and affirms today's values: creating exceptional timepieces.
