ok, so we're pretty much used to Tour de France stages in Belgium, which is pointless IMO, but those stages are ususally flat and boring, plus it's not that far away from French border. no harm done. i know there had been ideas to start Tour in NYC, but those were probably Lance-inspired and pretty stupid to be honest too. unfortunatelly, some guys are really bored and come up with those new-old ideas to run a national tour in foreign countries...

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/col-du- ... ro-ditalia

i have no clue what's the goal here - Galibier is a Tour climb, one of the most recognized by fans all over the world. why the hell would Italians try to 'seize' it for their national tour?

i've also heard rumours that the next Tour de Pologne will begin in.... Trentino! For those who suck at geography - it's more than a thousand kilometers away!

i wonder what's next? Vuelta in Sicily? Tour in Tatra Mountains? Paris-Nice in Schwarzwald?

Actually, the Galibier stage looks like a good one, starts in Italy, and it is short (150km), but packed with hard climbs. What's not to like?
Also, there'll be snow, which always makes racing spectacular.

The monument(s) should be where Pantani took the massive doses of EPO which sealed his victory, or maybe the Amgen factory where it was manufactured.

You know, I was thinking pretty much the same thing when I saw the references to Pantani. I don't understand why people keep romanticising about the achievements of dopers...

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Pantani was a terrific racer, doped or not, like it or not.

Snow! Finally, a reason to use disk brakes and cross tires in a Grand Tour. Lol.

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Too bad he covered it all up with the doping, or else it might have been clear to see what great a racer he _really_ was.

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You do what you have to do to get the job done.

The Hamilton/Coyle book hopefully put the final nail in the coffin of the "level playing field" argument. The reality is in a doping era you can't say who would have been the strongest without supplementation. That said, you have to love Pantani's style.

Giro's always trying to increase interest. Doing the Galabier probably increases international interest. The Giro's my favorite of the three grand tours: the best combination of route elements, including the epic stages which the Vuelta doesn't have.

BTW, I saw Menchov's Giro trophy @ Interbike last week: I couldn't even lift it! It's made of lead, I was told.

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All it needs is to have (almost) all of the top riders, really going for it, as opposed to being just for Italian "townies" or riders preparing for another race (TdF).

Nope, not at all. To me, he is one of the poster childs for doping so every time I see footage of him, all I can think is how doped up he was and how his feats of strength and endurance mean nothing.

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geez guys, what does doping have to do with the issue?

Pro cycling...Doping...They're inseparable

I like his attacking style. That he was able to do it in a doping era and solo off the front to win, that he went from a time trial basket case to placing near the top, are another matter...

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