Wait for "Vingo", but not Capotondi and Dempsey
Let's sit back and wait for Jonas Vingegaard's feat, aiming for the pink jersey to complete the Triplete, with the Vuelta and the Tour already in his trophy cabinet. The Big Start is as historic as the first Maltese debut in the most nationally popular race there is: Andrea Mifsud, born in France and raised in cycling there. But how much nostalgia there is for faces capable of stimulating the imagination of the "people": from Totò to Favino, from Fracci to Vianello, from Paoli to Ligabue, from Armani to that... Paul Smith with his napkin designed with the altimetry of the Tirano stage.
For the 109th Giro d'Italia (scheduled for May 8-31, 2026, with the final stage in Rome), Bulgaria has been chosen as the venue for a “Grande Partenza” with few “pros” and many “cons.”
Paul Magnier, a twenty-two-year-old Frenchman born in Laredo, Texas, won the first pink jersey of the 109th Giro d'Italia in a sprint finish, having suffered a crash in the final kilometer.
This opening story alone would be enough to draw a line or two and choose other topics to devote attention to. But the Giro is still the Giro, it remains the national-popular sporting event par excellence, and therefore the pink theme must continue until the very end of the... event.
The “pro” lies in the rite that has been renewed once again since 1909.
The "cons" stem from the decision to grant global visibility to a foreign territory, which adds little to the Giro's epic story and detracts greatly from the supposedly Italian venue being showcased. The sixteenth time a start outside of Italy has been held is a lapse in style and a vulgar affront to the country, which is being snubbed despite providing more than half the event's budget, including contributions from local governments, television rights to broadcast free-to-air broadcasts on RAI, and support from brands with large state coffers.
A handful of extra dollars coming from Sofia for the three stages planned there is a punch in the stomach, second only to the departure from Albania in 2025, which has added nothing to Italy and taken a lot away from it by "giving" an advantage to the tourist destinations on the other side of the Adriatic to the detriment of those in Puglia, which are so desperate for global publicity.
That handful of dollars ended up exclusively in the pockets of a private entrepreneur, who runs the Giro solely for the purpose of cashing in, forgetting the concept of "legacy" to be passed on to the host region and forgetting – moreover – the ethical implications for cycling. So much so that by organizing even the amateur Giro, he forces the youth teams, the future of their sport, to pay for their participation in the race! A blasphemy on top of an abomination.
The Giro will still give us something good, even if Jonas Vingegaard appears to be clearly above the meager competition—meaning rivals with few palmares and not technically poor—so he can aim to collect the treble, achieved by wearing the pink jersey of the Giro after the red of the Vuelta and the yellow of the Tour, before Tadej Pogacar, cycling's absolute phenomenon of the 21st century. Should he succeed, the Dane, at a mature age but making his Giro debut, would be the seventh champion to achieve the treble after Jacques Anquetil, Felice Gimondi, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Alberto Contador, Vincenzo Nibali—who is gaining momentum every day as a poster boy in the pink jersey—and Chris Froome. A fine hall of fame.
The bookmakers—a commercial category we have to cover our noses with—give Vingegaard odds of 1,16 to 1,25 for the overall victory: a mere trifle. The other ambitious contenders are at great or very great distances: the rampant Giulio Pellizzarè is given odds of 6; Felix Gall between 17 and 20; Egan Bernal between 23 and 25; Adam Yates (who, if he wins, would emulate his twin brother Simon in an unprecedented family streak) between 19 and 33; Jai Hindley between 25 and 33. And we'll stop here because the rest highlights the poverty of the field of contenders for the pink jersey. Unfortunately, the other "big names" are focused on the universal showdown of the Tour de France and are dedicating part of May to altitude training on Mount Teide, Etna Volcano, and Colorado.
So we'll have to get used again to the long-distance breakaways of supporting players in search of a master, to Jonathan Milan's sprints, to Giulio Ciccone's uphill attacks, and to the flashes of Paul Magnier-style sprinters until they decide to stay in the race before packing up and shamefully fleeing to other shores.
Italians living abroad will be able to enjoy a first-ever Giro d'Italia experience for a Maltese by nationality, but French by birth (Grasse, Côte d'Azur, May 28, 1999) and cycling background. He remained French until 2024, then stopped… cutting his hair, fell under the clutches of Alberto Contador and Ivan Basso due to Visit Malta's sponsorship, and is asking the Giro to showcase his talent and celebrate a major anniversary. This is his first major stage race, and over the past season and a half, he has achieved six top-12 finishes in minor races. When in good form, he excels on hilly routes. Best of luck to Malta's… neighbor!
And we've already gotten down to the nitty-gritty. Which only adds to the regret of seeing the Giro distance itself from the country, from the people, from the "people." Not only that, the collective imagination seems less sympathetic toward the pink race, perhaps because the jet-set stays away, and the actors and actresses are just around the corner, but they don't make the leap. How we miss the presences of "Totò at the Giro d'Italia" and, going back to more recent times, of Vianello & Mondaini. We no longer see Carla Fracci, Cristiana Capotondi, Pierfrancesco Favino, Eleonora Incardona, Gino Paoli, Luciano Ligabue, and Paolo Kessisoglu walking the pink carpet. And they missed designers like Armani, Versace, Dolce & Gabbana and Smith: yes, that Paul Smith who came to the Giro one year and climbed into our car to see his idol and compatriot Mark Cavendish up close, but it was in the middle of the Valtellina mountains – in Tirano, Sondrio, to be precise – and his sprinter from the Isle of Man arrived half an hour after the vanguard of the group.
Smith thanked us with a small but meaningful gift: a napkin, complete with a lace border, with the stage's elevation profile drawn on it. And a few years later, he offered to design the pink jersey: triumph!
The most intriguing figure seen in the group dates back to 2017 and has the face of Patrick Dempsey, who that day dressed in pink and brought all the good things from Grey's Anatomy into the caravan.
Whatever it is. We turn the television screen to the terrace, waiting for the sun to finish its daily journey behind the houses, and enjoy whatever the convent offers. The Tour is a thousand miles away. The Vuelta has put its foot down and is already well into the technical overtaking phase. We feel a bit like children of a lesser God. All that's left is to adapt.
Happy Giro to everyone.
