£0.00004 Per Metre

Me on the Stelvio's 'easy' side.

For me, stage 16 is where this year’s Giro properly begins (assuming the weather holds), and where many of the competitors will be sorely wishing it properly ended: the mountains — the really, really big mountains.

The 139km jaunt warms up with the Passo Gavia, ridden from Ponte di Legno. I’ve tackled the Gavia both ways, neither of which heroic acts featured in The Breakaway. Next is the mighty (as if the Gavia isn’t also mighty) Passo Stelvio, topping out at a mere 2758 metres. The Giro is racing up from the easier (in my humble opinion) Bormio side. Again I’ve ridden it both ways (go me!) but it was on the climb from Prato that I succumbed to Breakaway bonk paranoia and rode off ahead of my companion, Drew.

“Somewhere within the last ten switchbacks I snapped out of the fugue, looked round for Drew, the idea that I had been riding with someone else slowly gaining credence. I eased up and that other person came into view, far in the distance, an ant in my curious gaze. All the while I was watching him, the worrywart voice in my head persisted, nagging incessant, telling me to forget about my friend: hurry, hurry, hurry, before the bonk comes back! Forget about him, save yourself, save yourself! What if you hit the wall? Don't look back, don't look back!”

Things weren’t quite the same from then on.

Stage 16 of Doom ends atop the 2059 metre-high Val Martello, which, sadly, I haven’t ridden, from any direction.

And there’s more two days later: stage 18 features the Passo San Pellegrino, which Drew and I drove along during The Breakaway but sadly never rode, and climaxes with a cruise up to the Rif. Panarotta, which I’d never even heard of until the announcement of this year’s corsa rosa.

The dénouement is Stage 20 and the Monte Zoncolan, a monstrous ascent that cast a dark shadow over the initial days of The Breakaway, and which will haunt me until I get my skinny Scottish butt back over to Italy for a re-try (and will probably continue to haunt me, only in more gory detail, even after that).

The Bargain

To celebrate (or perhaps for the sprinters in the gruppetto, to commiserate) the last week of the Giro and all this uphill awesomeness, The Breakaway is reduced to only 99p, which works out at about £0.0000099 per word or £0.00004 per metre climbed — check it out here.

It’s a bargain in anyone’s book and might just inspire a bout of mountain madness all of your own.

As one reviewer on Amazon said:

“This personalised account gives you the flavour of how difficult, both physically and mentally, these climbs are, but gives you the urge to go out and try them for yourself.”

Very kind and, hopefully, true.

It's a Stelvio No-Go

Stage 19 of the 2013 Giro d'Italia is scheduled to tackle The Stelvio but it appears that Madre Natura has other plans. With the pass blocked by snow, and more forecast to fall, (at the time of writing this blog) race organisers look set to remove the climb from the day's route. You can check out the current summit conditions for yourself by viewing the Stelvio webcam here.

This Giro has been dominated by the weather, with rain and snow almost as prevalent as the blazing sun and azure skies we expect to see in Italy at this time of year. As for snow at the top of the Stelvio? It's a mountain pass that tops out at 2757 metres, so a little inclement weather is to be expected.

Stelvio 'easy' side in the sun

I've tackled the Stelvio from both the Bormio side (which this Giro was scheduled to ride) and the more famous (surely infamous?) ascent from Prato. The latter is definitely the harder of the two, one of the hardest, if not the hardest of the many climbs I tackled during The Breakaway. If you can only ever ride one Grand Tour climb I'd suggest aiming for this one. It's an absolute brute, a bona fide legend. Reach the summit (weather and legs permitting) and you'll have lifelong bragging rights.

So, here goes with a bit of bragging and a short extract from my Stelvio ascent for The Breakaway (don't say I'm not good to you!):

How many hairpins?

I could feel the energy evaporating from within, certain my fate was but a matter of timing, unrelated to the effort I expended, sand slowly draining from the hourglass. Then the cold shakes set in. 

"I told you to hurry!" The fear shouted its final warning and once again I succumbed, made a dash toward the summit to counter the risk of never reaching it. 

At hairpin 5 I changed up a gear and heaved round the pedals in a manner that suggested I had excess energy to give — head down, the alarm ringing in my ears, teeth gritted against the pain. At 4 my quads were in agony; at 3 I felt twinges of cramp; 2 and my lungs burned from the effort; by hairpin 1 I didn’t care that the summit lay just ahead at the end of the long, steep, straight ramp. Managing the next pedal stroke was my only concern.

To read more or to purchase a copy of the The Breakaway click here or visit Amazon.

The Breakaway costs less than an inner tube and you don't even need a Kindle to read it. Just download the free Kindle app and read it on your laptop, desktop, tablet or teapot. (I made that last one up.)

The Breakaway ... and the Giro d'Italia too.

... and the Giro too

Okay, okay, so the title says it's all about the mountains of the Tour de France. Well, truth is, the travels (and travails) of The Breakaway actually kicked off in Italy.


Our first five days took in the Dolomites and Italian Alps, climbs that were breathtaking to look at and ride, passes infused by decades' of myth and tifosi passion. My first experience of riding in Italy was unforgettable, but so tough that it nearly ended out trip before it had properly begun.

Lake Garda Goonie

We were turned to Goonies by the darkness of Lake Garda's unlit tunnels, almost eaten alive by Dolomiti billy goats, truly humbled by the Stelvio, its innumerable switchbacks and silver-haired Shaolin monks.

Stelvio Switchbacks

The Tour is indisputably the biggest race but the Giro d'Italia is every bit as inspiring. Could it be the fans' passion, the Italian flair for style and drama, the azure seas and skies? It's all that and a whole load of truly immense mountains that make the Giro what it is. Unmissable.

To preview the book or buy a copy for only £3.99 click here or visit Amazon.