Wine and Food of the Giro 2021 Stage 4: Piacenza to Sestola

Where are we? Heading to Emilia Romagna
Piacenza: The Giro tells me that “Piacenza is a land of passage”, Leonardo Da Vinci wrote in his “Codex Atlanticus”.
Located at the junction of four different regions, on the southern bank of the river Po, the city is the gate of Emilia, surrounded by the hills and mountains of the Apennines. Founded as a Roman colony, Piacenza acquired great importance in Medieval times, always representing an ideal rest area for princes and pilgrims, crusaders and templars, tradesmen and artists who left their mark along the way.
Sestola: For Sestola, they suggest: Sestola, also known as “The Pearl of the Apennines”, is the most important ski resort in the region because of its proximity to Mount Cimone, the highest mountain in Emilia Romagna and one of the largest of all the Apennines.

The Giro Specialties:

Piacenza: There are two sides to the soul of Piacenza’s culinary tradition, both tied to its geographical location. On one hand, variety: bordering with three different regions such as Lombardy, Liguria and Piedmont, constant exchanges have enriched the heritage of this land, known since ancient times for its good food and wine. On the other hand, Piacenza’s specialities can well be considered typically Emilian, embodying the traits of delicacy and abundance that have made this region famous all over the world.

Also the nearby hills and mountains are the cradle of extraordinary products: mushrooms, chestnuts and game, not to mention the top quality cultivations reaching the outskirts of the city.

Several dishes have overcome the boundaries of the province and are considered a classic of the Italian tradition: “pisarei e fasö” (small dumplings made of flour and breadcrumbs, with a bean sauce dressing) or “anolini in brodo” (home-made pasta with a cheese and stew filling, served in broth). Piacenza can also boast excellent DOP products, certified for their quality and area of origin; two kinds of cheese, Grana Padano and Provolone Valpadana, along with three types of cured meat: pancetta, coppa and salame.

Sestola: You cannot leave without having tasted the traditional speciality “crescentine”, better known as “tigelle” from the name of the ancient tool used to cook it. Crescentine are served with lard and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese which is made by local creameries.

From Crescentine, Borlenghi, Croccante and Ciacci specialities to traditional products such as mushrooms, chestnuts and cheese; the Modena Apennines offer a repertoire of tastes to discover.

The stage: Hills! And pretty high ones for an opening week stage. 

The early word of the day was wet. 

The question of the day way: would we see any excitement from the gc riders or was it too early, too wet, and a day for the break?

Early on, a large break with 25 riders, clearly many thought the answer would be day for the break.

💗 Giro d'Italia 2021 - Stage 4⃣
🌧️ Montemolino - km 143
🚴‍♂️🚴‍♂️ Taaramäe, @JensenJuul
⏱️ 1'20" > @ADM_RossodiBuja, @JoeDombro, @louisvervaeke, @NicoEdet
⏱️ 8'18" > Peloton | Gruppo
💻 Live: https://t.co/j8ggiiKeUQ
🏁 44 km#Giro pic.twitter.com/X8csHhOmf4

— Giro d'Italia (@giroditalia) May 11, 2021

Taaramae would become virtual leader on the road. Thirty five kilometers to go and they had one minute over the front group of remaining breakaway riders and almost eight minutes over the peloton, with riders in between.
As they continued on, it was clear the winner on the day woulds either come from the lead group or one of this larger group of chasers:  Alessandro De Marchi, Pieter Serry, Joe Dombrowski , Nelson Oliveira, Andrea Vendrame, Louis Vervaeke, Nicolas Edet, Jan Tratnik, Jacopo Mosca, Francesco Gavazzi, Marton Dina, Attila Valter, and Filippo Fiorelli.

Behind, the peloton had grown small. Among those dropped, Ganna.

Ten kilometers to go and the gap from the chasers to the lead duo was 1:19 and just under five minutes to the main peloton.

A reminder of the climb that was still to come, the Colle Passerino: Although just 4.2km in length, it features an average gradient of 9.9 per cent, including pitches of 16%  around midway up. It's a second-category climb and tops out 2.5km from the finish, followed by a rolling plateau to the line.

Five kilometers to go and the chasers were at 33 seconds. Behind, the peloton continued to shrink, with Almeida in trouble. Ahead, De Marchi was the virtual pink on the road as he and Dombrowski joined the duo up front. Behind, Ciccone attacked from the gc group.

Four kilometers to go and Dombrowski had a slight gap on De Marchi as that duo surged ahead. Further behind, under three minutes to that small gc group, with Landa attacking. That would wake up the gc riders and indeed, the attacks would continue. Our first many groups on the road of this year's Giro!

Dombrowski! In next, De Marchi, riding into pink. Behind, all sorts of gaps within the gc groups.

Rank	Bib	Result
1	Joe Dombrowski (USA) UAE Team Emirates	4:58:38
2	Alessandro De Marchi (Ita) Israel Start-up Nation	0:0:13
3	Filippo Fiorelli (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane'	0:0:27
4	Louis Vervaeke (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix	0:0:29
5	Jan Tratnik (Slo) Bahrain Victorious
6	Attila Valter (Hun) Groupama-FDJ	0:0:44
7	Nicolas Edet (Fra) Cofidis	0:0:49
8	Nelson Oliveira (Por) Movistar Team	0:0:57
9	Rein Taaramäe (Est) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux	0:01:33
10	Christopher Juul-Jensen (Den) Team BikeExchange	0:01:36

General classification after stage 4

Rank	Bib	Result
1	Alessandro De Marchi (Ita) Israel Start-up Nation	13:50:44
2	Joe Dombrowski (USA) UAE Team Emirates	0:0:22
3	Louis Vervaeke (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix	0:0:42
4	Nelson Oliveira (Por) Movistar Team	0:0:48
5	Attila Valter (Hun) Groupama-FDJ	0:01:00
6	Nicolas Edet (Fra) Cofidis	0:01:15
7	Aleksandr Vlasov (Rus) Astana-Premier Tech	0:01:24
8	Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep	0:01:28
9	Alberto Bettiol (Ita) EF Education-Nippo	0:01:37
10	Hugh Carthy (GBr) EF Education-Nippo	0:01:38

The wine: Orsi Posca Rossa
This is rather an interesting wine: A non-vintage wine drawn from a concrete vat which containing a blend of Barbera, Negretto, Sangiovese and a small percentage of international varieties. It comes from different vineyards of various ages and includes a little of every year back to 2008. The wines have been made in different ways and in different vessels. The majority of the blend is made up of wine from the most recent vintage and the vat is constantly being topped up with young wine to prevent oxidation. 

The Food: Let's make some tigelle:

500g of 00 flour, plus extra for dusting
150g of water, lukewarm
150g of milk, lukewarm
25g of extra virgin olive oil
5g of dried yeast
5g of fine sea salt
salami, for stuffing inside the breads
cheese, for stuffing inside the breads

Method

1

Combine the milk and water and stir in the yeast. Leave for 10 minutes to activate

2

Place the flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Add the oil, then stir in the milk mixture with a spoon. Once it starts to come together, tip out onto a floured surface and knead for 5 minutes until you have a nice smooth dough

3

Place the dough into an oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth and leave somewhere warm to prove for 1 hour or until doubled in size

4

Tip the dough out onto a floured surface and roll out to 0.5cm thick. Use an 8cm cutter to cut the flour into neat discs. Re-roll out trimmings and cut out more circles until all the dough is used

5

Carefully arrange the discs onto a tray lined with greaseproof paper. Cover with a cloth and leave to prove for another hour

6

Place a nonstick frying pan over a medium-high heat and allow to come to temperature. Cook the tigelle for about 4 minutes each side until puffed up and slightly charred

7

Slice open and stuff with an array of cured Italian meats or cheeses

Wine and Food of the Giro 2021 Stage 3: Biella to Canale

Where are we? Still in Piedmont! 
Italia.It tells me that the town Biella is divided into two main sections: Biella-Piazzo is the Medieval district, dominated by the magnificent Palazzo Cisterna and ancient churches; in Biella-Piano lie the Duomo, the pre-Romanesque Baptistery and the Museum of the Biellese Territory, documenting local history in great detail. 
A land tied to its faith, Biella is also the location of the Sacro Monte di Oropa, a monument whose Sanctuary is listed as s UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Biennial Religious and Cultural Tourism Market is held here as well.

They tell me that Canale has approx. 5,500 inhabitants. The town is a historic gem with many churches and it also offers a lively and interesting market on Sundays, which is very much worth a visit. The town is located in the vineyard region of Roero, which is particularly known for the production of the Arneis grape used in the production of white wines. The area has many good restaurants that can satisfy anyone who appreciates good food.

The Giro specialties:

Biella: Biella’s food and wine is fully counted among the excellences of Piedmont. Among the best known cheeses we can find the Toma, hard paste, made with cow’s milk, following the ancient Alpine tradition. It is also produced with full-fat milk and it became Maccagno type and with half skimmed milk. The tomes of the Biella valleys have the recognition of the D.O.C. by the Piedmont Region.

These cheeses are also the main ingredients for two great typical dishes: the ‘pulenta cunscia’, a soft cream made with corn, that has to be cooked for a long time in a cauldron, the recipe is a mix of  local cheese melted with tasty farm butter and the ‘ris an cagnun’, that is a risotto made with toma and fried butter.

Among the most well known sausages we have: ‘salam d’ula’, that is preserved in fat and made with meet, salt, pepper and sometimes red wine. Others local dishes are “salam d’asu” with donkey meat and those based on goat meat. The production of “salam ‘d patata” is more localized, then the “Paletta of Coggiola”, a shoulder ham flavored with salt and pepper, stuffed into the bladder and dried in the air.

The Biella desserts: the torcetti which are leavened, crumbly biscuits in an oval donut shape. The “paste ‘d melia” biscuits made with corn flour. Canestrelli, fragrant wafer pods with chocolate and hazelnuts.

The great variety of blooms allows to select a wide variety of types of honey: acacia, chestnut, linden, rhododendron, dandelion and wildflower, just to name the most common.

Canale: On these hills, whether they are Langhe, Roero or Monferrato, we cannot talk about gastronomy without mentioning the rarest and most precious product: tuber magnatum pico, the famous white truffle, which in nearby Alba has its “headquarters” with the International Fair that takes place in autumn. If Roero is certainly known for its wines, nevertheless in these limestone soils have been cultivated over the centuries other excellent productions. For example, peaches certainly made the agricultural history of Canale: their cultivations started at the beginning of the twentieth century, when viticulture was put in crisis by the phylloxera and by some terrible hailstorms. Since then, the “peaches of Canale”, with their thick skin, firm pulp and characteristic flavor, became a typical Piedmontese product. Another typical fruit of Canale is the Madonna’s chestnut, also called “Canalina”: particularly appreciated for its early maturation, it is one of the oldest chestnuts in Europe. Another typical product of Canale is roast ham, the result of a centuries-old tradition started by the “Filipin”, some local butchers who found a tasty way to preserve pork legs, roasting and spicing them. It is prepared with a mixture of aromatic herbs and Arneis wine before being cooked in a wood oven. The result is a ham with an intense pink color, soft and tasty. Talking about more recent traditions, a typical dessert of Canale is La Douchesse. It is a chocolate pastry with hazelnuts, almonds and liqueur. The secret recipe has been kept since the early twentieth century by the Sacchero pastry shop (via Roma 39), where it was invented and where it is still produced in an artisanal way. 

The stage: Off we go. The question of the day may be whether the true sprinters can hang on until the end and challenge for the win. Once upon a time, this stage screamed Sagan. But now? Less clear.

With just over Just over 53k kilometers to go, the gap was 3:30. The riders in the break were, Samuele Rivi (Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team), Alexis Gougeard AG2R Citroën Team), Andrii Ponomar and Simon Pellaud (Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec), Samuele Zoccarato (Bardiani-CSF-Faizane), c (Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team), Lars van den Berg (Groupama-FDJ), and Taco Van Der Hoorn (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux). 

As they went on, both the break and the peloton would grow smaller. Sprinters would fall off, get back on and hope to simply maintain contact.

💗 Giro d'Italia 2021 - Stage 3⃣
📌 Ricca - km 158
🚴‍♂️🚴‍♂️🚴‍♂️🚴‍♂️🚴‍♂️ @PellaudSimon, 💙@vincenalban, @ZOCC2, @larsvandenberg2, @TacovanderHoorn
⏱️ 1'13" > Peloton | Gruppo
💻 Live: https://t.co/j8ggiiKeUQ
🏁 32 km#Giro pic.twitter.com/PDLQ5nq0tk

— Giro d'Italia (@giroditalia) May 10, 2021

Just under 16 kilometers to go and the catch looked like it would be made soon. Jumping from the bunch Tony Gallopin and Ciccone. The question was, for Sagan's team, now that they had gotten almost everything they wanted from the day, could they keep things together and finish this off?

Just over 8 kilometers to go and Taco was out front solo. Hard to not cheer for him after his day's effort. Three kilometers to go and he had :18 over the closest chasers. Insert Taco Tuesday on a Monday joke here. Taco Tuesday comes early, maybe? And, wow, he did it!

💗 Giro d'Italia 2021 - Stage3⃣

🇳🇱 @TacovanderHoorn wins in Canale!
🇳🇱 @TacovanderHoorn vince a Canale!#Giro pic.twitter.com/Ihf0ghneRO

— Giro d'Italia (@giroditalia) May 10, 2021

  Stage results:

Pos.	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	Taco van der Hoorn (Ned) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux	4:21:29
2	Davide Cimolai (Ita) Israel Start-up Nation	0:00:04
3	Peter Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe
4	Elia Viviani (Ita) Cofidis
5	Patrick Bevin (NZl) Israel Start-up Nation
6	Gianni Vermeersch (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
7	Fernando Gaviria Rendon (Col) UAE Team Emirates
8	Alberto Bettiol (Ita) EF Education-Nippo
9	Stefano Oldani (Ita) Lotto Soudal
10	Jacopo Mosca (Ita) Trek-Segafredo

Still in pink: Ganna

The wine: 2016 Barolo “La Tartufaia” Giulia Negri

Back to our friends at Kermit Lynch for a wine that I really loved. Too soon to call it the wine of the race? Maybe.

They describe it as: La Tartufaia is a divinely atmospheric truffle forest in the heart of La Morra where Giulia’s vineyards run parallel. The wines produced here, from clay-rich soil, are textbook examples of classically structured Barolo typical of the area. Rounded tannins, salty minerality, and pure Nebbiolo fruit make this wine an essential selection for any cellar, especially in such a stellar vintage.

The Food: Really, the answer should be truffles, but they are not in season and I admit to not loving truffle oil. So instead, honey. I would have liked to try dandelion, just because, but instead: wildflower to pair with a bit of leftover gorgonzola. 

Wine and Food of the Giro 2021: Stage 2 Stupingi/Nicholeno to Novara

Where are we? 

Nichelino is a commuter town for Turin. Nearby is the Palazzina di Caccia di Stupinigi, a monumental hunting lodge begun for the Savoy kings in the early 18th century, You can read a lot more here, but I liked this bit: Stupinigi was the preferred building to be usedfor celebrations and dynastic weddings by members of the House of Savoy. Here, in 1773, Maria Teresa, Princess of Savoy, married Charles Philippe, Count of Artois, brother of Louis XVI and the future Charles X of France.

Italia.it tells me that Novara is the easternmost province of Piedmont, bordering Lombardy to its east and south. Enclosed by the Ticino and Sesia Rivers, it is mainly flatland in the south, hills in the center, and mountains to the north, whence surges the Monte Mattarone. 

The Province in part is home to Piedmont's grand lakes: most of Lake Orta and the evocative village of Orta San Giulio; and the southern part of Lake Maggiore, with its renowned tourist resorts of Arona and Castelletto-above-Ticino. 

Giro Specialities:

Stupingi: Within the Stupinigi Natural Park, were identified the most suitable agricultural land for growing traditional varieties of wheat with a low gluten content, which had not been grown in the area for a long time, and to these have been added many varieties of ancient grains. The wheat, sown in the park, is stone-ground and his flour is sold in the area and also used by the Panacea bakery (in Turin) to produce bread by using sourdough. With the enhancement of local agriculture and the park’s antique agricultural vocation, a direct link has been created between the cultivated land of Stupinigi and the consumer, bringing to the table a top quality bread and creating the first flour chain in Piedmont. Working in a short supply chain without intermediaries ensures the elimination of chemical additives and offers consumers a product whose quality and origin are fully known.

Novara: As Novara is surrounded by rice fields, its typical dish can only be made with rice: the paniscia is a risotto with beans, cabbage and salame della duja (a typical salami kept in a clay pot under the porc fat) and all the vegetables you can find in your garden . Each family has its own recipe, the important is to cook it in large quantity, so you can eat the rest the day after al salto, crispy and tasty.

Gorgonzola never fails on our tables, both dolce and piccante; the Consortium for the Protection of Gorgonzola cheese is in Novara, where most of the production is concentrated. One can taste it alone or combined with other ingredients in delicious recipes: anyway, it’s one of the cheeses that best match the whole meal. Dulcis in fundo, the Biscotti of Novara are an ancient dessert, whose recipe dates back to the XVIth century, made by the nuns that used to prepare them during Easter time and send to the Pope. Made only with flour, sugar and eggs they have accompanied the snacks of the Novara people for over 500 years. During the patron saint celebrations (22nd January) the Bread of San Gaudenzio is worth tasting; it’s a cake made with raisins or chestnuts, closed in a shortcrust pastry shell and dried fruit grains above.

The stage: A basically flat 179 kilometer stage. Time to find out which of the sprinters is ready to challenge for the red jersey (maglia ciclamino). 

Plus, our first break of the race with Filippo Tagliani (Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec), Umberto Marengo (Bardiani-CSF-Faizané), Vincenzo Albanese (Eolo-Kometa). 

The Giro social media team was prepping for a relaxed stage with a question of the day:

Describe @vincenzonibali with an emoji... but don't use this 👉 🦈

Descrivi @vincenzonibali con una emoji... ma senza usare questa 👉🦈#Giro pic.twitter.com/urCYZBEUhC

— Giro d'Italia (@giroditalia) May 9, 2021

 Despite the flatness of the stage, there was a single KOM (King of the Mountain) point, so we would have someone in that jersey tomorrow. That rider? Albanese.

Seventy kilometers to go and the gap was around two minutes. I was appreciating the quiet stage today, allowing me to get back in the rhythm of these posts.

Sixty kilometers to go and the gap to the two remaining break riders was 1:13.

Ahead, an intermediate sprint point. The Giro sprint points are confusing so here's the basics: Both sprintermediates count for the Sprintermediate Comp [no jersey]

1st sprintermediate counts for Points [ciclamino]
2nd sprintermediate counts for GC [rosa]

But, really, go here and read more about all of the competitions you may not be aware of. 

Obviously, our two breakaway riders took maximum points. Behind them, from the field: Gaviria followed by Viviani, Pasqualon and Sagan.

Twenty seven kilometers to go and the duo ahead was essentially caught. Next was the second sprintermediate. Ganna took the win, giving him three bonus seconds. 

That done, it was almost time for the sprint trains to set up.

Five kilometers to go, all together and I admit that I was getting nervous. Early sprint stages of grand tours stress me out.

Fastest man in Italy, too. https://t.co/i9vHwahvo1

— Bill Schieken | CXHAIRS Media (@CXHairs) May 9, 2021

Stage: 

os.	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	Tim Merlier (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix	4:21:09
2	Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) Team Qhubeka Assos
3	Elia Viviani (Ita) Cofidis
4	Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
5	Peter Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe
6	Matteo Moschetti (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
7	Filippo Fiorelli (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane'
8	Lawrence Naesen (Bel) AG2R Citroën Team
9	Davide Cimolai (Ita) Israel Start-up Nation
10	Caleb Ewan (Aus) Lotto Soudal

Ganna keeps pink. 

The Wine: 2019 Langhe Freisa “alla mia Gioia” Piero Benevelli

I have a soft spot for Freisa and this just sounded fun.

The folks at Kermit Lynch tell me that: Credit goes to Lyle Railsback for noticing a dusty bottle of this beauty above the fireplace in Massimo Benevelli’s tasting room. Massimo wasn’t going to voluntarily tell us that he produced this delicious little sparkling Freisa “for his joy” (and his family’s consumption), but once we noticed and tasted one, we insisted on scoring some, and he caved in. Good eye, Lyle! Pair this zippy red with salami or, really a treat, a bowl of strawberries.

The Food: Gorgonzola

The Gorgonzola consortium tells me that: Gorgonzola is a very ancient cheese. Some say Gorgonzola was first produced in the town of Gorgonzola, near Milan, in the year 879 AD. Some other say that it was first produced in Pasturo nella Valsassina, a great cheese-making area for centuries, due to the presence of excellent natural caves where the average temperature is constantly between 6°C and 12°C. Therefore, this allows perfect making of Gorgonzola as well as several other cheeses.

They also say that: Only milk from some provinces of Lombardy and Piedmont can be used; the milk, exclusively pasteurized full fat cow milk, is added with lactic ferments, rennet and penicillium spores. After coagulation, the curd is put in wooden moulds, about 14 kg per wheel, and then left to rest in order to drain the serum. The wheels are then turned over and branded on both sides with the ID number of the cheese factory. Afterwards, they are moved to cells, called “purgatory”, with a temperature of 18/24 °C, where the wheels are manually salted.

After about 3 weeks of ripening, in cold stores at -1 +7 °C, with 85/100% humidity, the wheels are punched with large metal needles to let the air enter in the cheese, develop the cultures inserted in the curdle and hence give birth to the unique blue-greenish and/or grey-light blue veins of Gorgonzola. When the ripening is complete (minimum 50 and maximum 150 days ripening for sweet Gorgonzola; minimum 80 and maximum 270 days ripening for spicy Gorgonzola), the cheeses are cut and each part is wrapped in foil with the unmistakable G in relief of the Consortium.

Wine and Food of the Giro 2021 Stage 1: Torino/Turin ITT

Ciao Giro! It really hasn't been that long since we last saw you. This year, back in May. 

A reminder to longtime readers and and FYI to new ones: each day's post will include a little bit about the region(s) they are cycling through, an unedited "live blog" of the day's racing, a wine from the region, and, finally, a food from the region. I do my research in many places, but the regional specialties come from the official Giro site.  Without further ado, stage 1!

Where are we? Torino, also known as Turin.  This year we start in the north, in the capital city of Piedmont. The local visitor's bureau tells me that: Torino is an aristocratic “old lady” more than two thousand years old, whose vestiges are still visible in “her” main monuments, streets, squares and underground... an “old lady” reborn out of “her” own ashes, more dynamic, innovative and modern than ever but always proud of “her” great past.
The first capital of Italia invites you to discover its ancient and modern history, the Royal Residences, the palaces and museums, the parks and tree-lined avenues, the river and the mountains, the historic restaurants and cafes, the long arcaded streets and the multiethnic neighborhoods, the great events and the many small pleasures that have always made it unique, in a harmonious balance among the rational Roman urban planning, the moderate splendor of the Piemonte baroque and the originality of modern and contemporary architecture.

The Giro specialties: Turin’s cuisine boasts a long and refined tradition, making Turin one of the world capitals of taste. Great use is made of vegetables, meats, cheeses, irreplaceable ingredients for refined and tasty recipes. Appetizers are the lion’s share: from vitello tonnato (veal in tuna sauce) to anchovies in green sauce, from meat and fish in carpione to more delicate dishes such as vegetable flans and tomini, small fresh cheeses. As first courses, stands out bagna caôda, ancient peasant recipe based on a sauce with oil, anchovies and garlic where raw and boiled vegetables are dipped, agnolotti, gnocchi and risottos and as second courses, mixed boiled meat, braised meat and mixed fried food, just to mention some of them. The table never lacks breadsticks in the variants “stirato”, crumbly and with a delicate taste, and “rubatà”, full-bodied and lightly leavened, stick-shaped, an all-Turin invention, and cheeses, the list of which is endless and delicious: from robiole, to tome, from tomini to straw cheeses with a firm or doughy consistency. And to end on a sweet note, Turin’s confectionery industry boasts the invention of zabaglione, egg yolks beaten with sugar and Marsala wine, and bignole, delicate and irresistible little bundles covered in icing, and chocolate with the iconic giandujotto, obtained by mixing chocolate with toasted hazelnut flour, cremini, alpini with liqueur, pralines and other delights.

The stage: An 8.6 kilometer time trial. 

This will not be the most exciting stage profile of the race. It will also not be the most exciting stage write up, which as always, I'm writing live. If you have forgotten or perhaps are new here, a time trial stage features riders sent out individually, departing at specified times designed to keep them from clumping together on the road. Sometimes if you have a particularly fast rider, they will pass the rider in front of them on the road, but there are rules around drafting and passing. Because, of course there are. 

The early results have Jonathan Castroviejo in the hot seat at 9:14, which gives a sense of the times on the day. One thing to note with this opening time trial: the teams can choose the order in which they send our riders, so unless there is a dramatic change in weather expected, they tend to use their early riders almost as scouts on the course to advise the later riders on the best way to ride the course. 

Meanwhile on the road, our new hot seat occupant is Matthias Brändle at 9:09.

In at 9:00, Tobias Foss. That was a very good ride from him.

Next into the hot seat, Affini at 8:57.

To the surprise of no one, into the hot seat, where we would expect him to stay: Filippo Ganna at 8:47. 

The wine: Bèrto's Vermouth di Torino Bianco “Aperitiv dla Tradission” Imported by Kermit Lynch.

It had Torino in the name, how could I resist?

The importer tells me that: Founded in 1890, the distillery of Castelnuovo Don Bosco was purchased in 1906 by Carlo Quaglia, the great-grandfather of the current distillery director. A succession of fathers passing the historical and traditional knowledge of distillation, liqueur, and vermouth production to their sons, and each son adding their own vision brings us to present day. The current ambition of the distillery is to preserve the multitude of traditional liqueurs and vermouths of Piedmont. 

The food: Breadsticks, because the Giro tells me they are a speciality and doesn't everyone love a breadstick? 

I used the recipe here from Thekitchn. 
It is simple enough to follow and you can add herbs and spices to your own preference. Were they as pretty as the ones I sometimes get out? No. But they were fun and also, tasty.