The Stage

Today was the longest stage of this year’s Giro. The riders wound their way through Campania, starting in Portenza and ending in Napoli. The stage was 227 km long and had two categorized climbs in the first half leading to a total of 2,600 meters of climbing over the course of the day. But the course flattened out for the final 60 km, making today the third consecutive sprint stage.

The rainy day led to slippery conditions. There was one major crash with about 70 km to go that brought down a few dozen riders and led to a race neutralization (a rolling pause in the race) to ensure adequate medical support. Out of this crash, there were a few riders to abandon, including Jai Hindley, a previous Giro winner and key rider for Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe. To keep riders safe the organizers froze GC standings and removed the time cutoff to finish the stage.

The end of the stage came to a sprint finish after a chaotic day, and Kaden Groves, an Australian rider on Alpecin-Deceunick, won the stage.

The Dish

The stage ended in Napoli, so Neapolitan pizza. What else is there to say? It’s on UNESCO’s list of “intangible cultural heritage.” It’s a big deal, and it is delicious!

Reflections

I make pizza pretty regularly, but I have never made Neapolitan-style pizza. The dough was a bit less hydrated than what I usually make, but it also proved much longer than I normally do. All this meant the dough was very pliable, and lovely to work with. We didn’t do the traditional toppings, but I made some fresh homemade pesto to use as the base to try to get the traditional red, white, and green colors on the pie.

I went with a Primitivo to pair with tonight’s pizzas — a red grape from Puglia in Southern Italy. If you recall, the Giro’s Italian debut started in Puglia back in stage 4. It is Italian Zinfandel, dark and fruity.

Until tomorrow which is our first mountain stage of this year’s Giro!