Author Archives: Patrick Santino

2021 Giro Stage 5: Hangovers and Heartbreaks (Written)

“I was prepared to cover the carnage of a crosswinds stage, just as most of the peloton were ready to do battle; but at the same time a nice recovery stage to get rid of the hangover would be more preferable. Especially from the perspective of what is to come.”

2021 Giro Stage 4: “A joy it will be one day, perhaps, to remember even this” (Written)

“Pious Aeneas, what does he say to raise his comrades’ spirits? Those enduring and endearing words: Forsan et haec olim meminisse iuvabit. Yes, surely you all remember it now! But to use my beloved Robert Fagles’ rendering: “A joy it will be one day, perhaps, to remember even this.” Ah! Ain’t that the truth—Virgil you master.”

2021 Giro Stage 3: Trouble for the Band of Brothers (Written)

“It is the Monday grind, this is when the “real life” 9-to-5 attempts to drag us away from the drama in Italy. O! But leave it to the Giro to make such a prospect so absolutely laughable. Ah! Yes, yes, the Giro has always had a knack for throwing-up the most unbridled of unbridled transition stages—no sleepy and quiet Mondays here at the Giro d’Italia! It was one of those stages all hoped would be exciting…and then their greatest hopes and expectations were unanimously exceeded.”

2021 Giro: Alpecin-Fenix Wastes No Time (Written)

“With the likes of Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe), Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal), Dylan Groenewegen (Jumbo-Visma), Fernando Gaviria (UAE), Elia Viviani (Cofidis), and Giacomo Nizzolo (Qhubeka Assos), it would be a tall order for Alpecin-Fenix’s Tim Merlier to pull off a stage win this Giro—but that was the team’s goal nonetheless.”