Viva il Giro!

It’s that time of year again. The Spring Classics are over, Geraint Thomas has crashed a few times and our focus now shifts to Italy and the only race susceptible to puns about postal benefit payments. The Giro is often overshadowed by its older brother, but if the Tour de France is viewed by many as the season’s big event, it’s worth remembering that often previews are better than the main feature. Here’s why…

Pink has long outdone yellow in the sartorial stakes. In 2013 Paul Smith designed the maglia rosa, which was then blessed by Pope Francis. Sacré bleu, the French might say, confusingly.

In a head-to-head between pasta and baguettes, pasta wins. The Tour de France organisers have been known to draft in Italian chefs to oversee meal preparation in team hotels. After all, the only Al Dente in France is probably an American on holiday. And don’t get me started on French coffee.

Haughty hoteliers act as if they’re doing you a favour in France, whereas their Italian counterparts seem genuinely pleased to see you. Guess which system works better for the guests.

It’s time someone said it: the Tour has been dining out on its sunflowers and chateaux for far too long. No one does hilltop towns quite like Italy; nothing matches the rugged majesty of the Dolomites or the bucolic beauty of the Apennines. Not even those bejazzled French roundabouts.

The Tour may not be a Spanish swelter-fest, but it’s usually pretty toasty. The Giro, conversely, hurls a whole gamut of meteorological obstacles at the peloton. With more chance of snow than the time Tom Boonen went backstage at Paris Fashion Week, such unpredictability makes for exciting racing.

‘The toughest race in the world's most beautiful place.’ The Giro’s slogan is no lie: narrow, steeper roads make for a gruelling contest, while the strade bianche dirt tracks are the perfect foil for the French cobbles.

The Italian tifosi are more passionate and clued-up than French spectators (many of whom are mainly motivated by the free hats and saucissons dished out by the caravane). Italian fans often ride to their vantage point, making the Giro less of a cultural circus and more of a sporting spectacle. In fact, Thomas Voeckler could go for a post-race stroll to air his tongue without the worry of someone chopping it off to flog on ebay.

Some of the recent routes have been rather extreme, but there’s more balance and variety in the Giro than the Tour, which is more corporate and stuffy, and is hampered by the obligation of finishing in Paris and revisiting certain hallowed hotspots. If the Tour is a mainstream All Bar One, the Giro is a hipster pop-up with the ambience of a village fete.

What makes the Giro so fun is precisely its lack of a guaranteed stellar cast. This year, Alberto Contador is the sole representative from the Big Four. Outsiders such as Fabio Aru can shine, while GC contenders don’t simply surround themselves with team-mates in the peloton – they animate the race.

Being a gregario sounds grander than the rather servile domestique, while the gruppetto seems less alluring when it’s an autobus. The jury is out on the merits of la bomba (doping to you and me) over le pot belge, mind. Ah, those heady days…

It’s still dark outside when the Giro’s highlights are on TV, so there’s no excuse for missing out. But the long summer evenings mean many of us are out riding our own bikes when the Tour airs. The Giro also benefits from being the first three-week race of the season following eight months of anticipation. And here’s the thing – the best Grand Tour is always the next Grand Tour. Ask the same question in July and you’ll get a different answer. Right now the biggest joy of the Giro is that, once it’s over, there are still two more to go. And that’s a good feeling. Come July, Felix Lowe will be getting equally excited about Breton stripes, pâté and gendarmes

As the season builds to its headline act – the Tour de France – Eurosport’s Felix Lowe springs to the defence of the Giro d’italia