UCI_Overlord presents the Overlord Giro Awards

Yes, the three week daily marathon ended today. For once I agreed with Velonews.com scribe Andrew Hood when he wished via Twitter for the Giro to last three months rather than three weeks. I couldn’t agree more. What this means is the crew at RCS Sport led by the gracious and talented Michele Acquarone have done their job; They have left the public and the pundits wanting more. I’d like to also give special thanks to Marco Gobbi Pansana for providing links, information, and great tweets.

To the “more” end of things, I felt it was appropriate to hand out a few of my own awards, recognizing the efforts of all around the Grand Spectacle. I leaked a few last night, as any good member of the UCI should pre-leak a few things once in awhile.

But before we get to the awards segment, I’d like to thank all of you for following along with my special malarkey during the Giro. I hope many of you enjoyed the banter and commentary via Twitter, and I also hope that many of you didn’t (you all know who you are).

Best “Mark Cavendish” Moment – Andrea Guardini for his exit from the Giro

Oh Guardini. You were busted hanging onto a car. Funny thing is, Andreas Klier told our boys on CCNN in Episode 4 about 50 guys hanging onto one car just to survive the 1999 Giro. This was after you were victorious in beating your idol Mark Cavendish. Oh wait, no, you told CyclingNews via video that it’s Robbie McEwen. Right. It seems the Manx Missile needs to give you a few more tips on proper “tow” etiquette.

Best Photo – Laura Meseguer

photo courtesy Laura Meseguer

Laura + Didi = winner.  Laura did an outstanding job covering the Giro. She also knew how to have a little fun during the race. This photo with Didi captures perfectly one of the hardest-working people in the sport. Plus she has a wicked sense of humour.

Worst Attempt at Headline Stealing – Johan Bruyneel

Yes, I know it’s Johan. It’s supposed to always be all about him. Still can’t believe he attempted to use negative reinforcement to a) “motivate” his riders b) grab some publicity for his sagging team, and c) highlight just how awesome Fabian Cancellara is over the rest of the team. How can someone who patches up a “spat” one day then go back on his word and attack his rider AGAIN in a column. Oh right, it’s Johan. Nevermind.

Best Interview – Roberto Ferrari post-Cavendish crash

As I stated on Twitter, I’ve never seen so many shoulder shrugs since Clinton attempted to declare his innocence in the whole “I did not have sexual intercourse with that woman” incident.

Best Comedy Moment – Farnese Vini leaves Underpants man with a Cipollini bike

So Farnese-Selle Italia have probably gained the highest amount of exposure per budget of any team. Literally. Man on side of the road in underpants is spotted holding Rabottini’s bike.  Rabottini receives new bike from Luca Scinto. Scinto, either in a stroke of generousity or just plain adrenalin, leaves the bike in the hands of Mr. Underpants. The last we see is the man in underpants running down the road holding the bike yelling to the team car that they left the bike behind.

Best TV Commentator Tweeter – Andrea Berton

Berton has always been a great commentator, but this year he has really embraced the Twitter medium. His tweets in English and Italian before, during, and after the stages showed the dedication he had in covering the sport for the fans.  David Harmon of Eurosport may have been one of the first to include tweets and fan interaction in broadcasts, but Berton has taken it to the next level.

Berton still is recovering his vocal chords after Rabottini (photo courtesy blog.panorama.it)

Best Pro Tweeter – A tie between Adam Hansen and Taylor Phinney

Phinney and Hansen have provided tweets upon tweets of entertainment. Unlike other professionals who plainly use it for promotional purposes only, Phinney and Hansen actually enjoy the medium.  Taking a page from one of the original funnymen of the tweeting peloton, Greg Henderson of Lotto-Belisol, Hansen continued providing comedy throughout the Giro, in spite of some tough injuries.  His plot line on barking dogs was a treat. Phinney, not one to be outdone, spawned a meme with his #GiroLoveStory hashtag, and interacted with his fans on a regular basis. Well done by both.

“Best” Giro Outfit – John Gadret in Stage 20

The photo tells the tale.

Pink shoes cap off the vomit on a bike colour scheme (photo courtesy of cyclingnews.com)

Best Carrot Moment – Carrot Car almost ramming Liquigas rider

The Euskaltel mechanic steals a page out of their riders’ playbook and almost takes out Liquigas rider Damiano Caruso.  A close runner-up was the poor Carrot who wiped out in the team time trial.

My Favorite Giro Tweet – Scott Sunderland aka @triplesmc

“I think there is a few people having a good toss… But no bikes were seen flying. Only ego’s”

Best Giro Team – Farnese-Selle Italia

Appearances by Luca Scinto, Andrea Guardini, and Pippo Pozzato on Processo alla Tappa. Rabottini’s incredible breakaway win after almost losing out to Rodriguez in the last 500 metres. Guardini’s sprint victory against Cavendish. Luca Scinto talking on the phone to Andrea Berton during the stage. Pippo Pozzato’s almost wins and his wrist breaking. Yes, the “Hi-Viz” (thanks to @mmmaiko) chartreuse colours of the Farnese-Selle Italia team were on bright display at the Giro, and hands down provided the best experience of any team present on all levels.

Best Stage Win – Matteo Rabottini

He made everyone hoarse. Including David Harmon. A breakaway on his lonesome started 18 kilometres in. Caught within metres of the finish line. Had the intestinal fortitude to dig in, match Rodriguez, and pass him for the stage win.

Best Giro “Fight” – Alex Rasmussen vs. Fränk Schleck

It even spilled over into Twitter, and spawned a hashtag – #GIRORUMBLE. It made Vaughters vs. Cipollini no big deal. Ferrari vs. Cavendish? Pah, no spark there. No, Fränk Schleck took his ire at Johan Bruyneel out on the ample arse of Alex Rasmussen. And the two launched Twitter volleys at one another. I’m looking forward to the encore, Rumble in the Tour de France Jungle.

Best unrequited love story – @Saddleblaze and @Laura_Meseguer

Will Saddles land a dinner date with his female counterpart? Will this #girolovestory have a happy ending? I think it may have to wait until the Vuelta for a true answer.

Best Giro Media Coverage – VeloNews.com and SBS Cycling Central

Outside of the home country and home court advantage of Gazzetta, who again superbly covered the race, I have to give full marks to VeloNews for their coverage of this year’s Giro. Neal Rogers and Brian Holcombe did a great job of organising the troops to provide video, photo, and written coverage stage-by-stage.  Gregor Brown and Andrew Hood rivaled the untiring Rupert Guinness for late hours in the press room. While I may take umbrage with Gregor Brown’s content at times, along with his self-absorbed tweet stream, I cannot complain about his output. However, Andrew Hood may be one of the most underrated scribes in Europe, and offers fantastic analysis.

The cycling crew of SBS Cycling Central out of Australia did a phenomenal job of providing insight, video, reports, blogs, and commentary. It almost made me wish I lived in Australia in order to take in the live broadcast team of Mike Tomalaris, Scott Sunderland, Matthew Keenan, and Scott McGrory. With David MacKenzie on the ground in Italy, Stuart Randall’s steady hand in the production booth, the work of Phil Gomes and Al Hinds on the website makes me wish the Giro folks could contract with this crew to provide English language coverage. All they would need is Harmon and Kelly full time to round out the team.

Best Ryder Hesjedal Quote – “Good” said many, many, many times. Followed by dead air.

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And that concludes the Giro for yours truly. Now, commence with all the speculation, whinging, and other such malarkey until the Tour de France begins. And now, I must continue to plan for the creation of #cyclingdamian with @mmmaiko. Slàinte!

A picture paints a thousand words