Thu 23 May 2013 | 
The Giro is well and truly on the map
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Enlarge textThe 2012 edition of the Giro di'Italia will go down as one of the best.
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It had everything you'd come to expect in a Grand Tour, and everything that should attract a new generation of cycling fans.
Race director Michele Acquarone passed the test of putting on a world class sporting event with flying colours, and all in his first year on the job.
He gave the world a three-week epic that delivered as a spectacle in every aspect.
The course wasn't overdone. Every stage was filled with excitement, not to mention the breathtaking scenery.
In fact there were times when you could have been mistaken for thinking we were watching the Tour de France and not Italy's famous race.
And that's the point.
In terms of global acceptance and awareness, this year's Giro stepped up a notch or two.
It still had an Italian flavour, one that was embraced by a huge television audience.
The only element missing was the lack of Italian riders on the final podium after at the finish in Milan.
So why are sections of Italy's fickle media questioning Acquarone for the lack of Italian feel to their race?
The Tour de France has grown in stature as a result of a huge global television audience.
Tourists have flocked to France as a result, not only to watch a bike race but to inject millions of euros into the French economy, marking it as a major European holiday destination.
At a time when Italy could also do with a much-needed tourist cash injection, a non-Italian dominated podium should be beneficial in many ways.
Most Italian cycling aficionados may not agree, but the overall victory by Canadian Ryder Hesjedal is a popular one.
It's a welcome and refreshing change to the great Italian riders who have dominated their national race down the years.
Look what Cadel's Tour de France achievement has done for cycling in terms of international acceptance.
There's no reason to suggest Hesjedal's triumph will not do the same.
It's time the Giro caught up with the rest of the world when it comes to showcasing an amazing bike race and a fabulous country.
Acquarone's foresight and vision ensures the Giro will continue to grow, and one day it will no doubt be favourably compared with that big race held across the border every July, if indeed it isn’t already.
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Comments (17)
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12 Jul 2012 17:09 AEST
From: the dandenongs
Half coverage
SBS did cover some of the Giro and quite well. I am just afraid they will stop us being able to stream it even for the stages they don't show. For the first time I was not able to view it on my subscription service as SBS had the rights so had to watch crap streaming. If you buy the right please show it or at least steam it. In a way SBS buying more rights could be a concern rather than a joy as it used to be..
01 Jun 2012 14:40 AEST
From: Melbourne
I've been to Italy many times but never to Assisi. The stage finish I saw through SBS coverage has prompted my wife and I to visit the ancient city on our next trip. Thanks Giro.
31 May 2012 20:39 AEST
From: Eurosport
Who is choosing Italy as their holiday destination based on the nationalities of the podium finishers of the Giro? Explain that one.
30 May 2012 17:40 AEST
From: Melbourne
I see - never mind how bad the tourism downturn in Italy is right now, never mind how little the general anglo public know about the Giro or much of the Italian countryside, never mind the proven tourism pulling power of an event like the Tour. You already know all about it and that's all that counts ;-)
30 May 2012 17:23 AEST
From: Melbourne
Just want to leave a few lines here saying thanks to Mike and the SBS team for bringing us this Giro coverage. Loved it. Also, special mention to the commentary for the late night live stages - a pleasure to listen to.
30 May 2012 11:18 AEST
From: Adelaide
Stan, watch your VHS copies of old cycling events when the world was small and the Giro was something you ate in a kebab shot in Corfu. This year's Giro was a fantastic spectacle. Let's move on and enjoy a race which has the potential of being as big as the Tour de France
30 May 2012 1:46 AEST
From: England
Mike "Tomo" Tomalaris does seem to love the word "global". He is obsessed with it, je pense. WHY ??? The word "global" is a little ambiguous, in my view: is it necessarily a good thing ? It is because of "globalization" that the Tour de France will have its Grand Depart in Qatar soon. It was bad enough when it started in my own country in 2007 ( though I admit I enjoyed McEwen's win in Kent that year ). I preferred cycling in its "pre-global" era.
29 May 2012 21:19 AEST
From: Cairns
Completely agree re the commentary of the mad pommie shouter. He was hopeless, putting volume and hyperbole way ahead of information and accuracy. I have to say though that he was almost compensated for by Daniel Lloyd (the other, quietly spoken pommie commentator), who was a joy. Lloyd was the complete opposite of that Carson(?) w*nker. He was accurate, relevant, clearly spoken and could bring real insight by having apparently ridden many of the stages earlier the same day.
29 May 2012 17:29 AEST
From: Melb
Totally Agree. I was also the one who clicked 'agree'. You are welcome
29 May 2012 13:23 AEST
From: Sydney
Personally, I really enjoy watching the Giro and I think it is a better race then the TDF. I noticed that Acquarone referenced SBS in an article when being interviewed by the internaltional press, so it would be good to have some better commentators for future years.
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