Culture

A culinary Giro d'Italia

Touring Italy's kitchens

May 7, 2022

A cycling team races on its stomach. That’s one reason our riders love the Giro. From the greatest cities to the smallest towns, Italian restaurateurs treat their guests like family.

Stop at a petrol station for coffee, and you’ll be offered a proper espresso. Walk into a hole-in-the-wall osteria late at night and you might just have the best meal of your life. Just don’t order a cappuccino after noon or ask for ice. There is an order to Italian eating and drinking that can be bewildering. The Italian people take great pride in their hospitality. For the most part, you just have to trust that they have got it right.

Our chef, Owen Blandy, comes to the Giro to cater to our riders’ needs, since they are burning thousands of calories per day and need the cleanest possible fuel to race. His basic principles come from Italian kitchens: take the best, freshest ingredients you can find and cook them simply.

That’s what Italian grandmas have been doing for as long as anyone can remember. Every region of the country has its delicacies. At the Giro, Owen will always make sure to add some local flavour to our riders’ race meals. You can be more indulgent.

This year, to celebrate the Giro d’Italia, we’re going to take you on a culinary tour of the race.


Il Percoso

Grande Partenza: Hungary

The 2022 Giro d’Italia began in Hungary. At our first hotel, the hotel chef Tomas gave the riders a jar of hot paprika sauce he had made himself. It has become a staple on their dinner table. Check out the recipe.

Sicily

After its Hungarian overture, the 2022 Giro d’Italia returns to Italy to climb its first dramatic peak. Learn how to make the meal our riders ate the night before racing up Mount Etna. Check out the recipe for Pasta alla Norma.

Calabria

The Giro d’Italia has arrived on the Italian mainland. Learn how to make fish like the locals. Check out the recipe for Calabrian sea bass.

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