Gaia Realini, who will be 23 years old on June 9th, says: when he was finally able to climb the Blockhaus by bike, he felt an uncontrollable joyFor a cyclist born and raised on the roads between Pescara and Chieti, the challenge with that mountain is just a matter of timeOn July 13th the girls will go up there Giro d'Italia Women's cycling: debut edition for RCS Sport, which has decided to propose the double climb of the giant of Abruzzo.
Curious coincidence, the first time the Giro d'Italia went up there was in 1967 and the winner was Eddy Merckx, also 23 years old. We were already wondering then why that peak had a German name and it turned out that an Austrian officer had given it to him. On the top of that corner of the Maiella to block the passage of the brigands, he had placed his men in a fort built in 1863 with typical German architecture, called Blockhaus: with stones below and above the wood.
Between France and Italy
When the route of the Giro d'Italia Women's cycling was presented and having already seen that of the Tour de France Women's cycling (the French rightly used French), even an experienced sports director like Davide Arzeni asked himself if it's really harder the finale on Alpe d'Huez or that of Abruzzo. And so we asked Gaia what she thought.
«Honestly, I don't blame Arzeni – she says confidently – the Italian stage is much tougher, because we are talking about the double ascent of the BlockhausThe first time will be a 10-kilometer climb at an average gradient of 9 percent. The second time will be even higher, so it will be 15 kilometers long and will be tougher. The second time, in my opinion, the slopes will be felt much more than the first.. And then, apart from that, we will arrive from a stage completely devoid of flat land...".
There's been talk in recent days that women's cycling is tackling legendary climbs much more often than it used to. Is this an advantage for the strongest climbers?
We are growing a lot in terms of visibility, spectacle and battle in every race. The organizers realized this and made a big step forward on the routes. I'm also surprised by this, because Seeing these double ascents and big climbs on our routes is not an everyday occurrence.. Certainly all these new developments mean changes in training as well, and this can only be a good thing, even if not everyone will agree.
In what sense?
Let's take this big climb twice, okay? Surely someone will complain, if I were a sprinter maybe I would complain too. Some might say that by doing it only once, they would lose less ground. I'm speaking from my side, from the climber's point of view and it's more than fantastic.If I lose a bit of time on the flat because maybe I don't get a fan or a few seconds too many in the time trial, I know that at the end of the Giro there will be two Blockhaus races where I will be able to recover everything and maybe make the difference.
Sorry for the sore point, but between one climb and another there's the descent, which at the Tour de l'Avenir seemed to be your weak point...
True, it's a sore point, but we're working on it. And I certainly hope that, If they have to drop me that day, they'll do it uphill because I won't have legs, but not downhillI'll give it my all, also because Just as I know the climb, I know the descent well too.They'll definitely do everything they can to make things difficult for me, but I'm working on it with my team and my teammates.
Do you remember the first time you climbed the Blockhaus?
Honestly I wasn't exactly little, because the first trainer (Francesco Masciarelli, ed.) He always took it very slowly with me. And since it's not a small climb and has steep gradients, we always took it with a pinch of salt. The first time was in 2021 and it was unforgettable. I'd been asking him to go before, it was a continuation and every time he said no, that it was too early. So the first time is impossible to forget, like the child waiting for the Christmas presentAnd deep down I feel the same amazement every time I go up to train.
How thick?
Let's say that in this period I avoid it, because the descent is long and it's too cold. However when the season is good and allows me, I go up at least 3-4 times a week. Practically every other day.
Does the 2024 program include only the Giro or the Tour as well?
At the moment it includes Vuelta, Giro and Tour, so I'll also do Alpe d'Huez, so we can then say which is the hardestI've never been up there, I've only seen it virtually during quarantine, but I don't know if virtual reality is that faithful to the real thing, I'm not that expert. So We'll have to wait until the summer and then we'll be able to make a reliable comparison..
