Italian Pelotons

canoas
canoas Posts: 307
edited June 2010 in Sportives/audaxes/training rides
Any advice on riding in an Italian sportive peloton! Language skills possibly!

Comments

  • Tom Butcher
    Tom Butcher Posts: 3,830
    Same as English just add an "a" to the end of some words and gesticulate more.
    it's a hard life if you don't weaken.
  • Kléber
    Kléber Posts: 6,842
    Stronzo = idiot, comes in handy at times!

    When you shout "a sinistra/destra" it means " on the left/right" but it's an instruction to the rider in front to move left, not the English "I'm moving up on your left/right".
  • paddlemyowncanoe
    paddlemyowncanoe Posts: 265
    Hah! If this is an Italian sportive then mental is a word that comes to mind.

    The start will be furiously fast - like 50kph for the first half hour. Hang on if you can. Later on, when it's work time, it was difficult to take a turn at the front - the locals seemed to want to run the bunch their way, letting a gap form after I cam to teh front. After a while another non-Italian, who had also tried to take a turn, agrreed that we just had to sit in then take the sprint. Which we did.

    The Italians will be immaculately turned out and you will see quite a few couples with his 'n hers matching kit including bikes.
  • daveydave43
    daveydave43 Posts: 200
    whats the italian for go faster/keep up?
    Go for the break
    Create a chaingang
    Make sure you don't break your chain
  • Italiano
    Italiano Posts: 75
    Tom Butcher wrote:
    Same as English just add an "a" to the end of some words and gesticulate more.

    I thought it would be an "o". :lol:
    paddlemyowncanoe wrote:
    Hah! If this is an Italian sportive then mental is a word that comes to mind.

    The start will be furiously fast - like 50kph for the first half hour. Hang on if you can. Later on, when it's work time, it was difficult to take a turn at the front - the locals seemed to want to run the bunch their way, letting a gap form after I cam to teh front. After a while another non-Italian, who had also tried to take a turn, agrreed that we just had to sit in then take the sprint. Which we did.

    Just out of curiosity, the sprint was for 1st place?
    daveydave43 wrote:
    whats the italian for go faster/keep up?

    You can use something like "forza/dai".
    www.ciclismo-espresso.com
  • Yorkman
    Yorkman Posts: 290
    I've ridden the GF Campagnolo, and echo all the sentiments on here.

    I've never seen a start like it - people flying past left of you, right of you, they'd even go over you if they could, and there's still 200km to go!

    No-one holds a line, there's very little organisation to form groups, it's mad and infectious.

    Highly recommended.
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,310
    One you will hear a lot is:

    "chiudi il buco" or simply "chiudi"... which is "close the gap". In Italy's granfondo, riders like to keep bunches tight.

    Bear in mind that in Italian you pronounce "CH" as K and not as "C".

    So to name the bike brand BIANCHI, you would say "BIANKI" and not "BIANCI" as I always hear!

    Always happy to provide advice on my native language 8)
    left the forum March 2023

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