Welcome to the first stage of Our Giro, a series of podcasts by Richard Moore, Lionel Birnie and Daniel Friebe celebrating the best the Giro d’Italia and Italy have to offer.

With the Giro d’Italia postponed because of the coronavirus crisis, The Cycling Podcast is embarking on a virtual grand tour instead. Starting in Budapest and finishing in Milan, our route will more or less follow that of the real 2020 Giro but with a few diversions thrown in along the way.

Over the course of three weeks we will tell stories old and new about the Giro. We’ll have interviews and familiar voices and we’ll capture the flavour and sounds of Italy without leaving home. We hope it’ll have all the elements of our usual grand tour coverage, just without the racing.

In this first episode, we look back at the 1946 Giro, the first after the Second World War which saw the rivalry between Gino Bartali and Fausto Coppi intensify, to see if there are any parallels between that race and the one that follows this coronavirus crisis. We speak to authors and historians John Dickie and John Foot, who also happened to be Daniel’s Italian professors.

There’s also the introduction of some of the regular features we’ll be bringing to you over the next few weeks. We hope you join us on this virtual journey and enjoy the ride.

The Cycling Podcast is supported by iwoca and Science In Sport.

The title music for Our Giro coverage is called Cozze by Amaraterra.

Pedalare! Pedalare! by John Foot and Disastro! by John Dickie and John Foot

Dino Buzzati's The Giro d'Italia: Coppi versus Bartali at the 1949 Tour of Italy (VeloPress)

The Hungarians. Who is the only Hungarian to take part in the Tour de France? Meet two youngsters from the country who are hoping to make a splash in the World Tour and hear a rare interview with Istvan Varjas, one of the most controversial people in cycling.

iwoca became The Cycling Podcast’s title sponsors in March 2020. Iwoca specialises in supporting small businesses and can lend between £1,000 and £250,000. Applications can take only a few minutes to complete and they promise a fast and fair decision. To find out more, go to iwoca.co.uk

Science In Sport is The Cycling Podcast’s longest-standing supporter. It’s a relationship that stretches back to the 2016 Giro d’Italia. Listeners can get 25% off Science In Sport’s range of energy drinks, bars, gels and cakes at scienceinsport.com with the code SISCP25

If you have a smart turbo trainer, you can ride Our Giro on the RGT digital platform. Each stage is around 30 kilometres long and will be online for three days. Go to manage.com/track/click?u=e30db910a0fe0ac7464cd458e&id=b47ea6766a&e=be8e0a97d5">RGTcycling.com/our-giro for details of how to download the app and sign up. Thanks to RGT and Veloviewer.com for helping us create Our Giro.

You may have to be quick but the first batch of Stacy Snyder’s Giro d’Italia mugs and cappuccino cups go on sale as soon as this episode finishes (assuming you started listening when it was first uploaded). This year, we are raising money for the Scuola Ciclismo in Cene, near Bergamo. This is a cycling school in one of the areas worst hit by the coronavirus crisis and a cause suggested by Team CCC’s performance coach Marco Pinotti in a recent episode. Go to Stacy’s Etsy page to buy the cups. manage.com/track/click?u=e30db910a0fe0ac7464cd458e&id=1d91fcd21a&e=be8e0a97d5">https://www.etsy.com/shop/SnyderCeramics

Our friends at Dvinecellars.com have put together a ‘Selezione Our Giro’ case of 12 wines from around Italy. There’s also a ‘Baby Giro’ case of six bottles. Use the code ‘Our Giro’ when ordering. Cases can be delivered in the UK, excluding the Highlands and Northern Ireland, and a donation from each case will be made to the Scuola Ciclismo in Cene.