Thursday’s 18th stage of the Giro d’Italia begins in South Tyrol and heads downhill into the region of Veneto, with Friday’s stage starting in Treviso, the headquarters of Ineos’s bike manufacturer Pinarello.
Stage 18 @giroditalia has this in store today. It’s a last chance saloon for the sprinters #Giro pic.twitter.com/IiezVMWAJM
— EF Pro Cycling (@EFprocycling) May 30, 2019
Even though Thursday’s profile suggests a somewhat tranquilo day in the peloton, the remaining sprinters haven’t dragged their weary bodies over mountains for nothing. The 144 riders that remain in the 102nd edition will be rolling too fast to enjoy the culinary delights of the region.
The first word on Venetian food goes to Gabe Lazzarotto, born in Pieve di Soligo, just to the west of the middle of the day’s route. He tells Canadian Cycling Magazine, “I wish I was in Treviso and taste some of that Prosecco, Asiago cheese and salami.”
Ah, Prosecco, the dry sparkling wine of the glera grape. There’s an apocryphal story about Jacques Anquetil having to take a drink of champagne to settle indigestion in his last Tour de France, but I doubt any of the riders are getting a hand up of Prosecco as the peloton rolls through the traditional glera growing town of Conegliano.
Whether it’s spumante (sparkling) or frizzante (semi sparkling), it’s good stuff.
Besides the Asiago cheese, often grated on and into food, the formaggio varieties of the region include Trentingrana, Spressa delle Giudicarie and Vezzena, along with Piave, Monte Veronese, Morlacco, and Grana Padano. Mostly hard, aged cheeses, many come in age varieties.
It’s not all wine, cheese and cured meats like carne salada and sopressa–Treviso is well known for its radicchio and Zambanna and Bassano’s asparagus is revered.
There’s no time for Carapaz and Nibali to enjoy Venetian delights as the Giro heads to its climax.
Once you get to the main courses, you’ll find a lot of polenta, with seafood near the Adriatic Sea and more meat inland. One particularly delicious entree is Bigoli con l’anatra, with uses bigoli pasta, a thick spaghetti, and duck. Pasta e fasoi, beans over pasta, abounds in Veneto. If you’re in Venice, try the appetizer Sarde in saor, sardines with caramelized onions.
Don’t push away from the table yet. There’s a slice of tiramasu, which has only been tickling taste buds since the post-War era. To help digest this divine fare, you’ll want a Caffè corretto, espresso “corrected” with a shot of brandy or grappa.
Dining and Cooking