Good morning, people of the Giro de Talia.

I don't really know how to start to sum up the last 24 hours.

But I will say this, in some ways they seem to encapsulate for me the highs and lows and the drama and the chaos of Grand Tour travelling

almost to perfection it's the morning of stage seven I have literally woken up three minutes ago

grabbed the recorder pulled to one side the blackout curtains and opened the little

French doors onto a terrace, a terracotta terrace,

and stepped out into the early morning of stage seven.

And in front of me I have a swimming pool surrounded by ornamental

lions, olive trees, a lion of cypress trees. To my right is an almighty abruitsen peak behind that two others and to my left

in the distance still greater peaks it's a crisp morning the sun's shining we're staying at a glorious

villa that i'm going to be leaving in about 20 minutes. Time only for a shower,

maybe grab a espresso if I've got time and then jump back in the car and get going. This

morning I was planning to do a podcast with David and Pete. There's literally no time to do that.

I will bring you up to speed though on what happened yesterday as we

travel to the finish line of today's first uphill summit finish of the Giro de Talia with

Yakopo. We have a story to tell that began with us chasing the Ineos bus through the most almighty

and noisy traffic jam in tiny winding streets

leaving Napoli past a car that burst into flames and ended with a pitch dark escape room

challenge in this villa at one o'clock in the morning on a seven-hour transfer that

was quite simply the longest transfer of my entire grand tour life this episode is brought to you by Bickmo Cycle Insurance.

Yes, the people who make sure your very expensive hobby doesn't leave you financially ruined.

Let's face it, your bike's probably worth more than your sofa, maybe more than your actual car.

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