S13 Ep39: KM0: Land of Eagles

The Cycling Podcast

News, Sports, Sports News

4.8 • 2.9K Ratings

🗓️ 5 May 2025

⏱️ 67 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The Giro d’Italia rolls out from Albania on Friday and in doing so will introduce cycling fans to one of the more mysterious and probably misunderstood countries on the continent of Europe.

We, too, knew very little about the 'Land of Eagles' but, in January this year, were invited on a remarkable treasure hunt that began with a listener’s enigmatic direct message into Daniel Friebe’s Twitter inbox. The story that then revealed itself - without giving too much away here - was one of an epic cycling journey that also turned into an astonishing voyage of self-discovery, into the so-called ‘Accursed Mountains’ of northern Albania.

This KM0 is exceptionally available to all listeners, whether Friends of The Cycling Podcast or not. See below for details on how to become a Friend of The Cycling Podcast and thereby help fund our daily, on-the-ground coverage at the Grand Tours and output throughout the rest of the cycling season.

The episode was written and narrated by Daniel Friebe and produced by Adam Bowie.

Follow us on social media:
Twitter @cycling_podcast
Instagram @thecyclingpodcast

Friends of the Podcast
Sign up as a Friend of the Podcast at thecyclingpodcast.com to listen to new special episodes every month plus a back catalogue of more than 300 exclusive episodes.

The Cannibal & Badger
Friends of the Podcast can join the discussion at our new virtual pub, The Cannibal & Badger. A friendly forum to talk about cycling and the podcast. Log in to your Friends of the Podcast account to join in.

The 11.01 Cappuccino
Our regular email newsletter is now on Substack. Subscribe here for frothy, full-fat updates to enjoy any time (as long as it’s after 11am).

Dvine Cellars 2025 Girovagando Wine Selection
As every year, Dvine Cellars and The Cycling Podcast have selected six wines that showcase the 'terroir' of the Giro d'Italia. Head to https://dvinecellars.com/products/the-cycling-podcast-giro-ditalia-2025 to make an order.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	You're about to listen to a special Kilometer Zero episode from the cycling podcast.
0:04.0	Now these are usually reserved for friends of the podcast, but since the start of the Giro d'Italia is always a very special occasion for us.
0:11.0	We're giving this gift to those who are not yet friends but may hopefully want to become one.
0:16.0	It's also a chance to remind you that by signing up as a friend, you're facilitating our annual on-the-ground coverage of races like the Gero, which is now in its 10th year. Our coverage,
0:25.5	not the Gero, that is. You can become a friend for as little as 35 pounds a year by going to
0:30.6	thecyclingpodcast.com and clicking on the Become a Friend link. You'll thereby gain access
0:36.1	to new special episodes like this one every month,
0:38.8	plus a back catalogue of more than 300 exclusive episodes. We've got two more, incidentally,
0:43.9	coming in the next few days. Now it's time for Land of Eagles. You're listening to
0:50.6	Jirovagando Kilometo Zero by the Cycling Podcast.
1:15.6	When late in 2024, long-muted rumors of a 2025 Gir Giro of Italy Grande Partenza from Albania began to gather momentum. The first challenge of my in the Cycling Podcast's annual May expedition immediately took shape.
1:21.6	Last year, we foregrounded the Giro starting Turin with the tragic story of the Grande Torino football team and the 75th anniversary
1:28.8	of the Superga air disaster. In 2025, I wanted to find something else, maybe a similar
1:35.2	historical hook, and now I had my canvas or subject. Albanian cycling, though, do not exactly
1:41.7	go hand in glove. I could remember one Albanian cyclist riding the Giro,
1:46.0	Eagor Jupa, who I'd interviewed in 2016,
1:50.0	and in fact nearly won a stage in that race,
1:52.0	but had retired from cycling three years later.
1:59.0	My dad came to Italy illegally, hidden in a fishing boat.
2:05.6	Eventually he found work and that meant he could get the necessary papers to bring my mum, my sister and me over.
2:12.6	Before that though, for a few months he literally had to hide from the authorities.
2:19.1	My mum's been here years and speaks okay Italian if we're being kind. My dad's the same. I'm the opposite. My
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Cycling Podcast, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of The Cycling Podcast and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.