Quebec riders compare Giro d’Italia race bibles

Think about the last group ride you did. There were some logistics involved: where to meet, the route, when and where to grab a coffee. It’s all stuff that can be taken care of in an email or a few text messages.

But imagine a three-week, 21-stage race roving across a country. Imagine all the turns and climbs that the whole peloton needs to keep track of. For that, riders get a race bible.

“For the Giro, you get a race bible. It’s like a 300-page book. It’s got translations in three languages; it’s so descriptive,” pro rider Peter Stetina Podium Cafe. “We have to study to the T, so it’s like cramming for an exam. You just have to get it all in your short-term memory. It’s impossible to remember that five days out.”

On Thursday, Hugo Houle shared a photo of the 2015 Giro d’Italia race bible. The rider from Sainte-Perpétue, Que., who rides with Ag2r-La Mondiale, will start his first Grand Tour Saturday. Like the tome Stetina described, Houle’s book also seems to be quite the door stop.

On Friday, François Parisien showed he would not to be out done by his former SpiderTech teammate. Since early 2014, Parisien has been part of the RDS broadcast team. He joined not long after his retirement from the pro peloton, having spent his final year on the WorldTour team Argos-Shimano. This year, he’ll be part of the team covering the Giro. He, like Houle, needs a hefty document for his job. He also shared his bible on social media.

No news yet on which bible has more pages.