It’s movie night for The Cycling Podcast as we look back at Stars and Watercarriers, Jørgen Leth’s film made at the 1973 Giro d’Italia.

Richard Moore speaks to the filmmaker Leth about how the film came about and about the story he was trying to tell.

The 1973 Giro was dominated by Eddy Merckx, who wore the pink jersey from start to finish. The race began in Verviers in Belgium and made its way through Germany, Luxembourg and Switzerland, not reaching Italian soil until the seventh day.

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

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

Jørgen Leth: http://www.lethfilm.dk

Films: Stars and Watercarriers, La Course en Tête, The Greatest Show on Earth, Time Trial, Sunday in Hell

Books: The Cannibal, a biography of Eddy Merckx by Daniel Friebe

In stage four of Our Giro we’ll be looking at skulduggery. We talk double-crossing tactics on the road, drugs raids and Richard’s wine-tasting notes.

Our first film, And So We Rode… is available for Friends of the Podcast to watch now. This is the story of Larry Warbasse and Conor Dunne packing their bags and going on a bikepacking trip in the French and Italian Alps after their pro team Aqua Blue Sport folded mid-season. It costs £15 to sign up as a Friend of the Podcast and you will be able to watch the film as well as listen to all our special episodes. thecyclingpodcast.com/join

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

RIDE OUR GIRO

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 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.

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.