Giro in mourning after death before start

Giro news logo 2009

The Giro d?Italia will hold a minute?s silence before Wednesday?s stage start in Turin to remember photographer's motorbike pilot Fabio Saccani.

Saccani was 69 years old and was working his 32nd Giro d?Italia, piloting Italian photographer Robert Bettini who?s images have often been published in Cycling Weekly.

According to reports, Saccani died after hitting a truck.

Before the start of the Giro d?Italia, Cycling Weekly was present when Saccani talked with Lance Armstrong and asked the American to sign his new helmet decorated with a photograph of them together. Like Armstrong, Saccani had beaten testicular cancer.

In a video interview with www.gazzetta.it, filmed before the start of stage two of the Giro, Saccani talked about meeting Lance for the first time since beating cancer:

?Lance once told me that cancer had chosen the wrong person. We hugged each other and he signed my helmet. It?s my 32nd Giro and his first.?

The organisers of the Giro d?Italia have announced that the after-stage award ceremony will be modified with no music or champagne given to the winner and pink jersey.

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Giro d'Italia 2009 links

Stage reports

Giro rest day review (May 18)

Stage nine: Cavendish blitzes rivals to win in Milan

Stage eight: Siutsou makes it two in a row for Columbia-Highroad

Stage seven: Boasson Hagen takes treacherous stage

Stage six: Scarponi wins longest stage with big break

Stage five: Menchov wins mountain battle as Di Luca grabs the pink jersey

Stage four: Di Luca denies Soler on the line; Lovkvist takes pink jersey

Stage three: Cavendish loses pink jersey after being caught behind late crash

Stage two: Petacchi denies Cavendish the stage win

Stage one: Cavendish in pink as Columbia prove their point to Garmin

Photo galleries

Stage nine photo gallery

Stage eight photo gallery

Stage seven photo gallery

Stage six photo gallery

Stage five photo gallery

Stage four photo gallery

Stage three photo gallery

Stage two photo gallery

Stage one photo gallery

Desktop wallpaper photos

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2009 Giro d'Italia guide and features

Find the pink jersey competition

Giro d'Italia 2009: The Big Preview

British riders to have led the grand tours

CW's Giro top ten prediction

Brits in the Giro 2009

Brits in the Tours: From Robinson to Cavendish

CW Classic: the 1987 Giro d'Italia

2008 Giro d'Italia archive

Giro d'Italia 2008 coverage index - race reports, photos, results

From rule Britannia to cruel Britannia

Giro 2008: The final word on this year's race

Brits at the 2008 Giro: photo special

Five days to go, what's in store?

Giro d'Italia 2008: Rest day review (May 27)

Giro d'Italia 2008: Rest day review (May 19)

Giro d'Italia 2008 preview

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Founded in 1891, Cycling Weekly and its team of expert journalists brings cyclists in-depth reviews, extensive coverage of both professional and domestic racing, as well as fitness advice and 'brew a cuppa and put your feet up' features. Cycling Weekly serves its audience across a range of platforms, from good old-fashioned print to online journalism, and video.