So, tomorrow. The Giro. The Stelvio. Could the highest point of this years season finally decide a close fought Giro d'Italia? Unfortunately I will not know until after the stage has finished as I will be sunning myself (hopefully) at the coast for a week. When I realised I'd be missing the final weekend of the Giro I must admit i was pretty gutted, even more so after watching the race to this point and it being so close. In fact this post is pre-written and the Giro may have already been decided by the time you see this post on today's gruelling climbs, if it has then I apologise. Also I'm sorry there will be no coverage on InTheGC regarding the winner of the Giro, or the final two stages but I have pre-written some features that will appear here in the week while I'm away so please check back regularly. Anyway, back to it - the Stelvio, tomorrows final climb, the possible decider has always had strong links to this beautiful Italian race - here's a brief history in footage...

The wait is over. Tomorrows Giro d'Italia stage 14 (finally!) announces its arrival in the alps with the torturous final climb to the foot of the 'Matterhorn' mountain in the Ski Resort of Cervinia. This time last year stage 14 of the 2011 addition also hit the steep stuff with riders taking on the fearsome 'Zoncolan'. To welcome in the mountains, here is some footage from that day, a little reminder of why us cycling fans love the steep stuff so much...Enjoy.

The Tour de France has always been THE grand tour, though often as a cycling fan it can be the least exciting. Often it is built up so much that the end product cannot match the hype and we are left feeling a little let down by the whole affair. The Giro often has a weaker field than the Tour, but like we have seen this year, it can lead to a closer, more exciting race. Something else the Giro has in bucket loads that the Tour sometimes lacks is scenery. Scenery is a big thing in cycling, a vast number of viewers tune in purely for the scenery, from the beautiful dolomite mountains to hilltop towns like the magnificent Assisi, the town of yesterdays stage finish, the Giro has it all. The above picture is more than just a poster advertising the Giro, this photograph is a powerful, stunning and immediate attention grabber, after all, who can fail to be wowed by a view like this, cycling fan or not? Photographed fantastically well by the wonderful Jered Gruber this picture sums up cycling and all that cycling means in far better detail than a thousand words: the ride, the views, the passion, the places, the people, the culture, the endurance, the suffering, the heart. Its all here in the flash of his camera.

This weeks film is a little different from the usual Film Friday offering, mainly because its actually a film, rather than footage of cycling. The following film titled 'BOY' was written by doctor turned actor Prasanna Puwanarajah and picked as a winner by Richard E Grant in a competition as part of British Airways' Great Britons initiative and as a result will now be shown as part of the 2012 London Olympics Opening Ceremony, which should, it's hoped, tug at the heartstrings of the millions of viewers worldwide. The airline will also be showing the ten-minute film on flights in the months leading up to the event. Its 10 minutes long and stars Timothy Spall, confronting an issue which has hit headlines quite a lot this year. I won't spoil the story but what I will say is click the video for the full screen version, because the little one doesn't do it justice. BOY has divided opinion, some think its fantastic, other's not so. I think if you are either a parent, a cycling fan, or indeed both, you will find it very difficult not to appreciate this film. keep the tissues handy, enjoy... 

This weeks Film Friday was only ever going to be about one thing. Yep, the Giro d'Italia. Grand Tour season is upon us (hurrah!) and it's only right that we embrace it wholeheartedly. I'm also a fan of official race promo vid's, usually because they are so naff it becomes mildly funny, a little like the Sidi cycling shoes advert (Google it! hmmmm tasty shoes...). The soundtrack usually consists of the standard Tubular Bells, or some 90's hardcore trance anthem, then there is the Hollywood style 'complete with gruff voice' voice-over, the slow build up, possibly in black and white, soon descends into a multitude of flashing, badly cut together scenes, the music gets louder and louder, more intense, oh the suspense, and then... POW! That final shot overlooking a mountain range, or a lake, or the sea or something similarly epic. Fade to black. Well, this Official Giro d'Italia 2012 promo has it all...also, note the fact that this 'Oficial' video spends rather a long time focusing on Alberto Contadors pink jersey, winning celebrations, victory salute and podium ceremony - either they didn't get the memo to say that Contador was slapped with a backdated ban and the revocation of his results, making Michele Scarponi the 2011 winner or they simply don't care...oh well, it makes for entertaining viewing. Roll on Saturday...