Here is a scene from today’s stage of the Giro d’Italia, won by Italian Stefano Garzelli in wintry conditions. (Notice that he’s not wearing gloves of any kind.) Look at the final climb of tomorrow’s stage. Here is a blurb about the climb from a Cyclingnews story of December 2006:

From Ovaro, the 10.1 kilometre climb contains sections of 22, 20 and 18%, with an average gradient of 11.9%. The Zoncolan, at 11.9%, easily overpowers all the climbs in Italy; the Mortirolo at 10.5% (over 12.4km), the Colle dell Finestre at 9.1% (18.6km) and Passo Gavia at 7.9% (17.3km). The mid-section will bite the hardest; from kilometre 2.1 to 8 the riders will be struck with an average gradient of 14.9%.

Ouch!