No matter how you slice it, today is one of the five or six most important days of the Cycling calendar, right? The Giro ranks as the #2 race, and though hindsight might change our minds, at this point the Zoncolan climb is poised, as expected, to decide the Giro. The other biggest days on the calendar, IMHO, would be whatever stage decides the Tour, plus the monuments (minus Milan-San Remo). How you rank these apples-to-oranges is even more subjective than listing the biggest days to begin with... anyway, after a full year of uninterrupted chaos and scandal, it's great to be able to really celebrate Cycling.
Someone asked about the weather: showers and temps in the 60s, in the valley. How this will affect the race is not at all clear. Since none of the favorites is from Seattle, I'm not sure anyone is rejoicing over the weather. If it does get slippery out there, perhaps that would reduce the importance of the descents, but there isn't a whole lot of descending to do anyway. This is all about one slope and who can get up it the fastest. Tactics, weather... more than usual, this day will be decided purely on strength.