The narrow alleys of Genoa were bathed in bright sunlight and the port was ablaze with light, color, and bustle. From small settlements to sprawling cities like this one, up and down the peninsula, the passage of the Giro d'Italia brings a carnival atmosphere. The tifosi applaud the bike riders, but they are celebrating something more essential than mere bike racing. For most of the riders along the roadside at the finish of stage 12 on Thursday, the fight for the pink jersey was incidental to the simple act of being part of a shared experience. Three hours earlier, about 100 kilometers away, the scene was utterly silent, but the shared experience was equally powerful: on the Giro's first visit to Passo del Bocco since the death of Wouter Weylandt in 2011, race director Mauro Veni stopped at the side of the road to ask the late He placed a bouquet of flowers near the spot on the downhill where Weylandt crashed.

Weylandt had already been remembered there by a permanent memorial, and the Giro had long honored the Belgian by retiring the 108 race number he wore that tragic afternoon, but this was the first time the race had been conducted in this fashion since the tragedy. The ceremony was short and solemn, and the bouquet Vegni offered included a simple message: "108, always with us."

"It was a strong emotion," Vegni told Cycling News at the finish in Genoa. 'I couldn't remember the descent being this long. When I saw Wouter there, it was a real shock. It was hard, but it was a moment that reminded me of someone who is always with me."

"I want to make it clear that his name and race number are an unforgettable part of the Giro d'Italia. Today's ceremony was very delicate and somber.

Veni was the technical director of the 2011 Giro, and for all who participated in that race, the memory of the tragedy and its aftermath is enduring. The atmosphere at the finish in Rapallo was somber long before then-directors Angelo Zomenyan and Michele Acquarone entered the press room late that evening to confirm the tragic news of Weylandt's death.

The next morning's stage left Genoa, but it was clear even before the start that competition would be evasive on such a day of mourning. Instead, the long road to Livorno was like a funeral procession, with the group pedaling softly through the corridor to gentle applause. At the finish, Weylandt's Leopard Trek teammates and his good friend Tyler Farrar crossed the finish line ahead of the peloton.

Vincenzo Nibali was one of five riders competing in the 2022 Giro who witnessed the race 11 years ago. I remember after the finish," Nibali told Sporza, "I started to realize that something terrible had happened. 'There were no journalists, there was no music. It was on the bus that I asked Weylandt what had happened. It was a very sad day. The next day's run was a tribute to him. We tried to mourn him as much as we could, and we still do."[13

Luca Guercilena was director sportif of Leopard Trek in 2011 and is now the director of its successor team, Trek Segafredo. The team had already paid tribute to Weylandt on the anniversary of May 9, and the passage of the Passo del Bocco was another opportunity to remember the late sprinter, who took a stage win in this race in Middelburg in 2010.

"Unfortunately, Passo del Bocco is not a joy for us, but a suffering," Guercilena said. 'I was director sportif the day Wouter died. Of course, we must move on, but the memory of Uter will be with us forever."

"We are all very grateful to him," said Guercilena, "and we are all very grateful to him.

While the Tour de France returned to the Porte d'Aspet col two years after the death of Fabio Casartelli in 1995, the Giro has avoided the Passo del Bocco for over a decade. Veni said that the race organization did not make a conscious decision to avoid the descent in the years following Weylandt's death.

"No, the route often has its own logic. There just hasn't been a way to incorporate Passo del Bocco into the route," Veni said. 'But the truth is, I haven't been in Liguria since the 2015 Grande Partenza, which was seven years ago.'

It was a momentous day for the Giro. In addition to remembering Weylandt at Passo del Bocco, the race's visit to Genoa was also a day to commemorate the August 2017 partial collapse of the Ponte Morandi road overpass, which claimed the lives of 43 people.

The tragedy made the city unforgettable. After the wreckage of the bridge was demolished, it will be rebuilt and opened to traffic in August 2020. On Thursday, the Giro entered Genoa via the newly renamed Viadot Genova-San Giorgio. As in the past, the Giro shared more than just a bike race experience.