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news
Giro d'Italia 2017 Panini Album.JPG"Nearly a riot" among Bora-Hansgrohe riders over Panini Giro d'Italia album stickers
We're only four stages into the 100th Giro d'Italia and there's already been a bit of argy-bargy that resulted in a rider being kicked out of the race. But Bora-Hansgrohe rider Sam Bennett has revealed that there was "nearly a riot" within his own team over, of all things, Panini stickers.
The 26-year-old Irish sprinter, a stage winner at Paris-Nice in March, made the revelation in the blog he's writing on Independent.ie during the Italian Grand Tour.
Here's what he said:
As it's the 100th edition of the Giro, Panini have brought out a sticker album to celebrate the race - exactly like the Panini soccer albums I used to pester my mam to buy when I was a kid, there are packs containing stickers of each rider in the race to go into the album, which is pretty cool.
All of the riders were given an album in Sardinia and were told we'd get a pack of stickers each at the start of every stage.
This afternoon I walked in on my room-mate Lukas trying to sort his album out.
With his bed covered in stickers, he had them separated into teams, and then piles of riders that he had doubles of to swap.
I've only seen a few stickers floating around before today but I just found out that my Portuguese team-mate Jose Mendes got four boxes of them that he was supposed to pass out to us.
Instead, he tried to open them all in secret so that he could complete his sticker album first.
There was nearly a riot as nine grown men turned into eight-year-old boys and searched through the boxes for their own sticker.
At least I have a Sam Bennett sticker now. It might be the only one in my album, but I'm happy out.
As Panini sticker fans ourselves, we're wondering if anyone out there has a Javier Moreno they'd like to swap for a Diego Rosa?
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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13 comments
I looked on the ebay site €129.99 for a completed book, seems someone is making a killing!
13 days til a trip to Italy, hope they have some left!!
Ah, Figurine Panini
Got, got, got, got, got, got, got, got...NEEEEEEDDDDD, swap for a date with my mates sister (who'll do pretty much anything for some random girlie shizzle), 10 bolley's, 4 bags of marbles and a go over a ramp on my grifter...dealz?
I want one!
I have a complete 1998 World Cup album. Not easy to accomplish as you had to send off to Panini for the the Iranian team as the ruling mullahs refused to allow the team to be sold in shops.
Panini could make a fortune producing albums for the three grand tours. I assume ASO have refused or they would've done it by now.
I have the Top Trumps style cyclist pack but it's not the same as a bundle of swapsies with a rubber band around them.
I think I only ever finished two, my completed E.T. sticker album might be knocking about somewhere... however I'm still upset that my mum threw out my completed Mexico 85 World Cup album... almost as unforgivable as my mates mum throwing out all the Beano's I lent him, the horror!
Mexico was '86.
I think I completed the Beano & Dandy one and possibly the Return of the Jedi one (may have been a sticker short in it)
I think I only ever finished two, my completed E.T. sticker album might be knocking about somewhere... however I'm still upset that my mum threw out my completed Mexico 85 World Cup album... almost as unforgivable as my mates mum throwing out all the Beano's I lent him, the horror!
I hooted with laughter at this. Brilliant story. Would love to hear more about the sticker swapping shenanigans.
(Only album I finished was a Beano & Dandy one.)
To get a feel for how hard it is to complete a panini album by just buying stickers, have a look at this example for the last world cup one: http://codehesive.com/worldcupstickers/
how much did that last card cost!!
I love the fact that this has happened, maybe it's a ploy to disrupt some of the teams with more of a prima dona attitude, could cause all kinds of issues if team mates refuse to take a turn at the front because they didn't get their stickers.
I am geniunley annoyed that these are in Italian language and not available in the UK.
You can buy completed ones off Italian eBay but what's the point! I would definitely buy this (and one for the boy) if it was in in the UK