All she's missing is cotton candy, but for Paola Magoni, Olympic gold medalist in slalom at Sarajevo in 1984, the Tour of the Alps is the most beautiful playground imaginable. "What organization: everything is calculated, even the riders' access to the sign-in sheet...".

Paola is here with her husband Gabriele Boccaletto, from San Donà di Piave in Veneto, who is also incredibly passionate about cycling and her life partner, but above all, her cycling companion. "For us, vacations are only by bicycle - she tells us. In a year, we cover at least 15,000 kilometers. It's a passion that has always united us, and this Tour of the Alps is another opportunity to immerse ourselves in an environment we love very much. Yesterday, we met by chance on the roads the father of Nicolò Garibbo, the rider from JCL Team Ukyo. Nicolò's father wanted to go home, but we convinced him to stay today because the stage is too beautiful. We're going to San Candido, it's a earthly paradise."

She watches the riders pass by and the Sarajevo gold medalist savors each one... "How thin they are... and look how polite and well-mannered they are. It's the sport of cycling that creates this type of athletes - comments Paola, who here in Vipiteno has a ski school that is bearing good fruit. Look at Geoghegan Hart, what a nice guy, how well-mannered..."

However, she is here solely and exclusively for Chris Froome, her champion of the heart. "Another person of the highest level, with unique respect and class. As an athlete, he has shown what he's made of, but Chris touched my heartstrings with his way of being: an example of sportsmanship, an example of a universal athlete."

She asks for a photo, which Chris grants with a smile. We let him know that she was a skiing star with an Olympic gold and a world bronze medal, and Chris hugs her. "He gave me a beautiful gift: it's wonderful to have champions of this caliber. It's beautiful to brush against them even for just a moment, because these are guys who give emotions."

From Selvino in Bergamo herself, her husband from San Donà di Piave in Veneto, they decided to build their love nest in Giussano. A ski commuter, since she goes from Giussano to Vipiteno multiple times a year. In return, she travels the world on two wheels. "It's the best way to get to know and to know oneself. It's a wonderful sport. Skiing is freedom, but cycling is even more so."