May 04, 2013 (Naples, Italy) – We’re stoked to present Part 1 of Ted’s Giro Challenge, a series of videos, reports, photos and anecdotes direct from the Giro as Ted Velikonja, a First Vice President at CIBC WOOD GUNDY in London Ontario has a goal to complete all of the Grand Tours.

Pedal‘s Tim Lefebvre and Christopher Balogh (also Soul Riders), are domestiques for Velikonja as they ride every kilometer of the Giro d’Italia course one day ahead of the race. Velikonja completed the Tour de France and then took a year off but is now back on track and set to tackle the Giro.

Look for a wrap-up film that tells Ted’s story with a lots of mic’d up climbs on the Stelvio and the Galibier as well as candid cycling world interviews from the Giro – they have press accreditation courtesy of Pedal.

In Naples following their Stage 1 ride on May 3 they bumped into the Omega Pharma Quick-Step Cycling Team and none other than today’s winner Mark Cavendish (Gbr). Cav couldn’t do an interview without team approval and when they told him about Ted’s quest, he looked at them and answered in his heavy Isle of Man accent, “Is he nuts ?”