Even if I hadn’t ridden my bike 191 miles on roads that climbed 23,850 vertical feet in the past four days, my quads would have found the flight of steps up to the podium of the Giro d’Italia — the Tour of Italy — steep. Still in my cleated cycling shoes, which are ideal for riding but not the best for walking, I ascend the galvanized steel treads carefully, using both handrails.

For the quads of the professional cyclist who wins today’s Giro stage and gets to stand on the podium in front of thousands of cheering fans, I imagine these stairs will feel like scaling a mountain. By the time he climbs them, he will have covered 1,902 miles over 19 days — 137 miles on the last one .