MN Peloton - Giro d'Italia, 9th May Belfast to 1st June Trieste.

[PansBigChainring]

Almost here....how's the training regime going?

The first of the three Grand Tours, Tour of Italy, departs from Belfast with a team time trial from the Titanic shipyard, before a second day riding round the North, and then a third day from Armagh to Dublin centre, and then a flight to southern Italy and few weeks easy riding up through central Italian Apennines, over the Dolomites and a cruise through to Trieste on the Adriatic coast. No problems then...

Some useful links?

Overall route and maps

The understandably excited local Belfast press

and a bit more general fuss

Most of the usual pro-cycling suspects will be competing, and returning for the Tour de France Yorkshire in July.

Before all of this though there's a few 'classic' races to be had, but we can put those to another thread? Nothing else should get in the way of 3 days of professional racing in the Irish sunshine.

Women's Tour of Britain started today, highlights on ITV 4 at 9 - I didn't know that was on until I heard it on the radio this morning.

Angel!! That's hilarious! Well done dc's
< nips past park ave hotel for a juke>
All the riders have been super friendly down here at the press centre . My colleagues are q bemused that I am a closet fan.
They have issued ghastly official pink cycle capes for free this afternoon. Yay!

Not content with that they seem to have spent tonight tweeting the guys they met easier and then seeing who retweets or replies to them

at angel's DC collecting water bottles!

Thanks for the info about the Womens Tour de GB. As I'm watching the highlights of the BSB on Council 4 I'll just keep it on that channel. :o If I had money it would probably be on Vos.

We managed to collect a bidon and a musette, when we went to see a stage of the TdF go past - ds2 decided to use the bidon, and lost it - grrrrrr.

I think she'll be needing a bike..

Oooh, one's just come along in time!

We've got a bike!!

Ms Vos did well yesterday didn't she? I was very excited to find good coverage on the TV last night, I don't know how to put it properly but it was just standard 'bike race coverage' same as always, I didn't notice any 'ooh look they are women' type messages coming through at all.

Just because we can.

Yeh!

- Cav's OPQS lead out beating
- Sagan's Cannondale by a bike length in Paris.

The coverage of the race yesterday was great - so lovely to see the women's side of the sport finally get some quality coverage - with reportage and everything! It was also so encouraging to see how many spectators had turned out. Did you see Lizzie's comments that the depth of spectators at the finish line lured her into her early attack - she thought she was much closer to the line than she was!

The racing was quality - well done to Hannah Barnes as well.

team presentation tonight = and then its only one more sleep to go!

some of the pro riders have been out on the local roads/routes and uploaded data to Strava. Funny seeing their names on KOM beating the locals

Omg its mad down here at The city hall. Each team has been up to the podium . Everyone is very very excited. It's packed and pink!
Thank goodness the rain has stopped now .team sky got a big roar from the crowd as well as Roche and the other Irish riders.

Angie where are you going to watch from? I'm going to head over to stormont I think! If I ever get out of here.

Sounds wonderful. It isn't on tv as far as I can see, you you are our eyes!

Ok so far have achieved a selfie with
The lovely Ben Swift ( I look like a nob in my hi viz pink)
Supposed to be marshalling , not acting the eejit.
The helicopters are doing a trial run along the route which dh reports was like apocalypse now( he was driving under 8 of them)

It's all SO exciting.
.

When we were up the Alpe d'Huez the helicopeters rising up the side of the mountain were really frightening. I may be easily spooked.

V jealous of a Swifty Selfie too.

Well jel!!!

Quick committe meeting request. The beautiful has drawn out loads and loads of TdF biker watchers. Great, but without a separate TdF thread it could wheelsuck the Giro. Is it an idea to commence a TdF thread soon, so folks have a focus to organise themselves/make connections and generally do good Tour stuff outside of the Giro, or...is it too soon?

Let's get the grande Partenza off the grid first. Otherwise I might have a conniption . But then I'm a bit of a Lanterne Rouge about these things

I think that sounds like a good idea, Pan.