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.

Raaaaaah

Malahide looked beautifully crowded! Are you getting anything crem?

Am so glad to know that I wasn't the only lunatic! If any said to me-"you just stand there and was it for me at the "black man", I'm leaving cushendall now on a push bike" I'd say they were mad! But there I stood-for two and a half hours! And enjoyed it all!!! Especially the city council workers who were drying the man hole covers!

Oh Swifty! Sooooo close!!!!!

Wait for me! Not was for me!

My mum phoned just as they got to the 1K banner, what a nerve! Poor swiftly but he was never going to beat Kittel, the amount off effort it took him to get past him must have been gratifying though.

That was a superhuman finish from kittel! Unbelievable power!

He's a bit quick, isn't he.

Agreed. That finish was incredible. Kittel came from about 20m back in the final 150. Just wow.

oh the liquid sunshine. Even if it was largely dry it would have been so much better for all concerned, though the Irish indomitability still shone through! Just hope not too many riders leave with a sense of relief, and Dan isn't in some kind of pit.

Off they go from the Emerald Isle! I think I read that some of the stages in Italy are dedicated to Marco Pantani. I used to love watching him. He was so unique-what a character! Like Mad! Scary! Looked like the love child of gollum and dobby! He'd have loved to have seen Lance Armstrong's fall from grace I bet! No love lost there!

Wondering if DA made it to Dublin.

Last call to DA. We leave no-one on the piste!

Sad it's over for us but been a great week and we have all had a blast.

Back to proper work and school tomorrow

Got some great memories and photographs to remember Thai incredible week.

Sad they've all gone. Was down in work tonight and it genuinely looks like nothing ever happened at city Hall.
What a Finish. We were all standing up in the living room shouting for swifty. Kettel is A Machine. Those pumping thighs.!!
Spectacular finish. Devastated I won't see the rest of the race due to lack of terrestrial coverage. Online if we ever get reconnected. 2 city blocks are without internet credit card machines or cash points. Oops.

it's what it's like, isn't it. Even in France the small towns are deluged, as if the entire nation is there, and then....hours later.. it's all stripped and they move on to the next start/finish line. But such memories.

Indeed. But looking forward already to TDF . We will see some if stage 16 in Carcassonne in July. Yeoh as they say in NI. Hoping for a more complete Team Sky in the shape of Cav and Froome. And Contador . If he's ready and Saxo take him back.

But Cav is with OPQS. With Renshaw and Petacchi as his wing men. So long as Sky focus on the GC then Cav is out of it? Esp. with young Swifty coming through. Was sooooo close!

Oh I'm thick didn't realise Cav had migrated to quickstep.
Note to self: read before posting .
All good.
Wonder if Nico Roche has yellow jersey ideas or will he be contadors domestique?

And Cav wins in the Tour de California! , beating Sagan into third.

Roche - I like him a lot fwiw. But I was seeing a prog called "in-cycling" which indicated all of the team were fashioning themselves after Bertie. And Bertie does look to be in hot form in the classics, n'est-ce pas?

Yay! Happy Cav news for my morning coffee, take that Sagan you berk!

Nico has some impressive genetics to make use of, how old is he now? Bertie always looks awesome to me it's such a shame that the whole clenbuterol thing is going to cloud the worlds judgment of things for ever, gah drugs are stupid. Speaking of which, as the awesome mending steroids I am taking make my brain very alert at the most inconvenient times in the morning, I was thinking about British cycling (well I had a dream where OGE turned up in our road to take my boys training for a treat, then I woke up and started thinking)what's happening with Tiernen-Locke? (apologies for probable spelling mistake)

Tiernan-Locke has a doping case that I think is due to be heard fairly soon. So I guess he's not doing much at present. www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest-news/jonathan-tiernan-locke-to-face-anti-doping-disciplinary-procedure-22372