Ortisei - Giro stage 13 finish
[ posted by Iain Sunday, May 22, 2005 ]
According to the official Giro guide we were about to climb one of the most feared ascents of this year's race, one where all the action would take place. After about 10km of gently rising tarmac we came to the King of the Mountains marker with relative ease, surely my week in the mountains hadn't given me the conditioning of a Grand Tour cyclist. Alas no, the race route indicated in the guide was wrong, we had just skirted round the edge of the valley hundreds of metres above the real climb to Ortisei. It was only when we dropped down the real climb we realised why it was going to make a difference to the GC. I'll admit we didn't drop right to the foot, but I'm doing enough climbs this week so I wasn't going to feel guilty about missing this one. We found a suitable vantage point and settled in for the wait. I really enjoy waiting for the race to arrive, it's a great time to sit back and watch the all the weird and wonderful characters of the cycling world go by. Cyclists of every different discipline, shape and blood-alcohol level pass by on their way up or down the hill. As the predicted arrival time approaches the tifosi become more sedentary and before long everyone is unpacking his or her cameras and jostling for a good position on the tarmac.
The first indication of the race approaching is the two TV helicopters, one low to catch the action and one high to relay the signal. The tension really mounts once they are audible, if your lucky someone on the hill has a radio or sometimes even a TV to get the latest positions, but this time we knew very little. The car indicating the front of the race speeds round the bend and up past us, then the lead motorbike followed by the lone
Ivan Parra accompanied by a chorus of "Vai! Vai!" from the tifosi. From then on it's a mad rush to spot the next riders, recognise them if you can, take a picture and then spare a second to yell some encouragement. Savoldelli was looking very strong, but poor Basso had a torrid day with stomach problems and was a shadow of the rider from the Passo Duran a few days ago. Once the leaders pass there's the wait for the main group to arrive which is interrupted occasionally by the remains of an earlier breakaway group or a better than average climber. Once the race has past the 'armchair commentary' goes into overdrive as everyone packs up and prepares for the ride home. For us it was a quick descent back to the car and onwards to Prato dello Stelvio where we stayed the night.