GIRO del TRENTINO

Controversy at the finish of the Time Trial left Kloden bewildered and frustrated amongst others. Standing opposite the electronic screen i was able to watch Andy cross the line and saw the result flash up showing him as No 1 at that time . Several more racers passed through to finish the day's action and by this time i had moved to the back of the ceremonial area and had greeted Paulo Bettini amongst those waiting to go on the podium . I had hoped to see Francesco Moser there but so far he is a no show although the "Official Race Brochure" has several items about him and his growing interest in Hospitality and Wine production .

Eventually we saw Andreas Kloden pull on the winners shirt but then Vincenzo Nibali and some others took shirts also . Paulo Bettini is obviously popular with "Bruno" the speaker since there were several requests to applaud him . My Italian is virtually non existent so i can only conclude that his Olympic exploits were amongst the items relayed to the audience .

This was my 11th appearance at this 4 day event and the weather was exceptionally warm reminding me of previous years that i have enjoyed the area and scenery . It is easy to see why Lago de Garda is so popular with the tourists from all over Europe , and with a Sailing Dinghy Competition and a Musical Event in the Congress Hall the area is bursting at the seams . End of April also has a Bike Festival run by a German Magazine and thus there are plenty of mountain bikes to be seen and i am sure some here will be preparing for those events .

Earlier in the day i found myself following Garzelli and Codol around this 13km course as they were reconoitering a course which they are very familiar with from previous visits. Not difficult to keep up when they were just loosening up but later when the wind sprang to life i found the course much more challenging even though it was as flat as a pancake . Impressive stuff to see average speeds in excess of 51 kph on the results board .

Coming across country from Treviso i passed through a variety of places that the Giro d'Italia has taken me to over the years . Marostica , thiene and Schio on the way to Rovereto the road passes over a Pass i don't recall ever cycling let alone following the route markers . Looks like a challenge worth vising on another occasion since it was a series of sharp turns on a narrow road with grades of 12 & 14% both up and then down and with several false flats also. Lack of parking places may have discouraged it's use for the Giro d'Italia .

Tomorrow is a series of loops throughout the area so the teams will enjoy staying in the same hotels for another night and i will have the chance to short cut some of the route since i have seen most of it in previous years .