The teams arrive in Belfast

Even trying to avoid the hyperbole that sport loves, it’s impossible to deny that staging of the start of the 2014 Giro d’Italia is the most prestigious international sporting event ever to take place in Northern Ireland.

After months of meticulous planning, the excitement is now building.

This is the 97^th Giro. The total distance to be cycled when it finishes in Trieste on June 1 is 3,450 kilometres, of which almost 430 will be in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

 

Twenty-two teams will line up in central Belfast each comprising nine men, bringing the total start list to 198.

Yesterday (May 6), I went to a gym class in LA Fitness at the Ramada Hotel and was delighted to see that BMC from Switzerland had set up camp in the car park.

What really startled me was the scale of their operation.   

They have several huge trucks, maybe about half a dozen cars plus a couple of vans.  All that for a team of 9 riders.
 

They are occupying most of the hotel's extensive car park.  There is also a police car keeping a close eye on their presence.  

Team BMC are punctual - they are here a good three days before the race even starts – Swiss clockwork efficiency.

Cadel Evans is the BMC team leader in this year’s Giro.  The Australian came third in last year’s Giro and previously won the Tour de France.

BMC’s website reveals that (apart from all the vehicles and bikes) the staff complement includes its general manager, 3 sports directors, 2 doctors, a communications officer, as well as 2 bus drivers, 2 chefs, 7 mechanics, and 8 soigneurs.

This morning I went back to the hotel to take some photos, in spite of the rain.  If access to the car park was difficult yesterday, today was a real challenge.   

No less than three other racing teams had arrived.  The car park was a scene of hectic preparation.

BMC had been joined by the Russian team, Katusha as well as Omega Pharma Quickstep and Lotto Belisol from Belgium.   

Katusha includes the Russian Vladimir Gusev and the Spaniards Joaquim Rodriguez and Daniel Moreno; Omega Pharma is led by the Colombian climber Rigoberto Uran and one teammate is the Italian sprinter (and at 40 the oldest man in this year's Giro) Alessandro Petacchi; and Maxime Monfort (a new name to me) is the leader of the Lotto team.

As for local interest, while there are no Northern Ireland cyclists racing, there still is one Ulsterman.  He also happens to be the first Irish rider on team Sky.

His name is Philip Deignan and he comes from Letterkenny.   
He is based in Monaco where one of his neighbours and a close friend is the Toomebridge motorcyclist Eugene Laverty.
 
This impressive article from the Belfast Telegraph explains his knowledge and experience of training and racing on the roads here:-

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/giro-dtalia/philip-deignan-homing-in-on-giro-ditalia-joy-30245321.html

The other two Irish cyclists competing in Giro 2014 are Nicolas Roche and his cousin Dan Martin.  Both are listed as contenders for the winner’s pink jersey by Maxime Monfort.  His list also includes Rigoberto Uran, Joaquim Rodriguez and Cadel Evans.   

What surprises me is his omission of the Colombian climber who was runner up to Chris Froome in last year’s Tour de France, Movistar’s Nairo Quintana.

In the absence of defending Giro champion Vincenzo Nibali from Italy and of the British Tour winners Chris Froome and Bradley Wiggins, not to mention the phenomenal sprinter Mark Cavendish, we shall have to wait and see who will finish on top of the general classification.   

Alora - parliamo Italiano. Divertire. A voi. Ciao. A presto.

Pretty in pink a Belfast cab

©Michael McSorley 2014