554 kms of Sardinia Countryside...... No problem...

I thought I would provide a bit of an overview of the Giro of Sardinia, distances and metres of climbing. The total kms that we will travel for all the stages is 554. The breakdown is as follows:

Sunday 24 (Easter) – individual Time Trial (20 km, completely flat)

Monday 25 – granfondo sardegna (145 km, 1,509 metres of elevation) not "difficult" but lovely race in “wild” countryside: Arborea, Marceddì, Guspini and Montevecchio, then descent to the coast to the Costa Verde then climbs back up to the old mining village of Ingurtosu then to Uras and back to Montevecchio, before descending to the Costa Verde once again and then to Marceddì and Arborea (we really will be “in another world”- near to the Dune di Piscinas there’ll be 5 km of unmade road and two fords where we’ll make a crossing!)

Tuesday 26 – from Arborea to Ales and Mogorella (up-and-down, but mostly flat). 105kms (overall climbing m. 860)

Wednesday 27 – from Arborea to and Lago Omodeo – the odd little climb but pretty fast. 114 kms (overall climbing m. 1092)

Thursday 28 – Team time trial (30/40 km flat)). 30k (overall climbing 90m)

Friday 29 – from Arbus to Fluminimaggiore, Iglesias, Nebida coast, Buggerru, Arbus – tough mountain stage along a beautiful coastline. 96 kms (overall climbing m. 1.688)

Saturday 30 – from Arborea a 40 km flattish stage probably by age category.

There you have it. 554 kms of Sardinia countryside in 7 days. For more information on the course profile and other Giro information you can visit their website. A link is provided in the blog.

Countdown to the Giro......

It is Thursday, April 14th. The Tripleshot-Spinnakers Giro Racing Team is down to 5 racers. We are going to miss Peter, who was our leader and a lawyer to boot. We'll just have to adjust our race strategy and behaviour too.

It has been a long winter of training and preparation for the TSS team members. The weather in Victoria has been some of the coldest and wettest on record. Barry escaped to the Arizona desert for 2 months but crashed in a race resulting in some serious rehab. So, ready or not, and we are mostly ready, Sardinia here we come.

The team blog will chronicle the race adventures as well as provide information and personal perspectives by the team. Join as a "Follower" or just check in periodically to see what the team is up to. Come along with us. Cheer us on. Feel our pain. Share in our success. Our team goal is: Have Fun! Now that shouldn't be too hard to do, right?

Barry

Sardinian hydration

Here are some of the most renowned wines:

Cannonau, red wine, good with typical meat dishes;

Carignano, red or rosé, excellent with starters, roast meat, and aged cheese;

Semidano, white table wine, ideal with first courses, fish soups, lean meat soups; it's also a Brut sparkling wine;

Nuragus, white wine, excellent with fish dishes;

Vernaccia, classic aperitif wine, also good with almond-paste sweets;

Malvasia, dessert wine, probably imported during the Byzantine period; a sparkling wine is produced with the same grapes;

Vini Novelli (New Wines), obtained by fermentation of must inside airtight containers, not in the open air as usual; you can taste these wines in early November.

Tonino hydrates with the Vernaccia.

PURCHASE YOUR 2011 LICENSE and GET YOUR EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT!

Early Bird Discount - 10% Off Adult Licenses starting end of November!

End of November 2010, check out our new website and purchase your 2011 license. Adult licenses go on sale for 10% off until December 15th and 5% off from December 16th until December 31st.

http://www.cyclingbc.net/Online-Registration

Farrar to join Hesjedal and Spiers in Maui....

Check out the latest Velo News on our Man Dave Spiers.....


“I’ve been hearing from the guys over the last few years how amazing it is over there,” Farrar said. “I see it as a good opportunity to get in some good weather and some solid time riding in the sun and hills. We all get along well and race together a lot, we’re good friends. It will be a good group of guys to train with, and Ryder has the area dialed for all the different types of rides we want to do.”

Other athletes expected to make cameo appearances during the weeklong camp include top American triathlete Chris Lieto, Canadian Olympic mountain biker Seamus McGrath, Victoria's Dave Spiers of Tripleshot-Spinnakers, and Hawaiian surf legend Laird Hamilton, who has a home in Maui and has trained with Hesjedal in the past.