Sunday, April 17, 2011

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.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

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