Tour of Italy cycling race
Mar 7th, 2013, 10:48 AM
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Tour of Italy cycling race
Any cycling fans here? We're making a special trip to Florence - even though it's out of our way - just to see the Tour of Italy (Giro d'Italia) when it arrives in Florence on Sunday, May 12. If there are any Tour of Italy cycling fans here, can you recommend some good spots from which to watch the race in Florence as it approaches the finish? We're staying in an apartment on Via dei Bardi (near the Uffizi) and we do not have a car. However, we'd consider taking the bus out to Fiesole before they shut down the roads if that's the coolest place to watch the race. The stage ends in Florence (where, exactly, I'm not sure...can't seem to find this info...maybe only Italians know right now? The Giro d'Italia website shows a map, but you can't enlarge it enough to see where exactly the bike race ends.)
Grazie!
Grazie!
Mar 7th, 2013, 12:12 PM
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Mar 7th, 2013, 12:35 PM
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This is the official website: http://www.steephill.tv/giro-d-italia/#summary Underhill, I've checked the link you've suggested, but all it says is the stage ends in Florence with a climb in Fiesole. The official website does not give a precise location for the Florence finish line. Or am I missing it somehow?
Mar 7th, 2013, 01:23 PM
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The Giro came through my home town - in fact it came along the top of my street, a couple of years ago. The actual route was only published a very short time before the event as I recall.
http://www.gazzetta.it/Speciali/Giro....shtml?lang=en is a good place to keep checking - they will update it nearer the time, providing a stage guide, with approximate times too.
http://www.gazzetta.it/Speciali/Giro....shtml?lang=en is a good place to keep checking - they will update it nearer the time, providing a stage guide, with approximate times too.
Mar 7th, 2013, 01:43 PM
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I've traveled to Italy for the Giro d'Italia every year since 2005, and I don't think you'll regret going out of your way to see the Giro stage in Florence. I'll be there myself, and I expect it to be one of the best stages of this year's Giro.
The steephill.tv site in your link isn't the official Giro website, but it is a fantastic resource, and the stage maps and profiles they show are from the official Giro site, which is here: http://www.gazzetta.it/Speciali/Giroditalia/2013/it/
As soon as the Giro organizers release the timetables for the stages, you'll be able to find them at steephill.tv. This usually happens just a couple of weeks before the Giro starts. The timetables are quite detailed, and usually list the particular roads the stage will use.
In the case of the Florence stage, however, I'm pretty sure I already know which roads the stage will use. This Giro stage is a preview of the course for the 2013 cycling world championships, so it's all but certain that the final loop from Florence up through Fiesole and back down to Florence will be on the world championships course, which you can see here: http://www.toscana2013.it/?page=9&percorsi=6#
The stage finish should be at or near the Nelson Mandela Forum, on Viale Paoli, near the Firenze Campo di Marte train station.
For optimal viewing, I would suggest one of two options. You could go to the finish line, where you should be able to see the riders pass twice, once before the Fiesole climb, and then again for the stage finish. Or, you could walk (or take a bus, if they're running) part way up the climb to Fiesole, and watch the race on the climb.
If you end up watching at the finish, and you'd like to have a chat or get your picture taken with your favorite riders after the stage finishes, look for signs saying "Parcheggio Squadre" (team parking) to find the team buses. At the Giro, unlike at the Tour de France, you can walk right up to the buses and interact with the riders.
The steephill.tv site in your link isn't the official Giro website, but it is a fantastic resource, and the stage maps and profiles they show are from the official Giro site, which is here: http://www.gazzetta.it/Speciali/Giroditalia/2013/it/
As soon as the Giro organizers release the timetables for the stages, you'll be able to find them at steephill.tv. This usually happens just a couple of weeks before the Giro starts. The timetables are quite detailed, and usually list the particular roads the stage will use.
In the case of the Florence stage, however, I'm pretty sure I already know which roads the stage will use. This Giro stage is a preview of the course for the 2013 cycling world championships, so it's all but certain that the final loop from Florence up through Fiesole and back down to Florence will be on the world championships course, which you can see here: http://www.toscana2013.it/?page=9&percorsi=6#
The stage finish should be at or near the Nelson Mandela Forum, on Viale Paoli, near the Firenze Campo di Marte train station.
For optimal viewing, I would suggest one of two options. You could go to the finish line, where you should be able to see the riders pass twice, once before the Fiesole climb, and then again for the stage finish. Or, you could walk (or take a bus, if they're running) part way up the climb to Fiesole, and watch the race on the climb.
If you end up watching at the finish, and you'd like to have a chat or get your picture taken with your favorite riders after the stage finishes, look for signs saying "Parcheggio Squadre" (team parking) to find the team buses. At the Giro, unlike at the Tour de France, you can walk right up to the buses and interact with the riders.
Mar 7th, 2013, 02:04 PM
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hetismij2 and susoir - Thanks for the great info! I'm saving your comments and will check the sites a week or two out from the actual stage.
We've been to several spring classics in France and Belgium and they were incredible. It's a huge party along the roads, beer stands are set up at intersections, and the after-stage road parties near the finishes are really fun. I'll never forget how close the cyclists pass you (inches) while the crowds crush in around you to cheer on the cyclists as they ascend a steep road.
My best moment: waiting alongside the cobblestones in the d'Arenberg forest during the Paris-Roubaix race while my husband went to buy a Leffe beer by the temporary beer tent, I was suddenly surrounded by 6 slightly drunk Belgian cycling fans. They started talking to me in French. I replied, "I'm sorry. I don't speak much French." So they asked where I was from. I said, "U.S." They asked me who I was cheering for. Of course, I replied, "George Hincapie." We talked a little about Hincapie's chances, then they all gathered around me, with beers in hand and Belgian flags over their shoulders, chanting, "USA, USA, USA." We all laughed and then they went on their way.
Perfetto! Can't wait!
We've been to several spring classics in France and Belgium and they were incredible. It's a huge party along the roads, beer stands are set up at intersections, and the after-stage road parties near the finishes are really fun. I'll never forget how close the cyclists pass you (inches) while the crowds crush in around you to cheer on the cyclists as they ascend a steep road.
My best moment: waiting alongside the cobblestones in the d'Arenberg forest during the Paris-Roubaix race while my husband went to buy a Leffe beer by the temporary beer tent, I was suddenly surrounded by 6 slightly drunk Belgian cycling fans. They started talking to me in French. I replied, "I'm sorry. I don't speak much French." So they asked where I was from. I said, "U.S." They asked me who I was cheering for. Of course, I replied, "George Hincapie." We talked a little about Hincapie's chances, then they all gathered around me, with beers in hand and Belgian flags over their shoulders, chanting, "USA, USA, USA." We all laughed and then they went on their way.
Perfetto! Can't wait!
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