Giro TTT, stage 1

And they're off... the Giro departed today in Palermo with a team time trial. Only problem with that is that our hotel was located INSIDE the turnaround point in Mondello. They closed the streets QUITE early, so we were stranded about 10km from the start/finish. The locals were a bit pissed, and we tried in vain to 'escape' from Mondello, even getting into it with the chief of police (not recommended in Palermo). Oh well, I've seen races before and quite honestly, you see much more from TV coverage. In addition, we took to opportunity to fly Mrs. Masini down, so we had a nice day away from the race.

Another problem was that Jeff, Steve, Stefano and Rosario (Cannondale people and our Sicilian distributor) were all down at the start. Seems there were some folks looking for me! No worries, there were and are plenty more chances to do work with racers, sponsors and potential sponsors.

The Liquigas boys did quite well (fourth), even with the stray dog or two on the course. Barloworld did amazingly well also, starting fast and finishing in fifth. Once I met up with Chris Fisher from Barloworld, I couldn't help but take the photo below. This year, we're competitors, but still good friends (the same for the BW riders and team staff).