Living in the Zillertal area off and on these past few years I have had to be creative with my cycling options. Strass to Hintertux is a gentle climb to south of Mayrhofen where it then heads up to Finke berg and eases off all the way to Tux. The whole valley is littered with side climbs with many to more than 1800m as well exits into other options.favorits are over the gerlos to Mittersil and Kitzbuhel or Zell am Zee and Worgl before back to Strass and the then base at 900m on Gattererberg. Other times I have gone to Innsbruck, over the Brennero to Bressanno, Linz and Mittersil and Gerlos for home, this longer run has had a stop in Linz. The first time I came through the tunnel with a van and out at Mittersil I rode Kaprun ,Lothar and Worgl and home. The second occasion the hitching option became a nightmare as it was over 2hrs before I was sqeezed into a tunnel worker’s car to the other side. The ride over the gerlos to home was a relief and thoughts of a repeat disappeared long before the Giro route was published.
Coming into the Zillertal since 2000 for skiing I have come to know all the options and rate this as a safer riding area than the UK as well as an ideal area for Climbing training. Georg Toschnig lives nearby so i would often have a ride with him when he was warming up but as soon as the gradient picked up off he would go. His brother Harold would also be worth riding with when training in the area. Other riders come into this area for training but having caught up to them I would find few willing to speak in English so I would pick up the pace on the lookout for quicker and more talkative company.
On the day of the etappe to Mayrhofen I set out through Worgl & Kitzbuhel and joined the route at Mittersil to ride the Gerlos Pass through to Mayrhofen arriving sometime before the racers. In the months leading up to the Giro a large blue sign went up with “Welcome Lance”, nice thought but amusing as two weeke later it had to be replaced as Lance had crashed in Spain. When I went to the tourist office they were preparing a new sign “Get Well Soon (in german)” which was again replaced on his start in Jesolo. It did not dawn on these people that their uniform would get exposure by me at a variety of media events, better to waste the money on signs than on an aussie seen daily at the Giro and Tour by countless interested spectators.
Innsbruck start led out through another area I had cycled in past years and one occasion in 1999 I had cycled on a Saturday from Stubaital to Galtur for the “Masters International Ski Criterium Competition” . I did not compete although I was loaned all the gear needed on that Sunday to ski around meeting up with some of the competitors.
Having cycled back to Zillertal I drove through to Chievenna area to rejoin the route with a mate doing the driving through the next days. In cuneo I stayed in his apartment ,visiting the teams with him.
Anyone disappointed with the racing in Milano needs their head examined. This was undoubtedly one of the alltime stupidest ask of “professional racers”.I cycled the course several times during the day and can tell you that I could see where I was going as I was not surrounded by bodies and could see the tram tracks. Dropping into a track at speed produces catastrophic results for the rider but likely brings down others as well. Falling on cobbles produces at the least scratches and where you skid on tarmac you come to an abrupt painful halt on cobbles. Broken bones are the most likely result of a group falling together. Neutralizing the day was the sensible decision and the leader is to be congratulated on using common sense , something that was lacking in the organisers after race vitriol.
The petulance of the various race organisers at times is amazing.in 1999 I came from the “giro d’italia” to the “Rundfahrt Ostereicht” and was greeted with accreditation. During the day I was interviewed by the national tv covering the event. That night ORF TV did a sport report including a short segment on this race. A large segment covered my exploits including riding around the town for atmosphere. Early in the day the organiser greeted me and even told me how he had ridden the “Crocodile Trophy” when in Australia. After the TV report he forbade me to use any facilities of the tour. Well I continued any way. One evening in St Johann they had a formal get together and I sat outside so as to be invited . He on arriving told me I was unwelcome.
Next day in appalling weather I rode the etappe and arrived at Hofbadgastein feeling like a drowned rat. One of the organising team came to me and asked me to go to the piodium, when I arrived there I was told Hermann Maier was looking for me. The organiser then came and told me to hurry as they had to get things going on schedule, I refused and went and stood with some of his staff to watch. After I explained to Hermann the reasons since “OESV” had arranged for Hermann to be there since I was making the ride to support “NACHBAR IM NOT” an Austrian charity.
The next etappe went to Kaltenbach where I greeted Stephan Eberharter again there on behalf of “OESV” but also as he lived in the next village.
The next year at the start he again told me that I was unwelcome but I was there to see a new aussie talent develop now well known. I was on the Kitzbuhler Horn when Cadel Evans demonstrated his talent. The Rundfahrt has deteriorated as a tour and now is run at the same time as the Tour de France. It always clashed with the Dauphinee Libere which I enjoyed more and is more important as preparation for the Tour.
Side tracking again, so back to the Giro, next part coming up
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