Vino in Rosa

Here's a video clip from the Terminillo stage. Heather finished her academic conference early so we headed off Sunday morning with a plan to park in Rieti and ride to the finish. The weather was awful so the bikes stayed in the car and we drove to the finish, enjoyed a nice lunch in a warm ski lodge/ristorante, then settled in to watch the big screen TV and await the finish. There was no decisive point on the climb where it got steeper so being at the top was as good as anyplace, especially with the warmth of the ristorante! We'd already picked up some porchetta sandwiches "just-in-case", not wanting to depend on luck this day.

Luck DID come into play as we waited for the race finish. We found places above the finish line on a deck just behind one of the grandstands and watched as one of the gatekeepers seemed to be allowing folks without credentials into the reserved seating area. Larry motioned down to him "could WE get in there?" and the nod of the head had us dashing down to seats in a covered area just after the finish line. Our guess is when the VIP's don't show up (it was COLD, wet and foggy after all) they fill the seats with whomever will sit in them so it looks good on TV) and we were more than willing! As you can see by the video, we could see the awards presentation very clearly. As we headed back to our car, the caravan began to descend and we saw our friend Mauro Mondonico driving the car carrying the race judges as usual. We caught him in the traffic jam and chatted a bit before he had to take up a "hurry up and wait" post in the car while we returned to the ristorante/bar for some hot drinks. The porchetta sandwiches became dinner later in the evening.