The Opening Ceremony - Team Presentation

Donning a Giro d’Italia baseball cap given to me as a present about three years ago in Sicily, I blended into the huge crowd that gave an enthusiastic welcome to the 22 professional cycling teams at tonight’s al fresco event at Belfast City Hall.

Before the race starts tomorrow (Friday 9 May) – La Grande Partenza - and before we volunteers report for duty, teams continue their preparations for the prologue which is a team time trial.

BMC time trail bikes

Omega Pharma time trail bikes preparation

Russian team Katusha begin run-out on time trail bikes

Tonight's eve of race opening ceremony was the final opportunity for volunteers and spectators alike to learn about this enduring Italian institution.

Yesterday’s first post of this blog series considered the contenders as well as local interest.

The most revealing new fact to emerge from tonight’s ceremony was that all three Irish cyclists competing are leaders, no less, of their respective teams.  

The significance of this is that every member of these three teams is riding to ensure that the team leader finishes as high up in the general classification as possible when the race ends in Trieste on 1 June.

Hence, the American team Garmin-Sharpe will, to a man, be riding to support the cause of Dan Martin (number 97) who is the team leader.  

The same applies to the British team Sky which is led by Philip Deignan (number 193), and to the Russian team Tinkoff-Saxo which will ride in the cause of Nicolas Roche (number 201).

This is a remarkable hat-trick of accolades and a great compliment for professional cycling in Ireland.

The other observation emerging from the Team Presentation was that the only two team leaders who had the nerve to declare their intention to win the maglia rosa, the pink jersey, were two Columbians.   

They were Rigoberto Uran, team leader of Omega Pharma-Quickstep (number 141) and Nairo Quintana (number 121) of Movistar.

Apart from a common nationality, these two cyclists share another characteristic – runner up in a Grand Tour in 2013.  

Uran came second to Britain’s Chris Froome in last year’s Tour de France; while Quintana was the runner up to Italy’s Vicenzo Nibali in last year’s Giro.  

Both Froome and Nibali have decided to decline a shot at this year’s Italian job to set up an intriguing face-off in Paris in almost two months time

The most important revelation from tonight’s opening ceremony is that Belfast and Northern Ireland seems to have embraced the sport of professional cycling in a full hearted way.  Belfast is en fete (as are the routes that form the two later stages outside the city).

Pink bikes at Filthy McNasty's pub, Belfast

The size of the crowd which greeted the teams and the spontaneous warmth of the welcome for our international visitors bodes well for the next three days of racing.

Belfast Telegraph photo of the Giro Team Presentation ceremony ousside Belfast City Hall on 8 May

It also does wonders for our reputation abroad – inclusive, welcoming and above all outward-looking.

What a change to witness a flag-waving event in Belfast which is a scene of pure joy instead of hostile protest.

This article from the Belfast Telegraph illustrates these points with a slide-show of photographs from the opening ceremony:-

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/giro-dtalia/giro-ditalia-belfast-hosts-opening-ceremony-of-greatest-cycling-race-on-earth-30257572.html

©Michael McSorley 2014