By Anthony Tan in Seraing
When Cyclingnews visited the parcours of the opening stage of the 2006 Giro d'Italia today in Seraing, domestiques of a different kind were busily working away, putting the finishing touches on what should be an exciting opening stage.
Tomorrow's 6.2 kilometre TT is just long enough not to be called a prologue - even though that's what most people are calling it! It's reasonably non-technical with few hard corners, apart from one hairpin bend, so it should suit the big-gear crunchers who love to wind it up.
Starting at the Place Communale and following the Quai Sadoire on the banks of the River Meuse for the first 1.2 kilometres, heading south, riders then make a quick left, right, left before continuing along the Chaussée de la Troque (km 2.7) and Boulevard Pasteur (km 3.1).
After 600 metres of 'Pasteurising', it's time for a hairpin turn 100 metres before the 4 kilometre checkpoint, which takes the rider onto the Boulevard Galilée (km 4.2), through the Place de la Bergerie (km 4.8) and an easy left onto the Rue de Bas-Sarts (km 5.7), before a 500 metre finishing stretch on the Rue du Val St. Lambert.
As they say in Italy, 'Andiamo, vai, vai!'
