A Testing, Technical Time Trial

The Cinque Terre is beautiful if challenging cycling country but not the kind of terrain you'd usually find a time trial. The roads twist tightly up and down- they simply don't go straight and flat in this region.

And they made pretty tough walking too, as we soon found out walking from the 8km sign back up the route to the GPM along a neverending road under a boiling hot sun.

Waiting to watch the riders pass under the GPM

Mark Cavendish. The sprinter pulled out of the Giro on the following Friday after completing a hat-trick of individual victories on the 13th stage.
As well as winning three individual stages, he also helped Colombia win the team time trial that opened the centenary edition of race.
Cavendish, who turned 24 on Thursday, also became the first Briton to wear the Giro leader’s pink jersey at the start of the race.

Russia's Denis Menchov blew away the field in Thursday's individual time trial to take the 12th stage of the Giro d'Italia and wrestle the leader's pink jersey from Italian Danilo Di Luca.
Rabobank rider Menchov, twice Tour of Spain winner, completed a grueling 60.6-kilometer up-and-down course in the Cinque Terre region on Italy's northeast coast in one hour, 34 minutes, 29 seconds.
LPR's Di Luca, who had worn the pink jersey for seven stages, came in 1:54 behind in sixth place.

Vernazza.