Turin races towards Winter Games (Reuters) Updated: 2005-12-21 15:18
CESANA, Italy, Dec 21 (Reuters) - With gunshots ringing through the cold air
and Nordic skiers gliding through the snow, the biathlon venue for the Winter
Olympics in February looks ready for action.
Bulldozers still rumble along narrow roads linking the main venues in the
mountains near Turin, and the city itself is dotted with building sites, but at
least athletes will have somewhere to eat, sleep and compete.
The small, plain apartments at the Olympic Village are already furnished and
waiting for visitors, although on Tuesday workers were busy applying yet another
layer of paint to the facades.
As Turin was getting ready to begin its 50-day countdown to the Games on
Thursday, builders were putting up spectator stands at Cesana.
The Norwegian biathlon team trained at the shooting range, next to a
bobsleigh track where German and Australian athletes had worked out some weeks
ago.
"This is one of the best stadiums ever. There is a long part of the
competition that spectators can follow, it's exciting," Ubaldo Prucker,
vice-Chairman of the International Biathlon Union and Turin Games competition
manager, told reporters.
However, only 6,500 spectators will be able to follow the competition
directly as capacity is limited by transport and security constraints.
"It's a really low number, we're not happy with that," Prucker added. The
limits also affect other mountain venues such as Pragelato, where a few forlorn
spectator stands look oddly out of proportion against two imposing ski jumping
slopes.
Organisers have set up a complex shuttle system to prevent traffic jams on
the winding mountain roads but the International Olympic Committee (IOC) warned
on its last visit to Turin that transport remained a concern.
PANORAMIC WINDOWS
Following a last-minute building frenzy, some elegant new structures have
become visible less than two months before the start of the Olympics on February
10.
At Pragelato, most spectators will watch the competitions from plastic seats
on open-air stands but a few lucky IOC guests will be able to peer at the ski
jumpers through panoramic windows from a sleek wood-and-stone lounge.
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