Having moved recently to Zurich, and having a keen cycling friend from Oz visiting, I'd like to plan a trip to see the Stelvio stage of the Giro. Can people send me some tips on what to do / not do?

- If we go for a day trip, what traffic to expect? How early to be there?
- Where to attempt to watch from?
- Where to park (we will need to drive from Zurich)? I'm guessing this will be crazy, both getting in and getting out again, so I was thinking we might try parking in a town nearby then taking a public transport to where we want to go, rather than attempting to park on the road
- Where is the best place to stand? Walk up towards the top?
- What is the best way to see TV of the stage? iphone Eurosport?
- Anything we should bring? (bbq, beer, noise making devices, ...)

There are 3 roads to the top of the Stelvio - 2 from Switzerland, 1 from Bormio, Italy. I'd suggest taking one of the Swiss roads, park up and walk. Take a jacket and hat.

I think that only one of the roads comes from Switzerland. There's one from Bormio that the race will come up (and usually has gone down in the past), the classic route from Prato with the 47 or 49 switchbacks that's a great ride and the Swiss route. The Bormio road will probably close fairly early and I don't know if the Giro site would tell you how early. The road from Prato will probably have lots of traffic and is a great ride and probably a great drive too. It would give you access to places to get food, etc. since there's Prato, one or two places along the way and the various places at the top that may be largely overrun by Giro officials. The road from the Swiss side is a little below the top on the side the race will be coming. You could probably walk to the top and, if I remember correctly, it's not too far. However, I don't know how good a road it actually is. One thing about this spot might be that you'd actually see the racers coming up the road both below you and above. Even if you're at the top, the finish will probably be closed to the public so you wouldn't see any sprint finish unless you have some on line or TV coverage and I have no idea what would work that far into the middle of the mountains.

If you're doing it as a day trip, I think it will be a really long day with lots of driving on secondary roads so you'd need to leave really early.

Your talking LOTS of walking. I'd take bikes if you can.

Thanks c50jim and others.

I like driving, so it's good as long as the roads are not too traffic clogged.

I will check the Giro website and think about logistics, as I didn't realise the Swiss road meets the others near the top. It sounds like the Swiss road might just turn into a car park / park on the verge, then we might walk / bike the rest of the way up. But that might be difficult with my 5-year old daughter.