Friday afternoon , May 19th, 2023 ,
Il Giro d'Italia...
the famous italian bicycle race / tour , il Giro d'Italia, drove into southwestern Switzerland.
Here are images I shot at one crosspoint in the village of Aproz.
Normally the tour was supposed to drive into Switzerland over the Grand-St.Bernard mountain pass but there was way too much snow left from last winter so they started the day in Le Châble, apparently.
Lots of bystanders came to see it, it was a great event.
Aproz is a small village near the airport of Sion, the capital of Valais canton in southwestern Switzerland. It is built in part on the surface of Sion territory and in part of Nendaz ( ski resort ) territory.
Aproz is most famous for its yearly cow fighting event ( combat de reines ) and its natural spring source, mineral water sold under the Aproz label by Migros retail shops.
The bicycle race continued till Crans-Montana.
Today saturday May 20th, 2023 they should leave from the city of Sierre at noon , and drive back into Italy via the Simplon mountain pass.
Filmed in 4K 25fps with a Sony AX53.
(More images coming in a separate video , filmed in ultra slow motion. )
While waiting for the cyclists to arrive it was fascinating to see how many cars and motorbikes come along this event.
The Giro d'Italia is for Italy what the Tour de France is for France.
It is not the first time that the Giro does a sidekick into Switzerland but it is still rather rare.
The weather was good. Cloudy but no too cold and no precipitation for most of the track.