There's just over half a day to go and race preparations are entering their final stages as the teams tool up and buckle down for the Prologue.
Tension is in the air as every team has officially reported in with race organisers. There are no late withdrawals although there was some confusion last night as several flights were diverted due to a volcano erupting off the coast of Atlantis. The _Striker_ team were the last to reach, touching down just after midnight after a tiring flight. The team were looking decidedly haggard as they stepped down onto Portuguese soil, but it remains to be seen whether they will recover sufficiently in time for the race start.
We caught up with Shinboner's Thai rider Yoddanai Sukngam or "Yoda" as the locals like to refer to him, over a cup of coffee early today morning. Sukngam has just returned from a lengthy layoff following | | his nephew's birthday party and was included in the Shinboner's squad after a long negotiation process with the team.
Apparently, the sole South East Asian participant had requested extended leave in order to attend his beloved nephew's birthday party more than a week ago. The million dollar extravaganza had lasted 10 days and the Shinboners management were less than delighted when Sukngam turned up at training bloated and out of shape. He has cut some of the fat since, but there have been worries that he will suffer from a lack of race practice once the Volta kicks off.
But for now, "Yoda" is happy just to bask in the festivities and polish his bike as they count down the remaining few hours to the start. It's a strange atmosphere at the moment, on a knife edge between uneasy calm and pent-up tension, but once the starting gun goes off, all bets are off.
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