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.