This picturesque Olympic athletes' village in Sestriere was given a big thumbs down by many leading competitors at the Winter Games on Tuesday.
World Cup champion Bode Miller, a favorite in the Alpine ski racing, has opted out of the village in the resort of Sestriere, preferring to stay in the camper bus he uses on the World Cup tour.
"The athletes' village is really in a lot of ways for a competition not a healthy living environment. The beds are really small and uncomfortable," the outspoken 28-year-old told reporters ahead of the Games which begin on Friday.
"I have a motor-home here, I have my own food, my own bed, my own pillows. I am pretty much fully self-sufficient.
Austrian skier Rainer Schoenfelder said he intended to spend as little time as possible in Sestriere.
The technical specialist, who finished fourth in combined at Salt Lake City in 2002, said that the Olympic village was not right for his preparation.
"During the Olympics people are so emotional -- both positively and negatively. It is like you are fighting for your life," he said.
"That's great but it is not the right kind of energy and environment to concentrate on the race ahead."
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American men's figure skater Johnny Weir soaked up the atmosphere in the Turin village but he too remained rather unimpressed with the accommodation in Lingotto.
"It's very cool to be in the Olympics village because it is the Olympic village but I'm roughing it as the room is cold and dusty," the three-times American champion said.
International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge, however, could not find any fault with the facilities.
Rogge, who prefers to stay at athletes' village during the Games instead of far more luxurious official IOC hotels, said it met all requirements for top athletes.
Photograph: Getty Images | Text: Reuters
