An
individual time trial (ITT) is a
road bicycle race in which
cyclists race alone against the clock on flat or rolling terrain, or up a mountain road such as
Alpe d'Huez (in French:
contre la montre – literally "against the watch", in Italian:
tappa a cronometro "
stopwatch stage"). There are also
track-based time trials where riders compete in
velodromes, and
team time trials (TTT). ITTs are also referred to as "the race of truth", as winning depends only on each rider's strength and endurance, and not on help provided by team-mates and others riding ahead and creating a slipstream. The opening stage of
stage race will often be a short individual time trial called a
prologue.