The photo of the Grand Stade de Lyon below is very different from the scene there at the moment.

The two teams have been warming up on the pitch through sheets of rain. 

The rain may be sharp but short. The showers are quite scattered. Ah, there we go. The rain has stopped.

It will be a greasy pill to get a grip of once the final gets under way though.

BBC Radio 5 Live

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BBC Radio 5 live are in place at the Grand Stade de Lyon - a space-age stadium that only opened in January - to provide commentary on Saracens' tilt at glory.

You can listen in at the top of this page - just click the speaker symbol.

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The European Cup final is a destination that Saracens have made only one visit to.

Back in 2014, they were well beaten, going down 23-6 to a Toulon side steered by Jonny Wilkinson.

They are facing big-spending French opposition once again in Racing 92. They will be hoping for a very different result. Kick-off in a shade over half an hour in Lyon.

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Munich.

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Verbier.

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Miami.

All have been destinations for Saracens' unorthodox mid-season team-building trips.

"Other clubs look at these trips and think they are stag parties," said then-chief executive Edward Griffiths before their last European Cup final in 2014.

 "It is far from that. It is a carefully-planned process to develop a group of people who will do whatever is necessary for each other and ultimately love each other. 

"The dividing line between success and failure in professional sport is incredibly thin.

"If we can find an extra inch in that bond, in the depth that players are prepared to go for each other, in Miami, New York or anywhere else, that is where we will go." 

Image source, Reuters

Muhammad Ali's words still ring true.

Often finals are not won on the day. Instead the result is the sum total of a season's preparation, the slow collection of hard yards, an expression of a spirit built in the dressing rooms, team buses and training grounds.

And Saracens have travelled far and wide to find the extra few percent to finally get themselves across the line in this competition.

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 "The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses - behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights."