Today is the rest day for the riders - but not for us. We have been sufficiently warned that if we were to be on the L'Alpe d'Huez the day of the stage, we would be stuck there well into the night. As many as 500,000 bike fanatics will ascend the climb by foot, bike, motorbike, and camper in order to get a glimpse of the riders. It is perhaps the most well known climb on this year's mountain finishes. Unfortunately, given our travel plans and our proximity to Paris, we won't be watching on the final climb. But…..today is our day to go do the climb! All 21 switchbacks and all the suffering! Of course, in support of the Blog, I will stop every now and then and take pictures. I will forego breaking Marco Pantani's record for the cause…someone's got to do it.
Yesterday was an excellent Tour day on many levels. We dropped Scott on Antibes and drove along the coast - past Monaco and Monte Carlo (Andrew wouldn't let me go to a casino, don a white jacket tux, and go to the baccarat table and say "banco!" - a la James Bond). I'm confident I could have paid for the trip….rats! Anyway, what a beautiful coastline. Rugged, villages carved into hillsides, deep river canyons, and tons of greenhouses - not sure what they were growing. In addition there were some pretty amazing yachts moored in the marinas and cruising around - must be nice. We entered Italy and turned north to drive through the mountains to go to Villanova Mondovi to see the peleton take a big turn through town and begin the final climb to Prato Nevoso. The town was hopping and we got a great spot right on a traffic circle. There was a breakaway with non-contenders that got away - more on that - but apparently there was bad weather coming over the Col de Agnel which is second highest col of the Tour at 2744 meters. After reaping the rewards of a good spot with copious amounts of advertising trinkets - get psyched Emma & Phoebe! - we watched the peleton whip by and then we ran into a local bar and watched the end. Local bars are a great place to be to watch the race unfold. People are cheering, cringing, laughing, and "holding court". It really gives some perspective on how important the Tour is to the people - of all nationalities. We were in Italy, but we spoke with an Austrian, and sat next to a Dutch family. It is a great honor to have the race come through your town and everyone gives a little to make it look nice and festive. We were standing within 50 meters of a big hot air balloon hovering about 50 feet off the ground, and a lift holding an enormous yellow silk banner with the town's name on it.
The final climb of the race was classic. In the break group, after working together for 100+ kilometers, pulled off the gloves and went after each other. I was cheering for Danny Pate (the American), but the Credit Agricole rider was playing possum and had more in the tank in the final couple hundred meters. Down below, in the yellow jersey group was the real battle. Quick accelerations, looks, jockeying for position, hanging on, and clawing back were all part of the production. It made for great drama in the bar as each move drew sighs and cheers. It was quite fun.
After the race, we headed backwards along the course. After a few kilometers evidence of the day's activity became less obvious except for the unique decorations that each town is dressed up with. All the trash was gone - completely. What remained were an assortment of flags, banners, ribbons, balloons, decorated bicycles, flower arrangements, and even a field with the straw raked in piles spelling Vive Le Tour. We stopped for dinner in Italy so we could have some pasta. We were not disappointed as we stumbled upon a café where the chef treated us to pasta tasting, followed by venison and a three item desert. It was a good thing, because Tour riders need 6-8000 calories per day, so we had an idea of what that might be like….
Following dinner we drove over Col Agnel from the Italian side. It was amazing (I know, I'm running out of superlatives). All I can say is I could never imagine riding up the col - steep, narrow, lots of switchbacks and beautiful, albeit white knuckle driving, especially when coming headlight to headlight with a camper. We topped out, jumped out and it was whipping wind and freezing cold. We opted to drop down the French side to camp.
Now as we head to our own stage climb, we are descending the race route and have seen literally hundreds of bikers coming up. It is very popular to ride a stage the day after and today is no exception. What is striking is the many types of riders we see - mountain bikes, young, old, men and women, lots of various bike clubs and tour groups, and certainly racers from other levels of racing testing themselves, or perhaps on a training ride. The route is filled with bikers and there is no stereotype as it is an overwhelming part of the culture. Have I mentioned all the beautiful bicycles? Many brands I have never ever heard of before.
As we head along our way, we are now following a stretch of Wednesday's stage. Barricades are being dropped off, a big machine is brushing sections of the shoulder, and even field mowers are preparing parking and camping spots along the road. Again, the logistics of this event are astounding.
We just passed through Briancon and are driving towards the Col du Galibier, another classic, and agin we are seeing dozens of bikers heading up, up, up! There is also lots of activity in these mountain towns, especially whitewater action - both rafting and kayaking - and of course Cub Med!
One random observation of note is the abundance of tennis courts - in cities, rural areas, and mountain communities, along with the fact that they are all full. As America is slowly dropping off the world tennis radar, except for Venus and Serena, this could offer some insight.
We are debating watching our last stage along the Galibier in order to facilitate a quick and convenient departure towards Paris.
Well, we have arrived at St. Bourg de Etienes, my stomach is queasy, L'Alpe d'Huez!
Yesterday was an excellent Tour day on many levels. We dropped Scott on Antibes and drove along the coast - past Monaco and Monte Carlo (Andrew wouldn't let me go to a casino, don a white jacket tux, and go to the baccarat table and say "banco!" - a la James Bond). I'm confident I could have paid for the trip….rats! Anyway, what a beautiful coastline. Rugged, villages carved into hillsides, deep river canyons, and tons of greenhouses - not sure what they were growing. In addition there were some pretty amazing yachts moored in the marinas and cruising around - must be nice. We entered Italy and turned north to drive through the mountains to go to Villanova Mondovi to see the peleton take a big turn through town and begin the final climb to Prato Nevoso. The town was hopping and we got a great spot right on a traffic circle. There was a breakaway with non-contenders that got away - more on that - but apparently there was bad weather coming over the Col de Agnel which is second highest col of the Tour at 2744 meters. After reaping the rewards of a good spot with copious amounts of advertising trinkets - get psyched Emma & Phoebe! - we watched the peleton whip by and then we ran into a local bar and watched the end. Local bars are a great place to be to watch the race unfold. People are cheering, cringing, laughing, and "holding court". It really gives some perspective on how important the Tour is to the people - of all nationalities. We were in Italy, but we spoke with an Austrian, and sat next to a Dutch family. It is a great honor to have the race come through your town and everyone gives a little to make it look nice and festive. We were standing within 50 meters of a big hot air balloon hovering about 50 feet off the ground, and a lift holding an enormous yellow silk banner with the town's name on it.
The final climb of the race was classic. In the break group, after working together for 100+ kilometers, pulled off the gloves and went after each other. I was cheering for Danny Pate (the American), but the Credit Agricole rider was playing possum and had more in the tank in the final couple hundred meters. Down below, in the yellow jersey group was the real battle. Quick accelerations, looks, jockeying for position, hanging on, and clawing back were all part of the production. It made for great drama in the bar as each move drew sighs and cheers. It was quite fun.
After the race, we headed backwards along the course. After a few kilometers evidence of the day's activity became less obvious except for the unique decorations that each town is dressed up with. All the trash was gone - completely. What remained were an assortment of flags, banners, ribbons, balloons, decorated bicycles, flower arrangements, and even a field with the straw raked in piles spelling Vive Le Tour. We stopped for dinner in Italy so we could have some pasta. We were not disappointed as we stumbled upon a café where the chef treated us to pasta tasting, followed by venison and a three item desert. It was a good thing, because Tour riders need 6-8000 calories per day, so we had an idea of what that might be like….
Following dinner we drove over Col Agnel from the Italian side. It was amazing (I know, I'm running out of superlatives). All I can say is I could never imagine riding up the col - steep, narrow, lots of switchbacks and beautiful, albeit white knuckle driving, especially when coming headlight to headlight with a camper. We topped out, jumped out and it was whipping wind and freezing cold. We opted to drop down the French side to camp.
Now as we head to our own stage climb, we are descending the race route and have seen literally hundreds of bikers coming up. It is very popular to ride a stage the day after and today is no exception. What is striking is the many types of riders we see - mountain bikes, young, old, men and women, lots of various bike clubs and tour groups, and certainly racers from other levels of racing testing themselves, or perhaps on a training ride. The route is filled with bikers and there is no stereotype as it is an overwhelming part of the culture. Have I mentioned all the beautiful bicycles? Many brands I have never ever heard of before.
As we head along our way, we are now following a stretch of Wednesday's stage. Barricades are being dropped off, a big machine is brushing sections of the shoulder, and even field mowers are preparing parking and camping spots along the road. Again, the logistics of this event are astounding.
We just passed through Briancon and are driving towards the Col du Galibier, another classic, and agin we are seeing dozens of bikers heading up, up, up! There is also lots of activity in these mountain towns, especially whitewater action - both rafting and kayaking - and of course Cub Med!
One random observation of note is the abundance of tennis courts - in cities, rural areas, and mountain communities, along with the fact that they are all full. As America is slowly dropping off the world tennis radar, except for Venus and Serena, this could offer some insight.
We are debating watching our last stage along the Galibier in order to facilitate a quick and convenient departure towards Paris.
Well, we have arrived at St. Bourg de Etienes, my stomach is queasy, L'Alpe d'Huez!
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