Spent the day yesterday on the Champs Elysées for the Tour de France finale - couldn't get myself up early enough to be able to ride our bikes on the actual course but we got some pics on our bikes with the Arc de Triomphe in the background (without getting run down by traffic) and rode along the course on the sidewalk to get the layout. Already by 9 am the public viewing sites closest to the finish were gone (the best areas seemed to be where the grandstands were, including to see the podium from the front). We put our bikes back in the hotel, then staked out a spot just past the sprint line to watch the race - right at the barriers at 11am but it was 8-10 people deep there behind us by the time the caravan and race came around.
Really neat to see them come around 8 times (= 16 viewings) rather than the usual once. And I saw Cadel Evans on the podium (he came 2nd overall) even if from 100 m behind the podium. The team parade afterwards was neat too - lots of flags and rider antics (wheelies, Julian Dean in a top hat, etc.)
Mixed emotions - excitement of having seen the Tour, but disappointment at all the doping scandals.
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initially updates from our trips to the Tour of California and the Tour de France in 2007 (and our training efforts to get there), now just general adventures of our life as parents (as bike trips aren't going to be so frequent for a while!) - e-mail me at guidemd at hotmail dot com or leave a comment here!
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- Tour of California (15)
- Tour de France (14)
- cycling accomplishments (8)
- cyclocross (3)
- faq (3)
1 comment:
C U WED 630 YEG
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