Today we went to the Col de Madeleine...another life list destination for any serious cycling fan. We didn't have to travel as far today, so we slept until 5, and were in the car by 5:40 PM. We were able to buy croissants, a baquette, and coffee at the nearby boulangerie which opens at 5:30. What a treat.
Another long, steep, windy mountain road got us to with 1 km of the summit of the Col de Madeleine where we parked our car, and set up camp by 8:00 AM. The scenery here is incredible...without question the best Tour watching spot we've ever had. This spot is fabulous. Today's wait for the riders will be much shorter, they are scheduled to go past us at 1:40 PM.
From our car, I walked to the summit, bought some souvenirs at the restaurant at the col, and took lots of photos. On the way back to the car I was able to get hot coffee and croissants from a pop up concession stand. What a treat. While waiting for the racers I was able to work on my blog. I had two days to catch up on. Here's the view that I had as I typed on my iPad.
If you look closely, you'll notice I'm holding my iPad. I'm not sleeping!
The caravan arrived right on schedule, 11:45 AM, They always get people going, here our neighbors started dancing with the girls in yellow who are selling Tour souvenirs. We we ended up getting lots of swag, mostly worthless trinkets thrown from the sponsors vehicles, since we were not crowded all in comparison to the two previous stages that we attended. It's amazing how happy we all get when we get free stuff.
The first riders, Canadian Ryder Heyjedal and Frenchman Roland Pierre, did not appear until 1:50 PM, several small groups followed and the peleton with race leader Christopher Froome came by at 2:04.
Here's a shot of Mark Cavendish, our favorite rider, getting some food from his team car. The continuous firing option makes caturing such moments possible. Cav's always toward the back of the peleton duing the mountain stages.
Finally the last rider at 2:13. All in all the riders were especially spread after just 65 km of a 205 km race.
This has certainly our best Tour watching experience ever. The scenery was spectacular, our viewing spot gave us views up and down the mountain, the weather was very comfortable, we got to stay next to our car, no one tried to get in front of us for either the caravan or for the riders, the spectators around us were very friendly, and the riders were well spaced out. You couldn't ask for a better day.
What a treat!
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