Day 6

All in all, this was one of our best days of Tour watching...ever.   I don’t think it could ever get any better. 

Mont Blanc, Europe's tallest at 4810 meters

No crowds when we arrived at 7 AM

6 hours later

When I consider what I enjoy the most about watching the Tour de France I must say it’s the scenery, the people, and the race…in that order.  The scenery speaks for itself.   It’s incredible.    As for the people, we love talking to people from other countries, asking them about politics.  While we waited for the riders on the Col de la Madeleine we spoke with Dutch, French, British, Belgian, & Americans.   None of their opinions were surprising!  The more we talk to people from other countries, the more we realize we’re all the same.

Our last day of Tour watching in the Alps started the same as the previous ones.  Originally we planned to meet our Aussie mate Matt Ryan wIth whom we have connected for many years while vacationing in Provence and the Alps.  Matt’s a fanatical cyclist who summits Mont Ventoux every year; quite an accomplishment for a 68 year old.  We first met Matt and his wife Emily when we both staying at Le Mas Perreal, an inn in the Luberon area of Provence.

We intended to link up on the final climb of Alpe d’Huez since Matt was staying with his cycling tour group in the nearby village of Villard Reculas, which is only a few KM from Huez.

However, after talking to the mechanic from Sky about the anticipated harassment that is targeted toward Chris Froome by the French spectators, and the general rowdiness that we’ve witnessed on the climb up Alpe d’Huez, we decided to view today’s stage on the Col de la Madeleine.  We’re sad to miss seeing Matt, but the Madeleine is our favorite viewing spot in the Alps, so we’re happy too.

Amazingly no roads were closed so we made it to the summit of the Col and found a great viewing spot where we set up our gear at 7 AM.  We’re so excited.   I literally jumped for joy when we got out of the car.   We’re sitting just yards from the 2000 meter summit, and we’re surrounded by snow covered peaks in every direction, including Europe’s highest, Mont Blanc.  

Life is good!

Thursday was a lot cooler than the three previous days; the 2000 meters altitude probably had something to do with it.  There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and our 360° views included nothing but mountains and blue skies.  Mont Blanc was very visible, perhaps for the first time in our ten visits to France.  What a treat!

As the morning progress we enjoyed the sights and conversations.  At the col there is a small a tavern so we could purchase coffee & croissants, a local version of the New Orleans beignet call a “bugne”, and cold drinks.  And most luxuriously there were toilets!

cafe au lait at 2000 meters

Our wait time for the racers passed way too quickly.  Since this was the first climb of the day, only 53 KM from the start,  the first racers arrived around 1:30 PM.  The lead group was very large and passed us with authority.  There is an on-going competition within the Tour for the rider who reaches the most summits first.  This jersey is almost as prestigious as the yellow jersey.    

The lead rider in this group was the Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe, who is wearing the King of the Mountains, polka dot jersey, so the crowd was especially excited to see their countryman up front.  Chase groups trailed by only a few minutes, then the peloton which included the new yellow jersey wearer, Geraint Thomas, the Welshman from Team Sky.  Lastly the straggling sprinters and domestiques who just want to finish within the time limit so they are not eliminated from the Tour. Today’s “Lantern Rouge” was Tony Galopin.  He looked like he was dying and a few yards from the summit banner, someone from his team car jumped out, gave him a hug and a push.  He dropped out at the end of  this stage.

Our ride back to Grenoble went especially quickly.  We were only about 65 km from our hotel, and we were back in our room watching the last 10 km of the race in our hotel room.  What we saw of spectator behavior on Alpe d’Huez confirmed our decision.  Fans were setting off flares causing visibility problems, striking the riders, and even knocking one off his  bike.  Former Tour winner Vincenzo Nibali was accidentally knocked down by fan when a strap from the fans camera or backpack hooked Nibali’s handle bars.  Nibali continued to race and amazingly finished fourth, but was then taken to the hospital where it was discovered he broke a vertebrae in his back, so he has withdrawn.

The race’s finish was very exciting as four racers battled back and fourth for the lead and the victory.

After brief nap & shower we walked to a nearby Italian restaurant where we had another fabulous meal of carpaccio, cannelloni, tiramisu, and rose wine.

                               

   

What a wonderful day it was.