Though I promised a race report some time ago, I doubt anyone was really waiting for it, but here it is anyways. Apologies up front for any missing details as I cant remember all the great stuff I saw, and further apologies for not posting the bike porn shots I got, as I have no idea how to post them.
My wife and I just today got back from France from a week following the tour. After spending last weekend in Paris doing tourist stuff, we got into Arras Tuesday night ready for the TTT on Wednesday. The town was buzzing when we got there, as evidenced when we visited the cathedral in the center of town, which is actually also the office of tourism. The town school children had put together a great display of the Tour’s history with the town, complete with pre WWII bikes and race worn jerseys, and some fantastic photos. They were quite obviously huge Hinault fans.
We saw some of the OLN announce team at dinner, but most importantly, we picked up a small leaflet that the town had put together. In one corner it said the parking garage we had put the rental in was going to be closed for the day of and day after the tour. Thank god my wife speaks French and saw that. Our vacation would have been ruined, and of course no one at the garage mentioned it and there was no sign. But, as you’ll see in a moment, it was the best thing that could have happened.
Wednesday morning, we had to get up early and bring our stuff to the car now parked at the bus station before the street closings. We had stay on the far side of the main street, away from the town, after it was sectioned off, so as to be able to get back to the car later that afternoon. While it had the advantage that it was far less crowed than the side near the town, the downside was we had nearly six hours to kill cut off from the center of town before the race got to us. Or so I thought, until I saw a Fassa Bortolo team car pull into an alley. As peered down after it, and saw one of the team’s bikes propped up against the wall. No way, I thought – we are in the end city, they don’t build the bikes here, must be an extra back up or training bike. I got a quick picture and was about to take off when I peered around the end of the alley, and into the private parking lot behind the adjacent hotel.
And there they were. The team vans from Fass Bortolo, Phonak, AG2R, Cofidis, La Boulangre, and Saeco. The mechanics were sure enough assembling the bikes for the stage in the end city, and I was lucky enough to stumble across it. By the time I figured I probably shouldn’t be there, I looked around and police were putting up tape where we had just walked in, but they weren’t in a rush to tell me or the 20 or so other fans mulling around to leave, so I didn’t. I wandered from team to team, overloading with information - e.g., Tyler’s bike (which is about the coolest thing I have ever seen) is black with Speedplay while most of the other team’s is white with Look. AG2R isn’t running disks? Is it because rain is expected? The tires of each bike from each team (yes, tubulars, no clinchers in sight) clearly have some miles on them – out the window goes the new tire on race day theory.
I was noticing how bad the welds were on the Cofidis’ Decathlon bikes were when out comes the Phonak team. All except Tyler that is. I quickly surmise that since his bike is already loaded on the roof rack he must have come and gone. The rest of the team heads out of a 5-10 minutes ride, and comes back to sign a few autographs for the kids around, except for Martin Elmiger, who clearly isn’t happy with his set up, and gives the mechanic an earful. In his defense, the mechanic pulls out a tape measure, but was on the losing end of the argument.
About this time my wife is getting bored and wants to continue her personal quest to try to spot Sheryl Crow. (Which was thankfully fruitless). So we leave, walk a few blocks when she spots a bench under a tree and the end of what looks to be another quaint little alley. Since I’m not adverse to the romantic side of France, we decide to sit in the shade a bit. My luck can’t be this good, can it? On this small side street, at the end of the alley, is the CSC truck, filled with Cervelos as far as they eye can see. Not another fan in sight, and the mechanic can clearly see the eyes bug out of my head. “Hello”, he says, clearly the only English word he knows, and allows me to walk right up to the truck to peer in, and even poses for a picture. He’s working on Bobby Julich’s bike, and allows me to give it the once over. I’m surprised – maybe I shouldn’t be – but the bike isn’t as pristine as I would have thought. Clean as hell – but the bar ends and the down tube are nicked up pretty good. Obviously this bike has been ridden hard. Still, with the Zipps, one of the best looking things on the road.
My wife finally drags me away to a café before we set up to watch the trials about 2k from the finish, right on a bridge where we can see them round a corner and come on a slight decline. Its slowly gets more crowded than we expected on this side of the street, and pushing and smoking in others’ faces are apparently the social norm in France. By the third team, however, it starts raining. Standing-in-the-shower-kind-of-rain. Rain-so- hard-that-you-have-to-yell-to-the-person-right-next-to-you-kind-of-rain. It thins the crowd quite a bit, but lousy picture taking.
It’s obviously tough to watch the stage because you have no idea what’s going on. It wasn’t uncommon to see a rider trailing his team by 15 minutes or more. Did he fall? Mechanical problems? Every team that passes you count the riders to make sure they have the requisite five. Spotting individual riders is tougher than I imagined. You need to be looking for something specific and catch onto it – McEwen’s green jersey, Hincapie’s Oakley’s, etc. I mistaken assumed Lance would be riding third or fourth on Postal and mistook Landis for him – he was actually in the seventh position and I only caught his backside, but my wife thinks she got a picture, have to wait to get it developed though.
We stayed on and watched stages five and six as well, but I doubt anyone has read this far and the other stages didn’t have the glamour of the TTT, but it was still one of the best vacations I’ve had. (Have to say “one of” in case wife reads this - nothing beats our honeymoon …)
My wife and I just today got back from France from a week following the tour. After spending last weekend in Paris doing tourist stuff, we got into Arras Tuesday night ready for the TTT on Wednesday. The town was buzzing when we got there, as evidenced when we visited the cathedral in the center of town, which is actually also the office of tourism. The town school children had put together a great display of the Tour’s history with the town, complete with pre WWII bikes and race worn jerseys, and some fantastic photos. They were quite obviously huge Hinault fans.
We saw some of the OLN announce team at dinner, but most importantly, we picked up a small leaflet that the town had put together. In one corner it said the parking garage we had put the rental in was going to be closed for the day of and day after the tour. Thank god my wife speaks French and saw that. Our vacation would have been ruined, and of course no one at the garage mentioned it and there was no sign. But, as you’ll see in a moment, it was the best thing that could have happened.
Wednesday morning, we had to get up early and bring our stuff to the car now parked at the bus station before the street closings. We had stay on the far side of the main street, away from the town, after it was sectioned off, so as to be able to get back to the car later that afternoon. While it had the advantage that it was far less crowed than the side near the town, the downside was we had nearly six hours to kill cut off from the center of town before the race got to us. Or so I thought, until I saw a Fassa Bortolo team car pull into an alley. As peered down after it, and saw one of the team’s bikes propped up against the wall. No way, I thought – we are in the end city, they don’t build the bikes here, must be an extra back up or training bike. I got a quick picture and was about to take off when I peered around the end of the alley, and into the private parking lot behind the adjacent hotel.
And there they were. The team vans from Fass Bortolo, Phonak, AG2R, Cofidis, La Boulangre, and Saeco. The mechanics were sure enough assembling the bikes for the stage in the end city, and I was lucky enough to stumble across it. By the time I figured I probably shouldn’t be there, I looked around and police were putting up tape where we had just walked in, but they weren’t in a rush to tell me or the 20 or so other fans mulling around to leave, so I didn’t. I wandered from team to team, overloading with information - e.g., Tyler’s bike (which is about the coolest thing I have ever seen) is black with Speedplay while most of the other team’s is white with Look. AG2R isn’t running disks? Is it because rain is expected? The tires of each bike from each team (yes, tubulars, no clinchers in sight) clearly have some miles on them – out the window goes the new tire on race day theory.
I was noticing how bad the welds were on the Cofidis’ Decathlon bikes were when out comes the Phonak team. All except Tyler that is. I quickly surmise that since his bike is already loaded on the roof rack he must have come and gone. The rest of the team heads out of a 5-10 minutes ride, and comes back to sign a few autographs for the kids around, except for Martin Elmiger, who clearly isn’t happy with his set up, and gives the mechanic an earful. In his defense, the mechanic pulls out a tape measure, but was on the losing end of the argument.
About this time my wife is getting bored and wants to continue her personal quest to try to spot Sheryl Crow. (Which was thankfully fruitless). So we leave, walk a few blocks when she spots a bench under a tree and the end of what looks to be another quaint little alley. Since I’m not adverse to the romantic side of France, we decide to sit in the shade a bit. My luck can’t be this good, can it? On this small side street, at the end of the alley, is the CSC truck, filled with Cervelos as far as they eye can see. Not another fan in sight, and the mechanic can clearly see the eyes bug out of my head. “Hello”, he says, clearly the only English word he knows, and allows me to walk right up to the truck to peer in, and even poses for a picture. He’s working on Bobby Julich’s bike, and allows me to give it the once over. I’m surprised – maybe I shouldn’t be – but the bike isn’t as pristine as I would have thought. Clean as hell – but the bar ends and the down tube are nicked up pretty good. Obviously this bike has been ridden hard. Still, with the Zipps, one of the best looking things on the road.
My wife finally drags me away to a café before we set up to watch the trials about 2k from the finish, right on a bridge where we can see them round a corner and come on a slight decline. Its slowly gets more crowded than we expected on this side of the street, and pushing and smoking in others’ faces are apparently the social norm in France. By the third team, however, it starts raining. Standing-in-the-shower-kind-of-rain. Rain-so- hard-that-you-have-to-yell-to-the-person-right-next-to-you-kind-of-rain. It thins the crowd quite a bit, but lousy picture taking.
It’s obviously tough to watch the stage because you have no idea what’s going on. It wasn’t uncommon to see a rider trailing his team by 15 minutes or more. Did he fall? Mechanical problems? Every team that passes you count the riders to make sure they have the requisite five. Spotting individual riders is tougher than I imagined. You need to be looking for something specific and catch onto it – McEwen’s green jersey, Hincapie’s Oakley’s, etc. I mistaken assumed Lance would be riding third or fourth on Postal and mistook Landis for him – he was actually in the seventh position and I only caught his backside, but my wife thinks she got a picture, have to wait to get it developed though.
We stayed on and watched stages five and six as well, but I doubt anyone has read this far and the other stages didn’t have the glamour of the TTT, but it was still one of the best vacations I’ve had. (Have to say “one of” in case wife reads this - nothing beats our honeymoon …)
Last edited by:
greensneakers: Jul 11, 04 17:22
