Le Spectacle

You all know we are cycling fanatics.  So when we discovered Le Tour would finish a stage 2 hours away from Paris, the day before we were due to fly out, it seemed meant to be.  We left our sweet little Domaine with enough time to arrive in Reims at 1:00.  This would give us enough time to get settled and wander over to the stage finish.

I’ve seen some pretty big races, both in Europe and California.  I’m pleased to say that the Tour of California does a pretty good job of creating a big show.  This was pretty amazing though.  Everyone in town came out to watch, either along the side of the road or to the end of the stage. 

Our plan was to try to get to the podium and watch big screen tv coverage, and then see the podium presentations live.  However, the crowds and the sun (combined with a tired Grandma) quickly made us realize this was unrealistic.  So we settled for a few less interested members of our party watching on the screen from a shady spot near the finish, and Bob and I wedged in at the finish line.  Auggie was on my shoulders.  I saw nothing, but I heard Bob calling out the result.  I think Auggie got the best view out of all of us.

This is about as good as it got, which as you can tell from this picture, was pretty horrible.  It's an interesting experience to go from being a well informed, well connected, local viewer to a complete touron.... 

As soon as race was over, everyone – and I mean everyone – started streaming to the podium.  In the name of good parenting, and respecting your elders, we headed in the opposite direction.  So much for our plans!  It would have been cool to see Fabio don the Maillot Jaune, and spray the crowd down with real champagne, but it wasn’t in the cards.

Le tour, we bid you adieu

As an aside, the TV coverage here is great.  It starts before the stage even begins.   For starters Laurent Fignon is one of the commentators... how cool is that? They chat up each of the jerseys and some of the other notable riders.  They cover every kilometer of the action, and they get great live interviews when it it’s over.  Then, they run Tour retrospective shows for an hour after the race.  It’s a cycling fan’s paradise… especially if you speak French.  

In the same vein as my earlier 'trophy hunter' comment, we have added to our cycling viewing Palmeres

2000 - Le Dauphine Libere (Mont Ventoux)

2007 - Ronde von Vlanderen

2007 - Ghent Welvegem

2010 - Tour de France (Reims)

San Francisco Grand Prix (multiple years)

Tour of California (multiple years)