Stage 17 of the Tour de France in Megeve
I don't think I can deny it any longer. After 7 years of living in Chamonix it would appear that I am becoming a fan of the Tour de France. There, I've said it out loud. No going back.
Now during my time here I have been to a couple of stage finishes, namely Morzine in 2006 and Alpe d'Huez in 2008, but if I'm honest, I like going along to see how much free tat I can collect from the sponsors promotional caravan. By the time the cyclists come along I'm either so high on a Haribo sugar rush or gleefully rifling through my stash of goodies that Lance Armstrong could ride right over my toes and I would barely notice him!
However this year, stages of the Tour de France have passed within an hour of Chamonix no less than 4 times; Stage 15 finishing in Verbier, Stage 16 passing just the other side of Courmayeur and down to Bourg St Maurice, Stage 17 came through Megeve, Combloux and Sallanches and then Stage 18 today is a time trial around Lake Annecy. With so much going on so close by, it's hard not to get swept up in the excitement!
So anyway, we popped up to Megeve yesterday to catch a glimpse of the riders as they began their descent into Sallanches, at the halfway mark of what everyone was calling the toughest of all the mountain stages. Throughout the 170km route from Bourg St Maurice to Le Grand Bornand, the riders had to negotiate four category 1 climbs (Cormet de Roselend, Col des Saisies, Col de Romme and Col de la Colombiere), a category 2 climb (Cote d'Araches) and 2 sprint sections in Praz sur Arly and Cluses. When we headed out, I really had no idea how close we would be able to park to the route and so we were prepared for a bit of a trek. However, we managed to park about 150m from the roundabout at the Princess gondola on the outskirts of Megeve and from there we had our pick of front row viewing spots along the main road. The changeable conditions may have put some people off, with the weather repeatedly switching between heavy rainstorms and glorious sunshine throughout the afternoon. You no sooner had your waterproof on or brolly up when the clouds broke and the sun was back – irritating enough from a spectators point of view never mind what it must have done to the road conditions for the riders. None the less, it was only a fairly modest group of spectators that lined the route around the Demi-Quartier in Megeve.
Timing it perfectly for the arrival of the Tour Caravan (the “Freebie Parade” – yay!), we had 20m stretch of road exclusively to ourselves upon which to gather goodies. And boy, what a lucrative spot it turned out to be! As the Caravan passed by we amassed an impressive stash of caps, pens, washing powder, bottle openers, key rings, Haribo (mmm, my favourite), sausage bits, lanyards, fridge magnets, bags, bicycle clips and bottles of water – check out the photo for the full extent of our goodies!
About 45 minutes after the Caravan had passed, the adrenaline had begun to subside and we were impatiently awaiting the arrival of the riders. Right on cue the TV helicopter came into view signalling the impending arrival of the stage leader – Tor Hushovd in his distinctive green jersey. He'd just won the speed trial in Praz sur Arly and was miles ahead of the lead group, or at least it certainly seemed more that the 2 minutes that the official commentary indicated. He was gone in a flash with his entourage and then the remainder of the field came zipping past. From my uninhibited roadside position I managed to take an array of completely rubbish photos for your perusal, missing Contador in his yellow jersey and anyone else of any significance courtesy of the TV & press bikes blocking my view right at the crucial moment! Sorry about that. We also discovered that the French President, Nicolas Sarkosy was travelling in the Tour entourage throughout Stage 17 as well, but I didn't get a photo of him either.... Hmm.
After the riders had sped their way past we hot footed it back to the car and back to Cham to catch the remainder of the stage on TV. It was whilst watching the official footage that I began to realise why the Tour de France attracts such a monumental following – it's really exciting! Obviously when you're actually there you get swept up in the atmosphere of the crowd, but unless you're on one of the big climbs or at the finish, the riders are gone in a flash. However, the motorbike footage hot on their heels is incredible and if I understood all of the rider/team tactics then I'm sure it would become even more so. For example, why was Contador chivvying the Schlek brothers along, overtaking them and then hanging back to wait for them again? How do the riders manage not to punch the annoying (and usually quite portly) blokes who insist on running alongside them and practically knock them of their bikes at the top of the 4th thigh busting climb of the day?? I do not understand. Anyway, I have made a vow with myself that I will become more educated on the subject in time for next year's race and actually follow more of the stages on TV.
As soon as the route of the 2010 Tour is announced we'll be sure to let you know and highlight where the best spots to enjoy the action are from Cham. Until then, it's back to the TV for me to see what happens in the final stages of this year's race. Perhaps there is more to this Tour de France malarkey than just free tat after all.....
