Final Time trial and Paris

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Spent the day in Grenoble for the time trial. the buzz was that Cadel would pull out a big one and he didn.t disapoint. Our travelling aussie mates were  ecstatic and it was nice to share in the moment.although when i hear OI OI OI next it will be too soon!

The last day at the tour was a blur with the huge crowd and party atmosphere making it a special occasion that was tinged with sadness that it was all about to end.

I made heaps of new best friends and look forward to meeting up again one day soon.

au rivoir

Alpe D huez madness!

The pros had a tough day today,they had to tackle the Izzoard before the Galibier then finish on Alpe D huez. we took the easy option and travelled on the bus to the village of Le Borg d.oisans to watch the stage.

800 thousand other people had the same idea! A steady stream of humans propelled themselves up the mountain,it was the most amazing sight i have ever seen! pictures do not do it justice!

Col Du Lautaret

As the tour was going right passed our hotel today we decided to ride the Lautaret then return to have a leasurly afternoon watching the race on tv.
As tour climbs go this one is very tame, it is 23 km long but averages 6% making it easy on the legs after the last few days of intense climbing.It was sunny but bitterly cold on the climb which was packed with campervans waiting for the race to go by.

After the required coffee stop on the summit it was a fast decent back to Serre Chevalier for lunch in a bar then watched the race live on tv and raced outside in time to see the peloton go past. great day!

into Italy july 20th

we left out base in Serre Chevalier and decended to the town of Briancon where we started to climb the col de Montenevre,, a climb of 17 km but at a reasonable gradient made this climb enjoyable,especially as the day had become warm and sunny.
After a coffee break it was onto a high speed decent of 12km thru some amazing scenery complete with tunnels then onto the main climb of the day to Sestreres in italy.
the crowds were starting to build by this stage and it gave a steady stream of new friends from all corners of the globe to ride with.

This was the climb that Claudio Chiapucci made famous by his epic solo win here in 1992 so to climb here was very special for this cycle nut!
the crowds and atmosphere here today was something i will remember for a long time.Can it get any better than this?