Le Tour - Stage 1

Stage 1 in Rotterdam. What a way to spend a 4th of July! Accordingly, we sported the Stars and Stripes at the start. The crowds were massive at the startline, so we found a spot a few KMs away that wasn't too crowded.


Race was still neutralized when it went by us. Lot's of smiles and talking by the riders, as they went by.


After the start, we drove south and caught the race in Antwerp. While waiting for the race to arrive, I looked up and saw this sign in the window in an apartment complex across the street. Even though it was quite a distance from where we were standing, these 2 saw me taking the picture and were actually waving at me, even though you can't tell in this picture.


Here is McEwen and others going by us in Antwerp. Fairly relaxed pace actually. Nonetheless, what we found remarkable was the riders' trust in the fans. The racers use absolutely every available inch of the road and as a spectator, you have to get out of there way or you will get hit. You often find yourself jumping back from the road at the last minute. From a fans perspective, cycling is very unique in that you, as a fan, are generally not confined from the racers arena and for a split second, you are part of their world and actually part of the race. You feel the wind coming off of the peloton and you hear the sounds of the bikes and the riders talking. It's a phenomenal scene!

Bis später

Le Tour - Rotterdam

July 3rd finally arrived - The Prologue. Took the family to the Düsseldorf airport to pick up a jet-lagged Chuck and Kelly and drove straight to Rotterdam. Now I must admit, as excited as I was to finally get a chance to attend Le Tour in person, I did not have a lot of high expectations about watching the Prologue. While for some masochistic reason I actually enjoy time-trialing, watching them does not really stoke my race spectating flame. Nonetheless, this was the start of Le Tour and being only a 2.5 hr drive from where I live, there was no question about whether to attend or not.



As we arrived a couple of hours prior to the start, we found all prime spectating spots taken and the crowds were very large. Given there was only 8k of viewing opportunities, the best spots were reserved for VIPs, which unfortunately, we were not. So large crowds coupled with being underdressed for cool temps, lots of wind, and rain (it was sunny, warm, and calm when we left) made the 2 hour wait for the start a little difficult. We did find a decent spot on the Willemsbrug (bridge), but by the time race officially started we were cold, wet, and hungry. We watched about the first 10 or so go by us, then we decided the hotel seemed like a better option for watching the remaining 2+ hours. So that is what we did and without regrets.

After the race, the hotel was a flurry of activity with various race participants from the pre-race caravan in attendance. Most notably was the PMU group - sponsors of the Green Jersey. Our hotel was filled with college-age, 20 somethings whose Tour was also just starting. This was the first of 20 more days whereby they would be in the Tour Caravan (which generally precedes the riders by 1 hour or so) pelting fans with PMU swag for 4+ hours a day.















In fact, after few adult sodas, Chuck and I decided to inspect the race caravan vehicles in the hotel parking lot. Here is Chuck, making sure the hood of the Vittel car was structurally sound for the next day's festivities.














Bis später