After Bavaria we spent Friday night in Zurich and then drove to our hotel in Annecy, France on Saturday morning. Our first French meal on this trip was lunch at a faux Tex-Mex restaurant in Annecy. From Annecy, the race would be an hour+ drive north. As it was very hot (we still had not been able to activate the van's air conditioning, despite a 3rd day of trying) and it was far from a sure-thing that we would actually make it to the race in time to find a place to watch it, Kelly, Ellen, and Cara decided to stay back at the hotel, while Chuck, Cosette, and I headed to the mountains.Despite getting slightly lost en route to the race and unintentially previewing the some of the mountain roads in the next day's stage, we found a place to park and walked to a spot at the 3km to Finish banner. Although this was the first mountain stage in Tour, it was not deemed a high stage and was really just a warm-up for the next few days.
Chuck and Cosette pose with the 3km sign behind them. As we walked to our spot, the road was quite sticky from the melted tar on the road due to the high temps. 
The Little Drummer Boy arrives. In the mountains, the helicopters are quite loud and close.
Here comes Sylvain...3k from his second stage win.
Jerome Pinot, the current KOM leader. This photo is a little misleading, as it gives the false impression that he is struggling. Actually not, as he was playing to the fans by raising his hands, swinging his arms, and smiling to the crowd.
Even though this was really just a warm-up stage for the high mountains, you can see by the looks on these boys, it was still a tough day in the saddle. As they had been racing for a week now, you could start to see the toll it was taking on the riders. The faces were becoming more gaunt, the tans deeper, and other than Pinot, no one was smiling.
Here comes Fabian. Still in yellow.
There goes George, in his Stars and Stripes, heading for the finish.Bis später
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