The day has finally arrived. The hotel is full of excited guests preparing to watch a stage of one of the biggest world sporting events. We donned our Australian singlets and started the day with a good breakfast. My outfit was noticed by one of the American ladies who thought is was a British flag or "it's a bit like our Confederate flag". I put her straight and we discussed Australian geography. I have chatted to a few people who think WA is a whole other world. The lady on our bike tour thought we must be very strong and independent to live there!
Anyway, we headed out for a walk . Up on the hill near our hotel is what Ken has dubbed the stag. On the night we arrived one of the transmitter dishes did look like a majestic animal looking over the village. Quite disappointing in daylight. It was a reasonably flat walk, in Alpe terms, and a spectacular view over the village and the bends of the climb up the mountain. We reached the lookout beneath the track up the the transmitters, an incredibly steep grassy incline. Jude and I made it some of the way and then sat and enjoyed the view while the boys continued up. It seemed to be the perfect stopping point. A group of French ladies stopped right beside us and had a hilarious chat for a while, we think about the fact that a jogger ripped off his shirt right in front of one of them. Then an older American couple stopped where we were. He continued up and she sat and had a chat with us.
We could see down along the race route, all the people and vehicles and bikes. There was music blasting, the occasional cheer and a megaphone issuing instructions .
Back at the hotel the crowds had grown. While we were walking the big 1km arch had gone up, just up the hill from us. The advertising banners were on the barricades. We walked up to the shops to buy lunch provisions for our picnic. Jude and I were shining in our sequinned singlets, getting quite a few looks and attracting the attention of any Australian. Our men were the ultimate boguns with their navy singlets and shorts.
The streets were packed. There were people everywhere. Some of the roads had been closed. We walked up to the finish line and took in the excitement.
We bought ham and cheese baguettes from the boulangerie, then stocked up on fruit, cheese, wine and beer at the supermarket, who were doing a roaring trade. The final stop was the patisserie where we selected some delicious treats.
When we walked home our part of the route had been closed off and we had to detour a bit further to get back. The excitement was building. We are so close to the action here. We got glasses and ice from the hotel bar and sat on our balcony to enjoy lunch and keep an eye on how the crowd was building . Eventually we couldn't wait any longer and we headed out to the barricade to get our position.
It was lovely in the sun, enjoying a glass of wine, a beautiful tart and the atmosphere of the day. Occasionally a car would come down the road and the excited crowd would cheer. There were a couple of riding groups come through who got a rousing reception.
Finally the caravan came through. They precede the event and throw out freebies to the crowd. There were some great floats We all cheered and clamboured for the goodies. It was a lot of fun and we ended up with a bag full of hats, keyrings, fridge magnets, stickers and even some little madeleine cakes. The noise was fantastic as the crowd and the floats called out.
The team cars then came through. We got a thumbs up from the Orica van when we cheered him on and a couple of the vans called out to us on their loudspeakers. "Hello Aussies", "hey Australians!".
We were keeping an eye on the race on the internet and knew they were getting closer. The helicopters below were making their way up the mountain .
Frenchman Thibaut Pinot was in front and the crowd began chanting his name in anticipation of his arrival. The roar of the crowd heralded him as he came up the road towards us. He raced by as we all cheered and clapped. He was so close to us, we could have touched him! The race was on for the overall winner between Quintana and Froome. Quintana needed to make up 2 and a half minutes today and he had made a breakaway. He was next up the hill and we could see the determination on his face as he whizzed by. Then came Froome in his yellow jersey. He was right there beside us, giving everything to hold onto his time advantage.
The riders continued climbing up the hill past us. The horns of the team cars, the motorbikes, the helicopters and the crowd made an awesome sound. We cheered and called to all the riders and marveled at the spectacle. Pinot won the day, ahead of Qintana, who has not made up enough time so Froome will be the tour winner.
Once they had finished we went back onto the balcony and toasted our day and enjoyed some cheese and baguette .
Back out on the street again, things were being packed up incredibly efficiently. Barricades were gone, rubbish barely visible and the tour entourage gone. There were still many people on the street.
We had trouble finding somewhere for dinner. We wanted to return to Genepi but the owner told us it was "impossible, impossible", and most other restaurants agreed. We ended up at a pub run by an Englishman. He was rude and surly, something we have not had to contend with with the French people. But he did have a replay of the tour on in English. So we had a beer and watched our stage with lots of others. It was great to see, everyone was looking for themselves in the broadcast, including a couple of guys who had run naked after the cyclists - it worked, they were on TV! We just missed out, the camera followed Pinot and Quintana to our position but cut away before it got to us.
Dinner was late, back at Bodega. We had burgers and then headed home. It was really cold, there was an icy chill in the wind.
Last night in the Alpes, tomorrow Lyon.

Steps 19,662
Kms 14.2