We didn't need to get up as early this AM and we were going to get to get to see today's stage from two different locations. So back to the buses...
Our first stop to watch the action was at the small town of St. Remy de Maurienne. We had some time before the caravan came through tossing goodies so we wandered into the village to grab some food. There was only one place - a little grocery - so the owner happily stayed open through lunch while we gutted his shelves of food and drink. The locals who happened to need something just waved at him to show him what they had so he would know that they would return later to settle up. Even the smallest of towns/villages have quaint churches and memorials worth seeing if your travels happen to pass them by.
At this location, the riders would be barreling down the descent after climbing the Col du Glandon and have to negotiate a small traffic circle before heading up to climb the Col de la Madeleine (another famous climb/TdF obstacle). (Both of these climbs are classified for difficulty as "hors categorie" - beyond categorization - like the Alpe d'Huez.) We had a great location to view the riders at high speed flying around the tight curve. They were grouped as the finished the previous climb; first a couple of pairs, then a small group, then the peloton. (Elane got a neat video of the peloton coming around the bend. I hope that I'm successful linking it in, here.) I had to feel a little sorry for the guys at the back of the peloton. While the support vehicles trailed the main pack of riders down the mountain and around the curve, the guys at the back were all mixed in with cars, loaded with spare bicycles, motorcycles and what-not. Gave me the willies just watching it from my position - hiding behind/leaning on a police car.
After this excitement we moved on to the downhill finish at Le Grand-Bornand. Our bus arrived too late to be able to drive us to the finish line so we were treated to a 3 km (1.8 mile) hike each way. Beautiful scenery along the road packed with spectators. With the crowds at the finish we resigned ourselves to watching most of the action on the jumbo-tron before the hike back to catch the bus for our last ride to our base in Grenoble. The viewing at St Remy was very exciting and Wayne got a few more packets of laundry detergent so, all in all, another great day with the tour.
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