Our Tour de France Adventure. Part 2. Meeting the Riders.

The Alpe D’Huez stage was over, Geraint had received his fresh new yellow jersey and the after party was in full swing. We had our lovely BBQ and sat around talking about the amazing day that we had just witnessed. There was music blasting from all angles and the road just outside seemed to be a particularly noisy affair, so a few of our group decided to investigate.

There were between 4-500 people on the corner at the base of the mountain waving glow sticks and partying hard. The guys organising this were a group of Brits that were dressed in bow ties and dinner jackets but also wearing denim shorts and baseball caps! These guys were supplying the glow sticks, the mixing desk for the music and whipping everyone into a frenzy. In fact every time a vehicle passed they would orchestrate a wave and if the vehicle honked the horn everyone would cheer. The dangers of BEER!!! 😁

Didi ‘The Devil’ was also present in his usual spot. Didi is the crazy guy dressed in a red devil costume that runs after the riders screaming and shouting. It has become part of the tour and a site that you now expect to see, especially on D’Huez. For those of us that were going on a mammoth ride in the morning it was time to get our beauty sleep but the others went on an on and on and …………

After we got up at silly o’clock and rode off to conquer the Col de Galibier, we raced back for the festivities. Today the riders started the stage in the village of Bourg D’Oisans where we were staying and it’s a wonderful opportunity to view the teams, see the riders, maybe even speak to them or get an autograph. You can watch them roll out to start the stage from the village.

The girls were already there but we managed to get back from our ride and join them. There was a massive amount of people making their way into this tiny little village. The main road had already been closed which we had previously found out on returning from our ride. The police were being very officious and ordering everyone around with their very serious faces. This was still three hours before the roll out but the place was rocking. There was a stage in the center of the heaving mass and there they were giving away the same ‘tat’ from the previous day. Haribo’s obtained, we made our way to our ultimate destination!

The number one target for the day was Peter Sagan, the Slovakian cycling superstar. My daughter is a big fan and wanted a picture but this was going to be a challenge. Target number two was to see the Team Sky duo of Geraint Thomas and Chris Froome. Again, more prominent than in previous years, the security has been beefed up, so it was going to be like giving Prince Harry and Meghan Markle a high five on their wedding day!

So we picked a shady area next to the Team Sky bus and waited with anticipation. At this point I need to mention a particular superpower that my wife has. She has an ability to sniff out the right place to be or spot a person of interest from one hundred paces. Time and time again she has proven to be successful at this. For instance we were in Chicago and her favourite Quarterback from the 1985 Superbowl winners, Jim McMahon appeared out of nowhere. I was completely oblivious to this and the next thing I see is my wife hurdling barbeques to get to where Jim is (not Jaynes usual conduct!), so i gave chase too. As I’m catching her up I can see Mr McMahon but only just because next to him is a bodyguard that must be at least 7ft tall and built like a barge! He sees Jayne running like a nutter and is just about to forearm smash her when Jim says ‘its ok man, let her through!’ I thought she was going to get seriously hurt but the jammy girl gets her autograph and picture.

The party boys from the evening before arrive in their Beefeater outfits. They take a position not to far from ours and immediately attract the attention of the Sky mechanic who was pottering around but now was taking selfies with the Beefeaters! We stay in the shade but Jaime, our daughter, heads over to see what's going on with the mechanic. The sneaky Beefeater boys have wormed their way into a prime position on the opposite side of the road and are clearly getting attention so we follow them over.

Within seconds of being next to these guys it all starts to happen. David Brailsford, excuse me, Sir David Brailsford the Team Sky principal walks past and comes over to chat. He tells us that ‘Froomey’ is on his way. We suddenly see the man himself cycling through the village in his tracksuit with bodyguards and the obligatory mechanic. Then the other Sky riders arrive in cars and are ushered straight onto the team bus. Things are hotting up. Riders and tv guys are starting to appear from everywhere. Now that the riders were changed and starting to warm up we were hoping for some contact. Here are some of our best shots.

Jaime was starting to get a little bit anxious because up until that point there was no sign of the Green God PS. Will all the waiting pay off? The Beefy boys and all of the surrounding fans were all aware of Jaime’s desperation to get this picture with her hero. Suddenly the noise level increased and you knew that something or someone big was imminent. In the distance you could see Peter and the good news was that he was stopping to meet and chat to people so we had a chance. As he got closer the Beefeaters grabbed his attention and the good lads that they were, pointed out Jaime and he duly obliged.

Mission accomplished.

All that was left was to wave goodbye to the peleton as they left the village.

All done for another year.

Part 1 Here

Thanks for reading.

Gaz

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