HARD TO BELIEVE this is our fifth Paris-Nice race. Yes, we went again this year -- to both the Saturday afternoon stage which we watched from near the top of the Col de Vence (about 15 km from our house) and this afternoon uphill individual time trial up the Col d'Eze (a 9.5km climb that starts in the heart of Nice near the port). Cycling races are fun to go to because --except for the biggies like the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia, etc) the riders and teams are completely accessible. In what other sport can you literally stand five-feet from an elite athlete and watch him warm up? In what other sport can you literally lean against the team bus/car or literally put your hands on their equipment (in our case, having the kids check out how Tom Boonen's handlebars feel)? It doesn't hurt that the teams give away goodies, either. We've made out with cool stuff water bottles and other trinkets from Rabobank, BMC, Garmin, Saxo-Bank, Radioshack-Nissan-Trek, and the list goes on. Next week: Milan-San Remo (again!)
 |
| Our spot near the top of the Col de Vence. You can barely see the Med in the background. |
 |
| A 12 minute lead for Thomas De Gendt!! |
 |
| The peleton arrives with Team Sky doing the pacing. |
 |
| Can you see Kerri, Julia, and Henry eating their lunch as the peleton goes by? |
 |
| Cheering on Tejay Van Garderen near the start of the final stage. |
 |
| Frank Shleck getting read for his TT |
 |
| Wiggins won the stage and Paris-Nice!! In yellow all week. |
No comments :
Post a Comment