Le Tour de France

Le Tour de France was in my 'hood this weekend! The cyclists didn't pass through Gap this year, as they have in the past. However, they started out today's leg of the race from Embrun, which is about 40 kilometres east of Gap. Was I there? Mais bien sûr! Did I mill around in the pouring rain, shivering along with all the other commoners? Mais non!

Francois is a journalist, right? And journalists get special privileges, right? And Canadian girlfriends who are thrilled at the prospect of cheering on Le Tour de France get to take advantage of those privileges, right? You bet! It is thus that I am currently proudly sporting a very yellow, very official Tour de France wristband that allowed me access into the Tour de France village, for V.I.P.s only, baby!

So great!

We arrived around 9:45 a.m. and there was already a party going on in le village. For someone who loves freebies (moi, for example!) it was paradise. Free coffee, breakfast pastries, newspapers, shopping bags, even wine! (Personally, I felt that having a glass or two of red before 10 a.m. was perhaps a bit much, but there were others who were not of the same mindset!) Wine or no, it was very festive, with music, people on stilts, crazy bicycle demonstrations, and oh... did I mention the freebies?

Actually, I was having so much fun in the freebie zone that I somehow forgot to go back out and join the unwashed masses (!) in order to see the start of today's leg of the race (which, by the way, started in Embrun and ended 183 km later in Italy. You can see a video with highlights from today's leg here.) And check out my super-exclusive yellow-wristband-only photos from le village !

Tour de France