I tell you, there’s nothing in the world like seeing a mountain top finish at the Tour de France. BBQ’s and parties on the side of the road, the Gendarmerie trying to control thousands of fans who dont take them seriously, helicopters buzzing overhead, the roar of the crowd getting louder as the riders approach, Daniel Mangeas commentating the race in French over the loudspeaker. You’ve got to see it to believe it. Put it on your bucket list.
I don’t know how many people were on the climb to Luz-Ardiden and the Tourmalet, but it must have been a few hundred thousand. It took me 4hrs to drive down the mountain with Veeral in the 20km traffic jam. I should have taken my own advice and rode my bike home.
Enough of me yammering on about nothing. Here are the videos and photos from today.
Oz Cycling
courtesy of OzCycling.com.au
This is an excellent clip of a day of the media. My day is sometimes the same. The main difference is that Scott and Dan are doing real work here - I am not.
Photos
courtesy of Veeral Patel, Mike Hone and Sirotti
Stage 12 Profile
Stage 12 Results
1 Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 6:01:15
2 Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto 0:00:07
3 Fränk Schleck (Lux) Leopard Trek 0:00:10
4 Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:00:30
5 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team
6 Andy Schleck (Lux) Leopard Trek
7 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre - ISD 0:00:35
8 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Saxo Bank Sungard 0:00:43
9 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Team Europcar 0:00:50
10 Pierre Rolland (Fra) Team Europcar
…
67 Richie Porte (Aus) Saxo Bank Sungard 0:17:25
92 Stuart O’Grady (Aus) Leopard Trek 0:21:12
106 Simon Gerrans (Aus) Sky Procycling 0:33:05
145 Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) HTC-Highroad
149 Mark Renshaw (Aus) HTC-Highroad
General Classification after Stage 12
1 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Team Europcar 51:54:44
2 Fränk Schleck (Lux) Leopard Trek 0:01:49
3 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 0:02:06
4 Andy Schleck (Lux) Leopard Trek 0:02:17
5 Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:03:16
6 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre - ISD 0:03:22
7 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Saxo Bank Sungard 0:04:00
8 Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:04:11
9 Thomas Danielson (USA) Team Garmin-Cervelo 0:04:35
10 Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale 0:04:57
…
72 Richie Porte (Aus) Saxo Bank Sungard 0:47:29
93 Simon Gerrans (Aus) Sky Procycling 0:58:14
96 Stuart O’Grady (Aus) Leopard Trek 0:59:34
125 Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) HTC-Highroad 1:20:02
163 Mark Renshaw (Aus) HTC-Highroad 1:38:52
Stage 13 Preview