A day in France – Le Tour

Some of my photos from our day out to see the stage finish of Tour de France at Boulogne sur Mer on July 3rd. More here if you’re interested. :-)

Starting sorta at the wrong end with that photo above, but that’s because the guy in the polka dot jersey is a Dane and he’s still in the polka dot today, so yay! Oh by the way, in case you don’t know, the polka dot jersey is one of 3, well 4, jerseys you can compete for in Le Tour. You know in case the 3,000+ kilometres aren’t enough in themselves!

The polka dot is also called the mountain jersey because you get it for having most points in climbing mountains. Not actual climbing mountains, just riding over them. ;-) More about the jerseys here.

I’ve been watching the Tour on telly for 20 years… wow, that makes me sound old! ;-) I don’t normally care about sports of any kind, but the Tour is just something special. The distance they cover in a fairly short period of time. Usually around 3,200km (2,000 miles) in 3 weeks. Sometimes in baking sun, heavy downpours etc. Climbing mountains that look daunting even in a car. Not to mention the constant danger of crashes. And it’s all done on a bike. I think it is pretty amazing.

I’m so happy that Tony has also taken an interest in the Tour so we can go on day trips like this. And it makes watching it even more enjoyable because I can share it with him. :-)

Speaking of sponsors, there’s a whole caravan of sponsors that rolls by prior to the riders coming into town. They play music and throw cheap merchandise to the spectators. Much squabbling ensues over these cheap trinkets. It’s kinda sad…