The peloton has moved on, and the drivers of the trailing chase cars are anxious to keep up with it. Yet they cannot pass the lone rider bringing up the rear of the Tour de France’s first day out of the mountains.
As a teenager who rode extensively, often 25 miles every few days, I was enthralled by Greg LeMond and other Tour de France legends. Watching the video shots of French families alongside the road, eating lunch and cheering on the breakaway group, the peleton and the stragglers, I tried to imagine what it would be like to stand there and cheer for hours.
It came as quite a surprise, then, in late July 2006, to find myself within a 2 hour train ride from a stage of the Tour de France. The two oldest kids and I rode the train from Sion to Geneva, arriving early enough see the tour in St. Julien, just across the border from Geneva via bus.
How long did it take for the breakaway, peloton and lone straggler to pass us? 26 seconds.
Well worth the trip.
