Tour de France !!

We just had an AMAZING day! It's all thanks to our friend, Mike, who invited us to spend a day on the Tour de France. He works at Skoda, a Czech car company and the main sponsor of the Tour. Mike handles the marketing for cycling sponsorships, and was able to get VIP tickets for Philipp, our brother-in-law Jérôme, and me. This is a picture of us (Philipp, me, Mike, Jérôme) sipping champagne after the finish. But I should probably go back and start at the beginning.

Hmm ... I suppose I'll go way back, and explain that I met Mike when I was working in Mlada Boleslav, Czech Republic in 2002-2003. We've kept in touch over the years, and I was pleased that he was able to attend Philipp and my wedding in April. Philipp's sister Laurence and her husband Jérôme volunteered to host some out-of-town guests at their home, and because Jérôme is a cycling enthusiast, we decided Mike would enjoy staying with them. (and, despite language barriers, everyone had a great time!) Mike said that he wanted to invite Philipp and me to follow a stage of the Tour as a wedding present, and of course we gladly took him up on his offer. We had no idea just how amazing the experience was going to be...

Although a good percentage of the French population is already on its month-long holiday, we are still working. Philipp, Jérôme and I managed to clear our schedules for Thursday, but Jérôme had to be back to work on Friday morning. We explored many options (cars, trains, rental cars) and decided that driving both ways in Jérôme's car was the most economical. Unfortunately, it meant a lot of driving for the two guys. (I still don't drive a true manual transmission.) Philipp and I had an early dinner on Wednesday, prepared our stuff and went to bed as early as we could. At 12:45 (actually ... 00:45 on our French alarms), we woke up, had breakfast and got ready to go to Jérôme's and hit the road. The trip took six hours, and we arrived in Pau ahead of schedule. We were lucky to find a parking spot right near the departure area, with no parking meter and no time limit. Yeah! Then we headed to a café for coffee and the best "pain au chocolat" and "pain au raisin" (basically chocolate croissants and raisin croissants) that we'd had in a long time. Mmm...

We walked around for a while, tried to see the mountains in the distance (above) and explored all the "behind the scenes" activity that goes on before the stage. Lots of TV vans (and cameras, sound equipment, satellite antennas, etc.), people everywhere. You really get to understand how huge the Tour itself really is ... more than 4000 people working every day for three weeks (not counting preparations the rest of the year). It's truly impressive!

We met up with Mike and a couple other Skoda people and headed to the Departure Village. This restricted area is open only to employees, journalists, invited guests, etc., and is a combination promotional party (booths giving away food, drinks, promotional products) and a practical space for Tour employees (complete with a hairdresser). After some snacks and a glass of nicely chilled rosé, we left the Village to watch the team busses arrive. I caught a peek of Thomas Voekler, who has been my favorite cyclist since the 2004 Tour. This is his team's bus. (He was sitting in the front row behind the driver.)

We continued walking around, looking at the bikes (they're incredible!), busses and riders. Unfortunately, Thomas was still in his bus when we had to go to our car, but I managed to get a picture of his bike (#129).

Next, it was time to head to our cars. We were in one of three VIP cars, each one a black Skoda Superb. We learned that most drivers on the Tour are former cyclists, and ours was no exception. His name is Alain De Roo, and he competed in the Tour 25 years ago. (Click this link for a photo of him then.) He’s incredibly nice, and a very capable driver. Philipp was excited to learn that he was a teammate and friend of Freddy Maertens, who was one of Philipp’s favorite riders when he was young.

It was very impressive to be in one of the Tour cars … speeding through the streets, people shouting “Bonjour” to us along the way. Because we had to remain ahead of the riders, we didn’t have time to waste; I felt as though we were in a car race! We rode the first 40 kilometers of the stage, and then pulled over to the side of the road … we were at the helicopter land zone. (more about that later) :)

Here is Alain now … (Don’t worry … he just opened it, he didn’t drink any.) After we had a glass of champagne, our cars took off again. With some other visitors, we waited on the side of the road for the cyclists to pass. There was an escape group that had separated from the peloton (the main group of riders) soon after the start. They sped by, and two minutes later, the peloton arrived. It’s amazing to see just how fast they go! You wait and you wait and … zoom! They speed past you, and you’re left with your hair blowing in the breeze. Nonetheless, I managed to take a couple photos as they passed.

As soon as they were out of sight, we headed into the field for one of the coolest parts of the day … the helicopter ride! Along with the four other helicopters, we took off and circled over the riders for a while, before heading off to the landing zone. We were up for about 20 minutes. It was AMAZING! I’d never been in a helicopter before, and this was certainly a fabulous first ride. Here’s one of my many photos.

We were extremely conscious of just how lucky we were to have this experience. But there was still more to come. Once we landed, we had to hurry to get back into our cars, because the riders were quickly closing in. They were only two minutes behind us! They were riding extremely fast, and we needed to get out of the way. So away we sped … For more than an hour, we raced along the route, saying hello to fans and enjoying the adventure. When we finally had enough space between the cyclists and ourselves, we pulled over for a picnic lunch. The three drivers whipped out a table, picnic baskets with fresh bread, sausages, cheese, a couple bottles of wine and crème caramel for dessert. Amazing! Those who’d been with the Tour all along groaned jokingly, as they’d had the same lunch every day for the past three weeks, but to us it was very impressive. Here’s a photo of our lunch.

Because the riders were closing in on us again, we had to jump back in the cars and head on our way. But first, the drivers called over a group of young people who were having their own picnic, waiting for the Tour to pass. They offered them our leftovers, including the baskets and the leftover wine. The young people couldn’t believe it! They were so excited, and touched by our drivers’ kindness. This is just one example of the graciousness and hospitality that we experienced throughout the entire day. I think the kindness that everyone showed is something that we will remember as much as the helicopter ride and all the rest.

So, next stop … Castelsarrasin. This was the arrival city for the stage. As we approached the city, we continued to see people along the sides of the road, not just waiting for the cyclists to pass, but enjoying the whole experience. This is what is so special about the Tour … it brings people (young and old, rich and poor) out into the cities and countryside … they bring their camping cars and picnic baskets, they talk with each other, they cheer … It’s a magical time each summer, and truly part of the French cultural experience.

As we arrived near the finish line, the streets became more and more crowded with spectators. And the last couple kilometers of the route were a traffic jam of cars! Alain told us it’s always like that at the arrival city, and I’m not surprised. There are so many cars that go along the route each step of the way, that when they arrive ahead of and behind the cyclists, there are bound to be back-ups. (They just have to get out of the way before the riders arrive!) Here’s a little video to show you what it was like along the last kilometer.

We parked the car and walked through the incredible maze of media vans, busses, etc. (meters and meters of cables running along the ground) and to the Skoda VIP area. Again, everyone was incredibly welcoming, going out of their way to offer us something to drink, ask us what we thought of our day, etc. We knew that the first group of riders would arrive soon, so we headed into the portable building, up the stairs into a viewing area. Soon, the first riders arrived … zoom! Then, seven minutes later, the peloton. We looked for Thomas, and cheered when he passed. Yeah, Thomas! Then it was another glass of champagne and one more surprise.

Mike wanted to save this surprise for the end of the day. He kept telling us there was more to come, but the day was so amazing, I couldn’t imagine what else he could have up his sleeves. But then he presented me with a special gift … a team jersey. But not just any team jersey, one of Thomas Voekler’s jerseys! It has his name on it, and there are blue, white and red stripes around the sleeves and neck because he was the French champion. But that’s not all … Thomas signed it especially for me! He wrote, “Pour Kerrie, Amicalement, Thomas Voekler”. (It means “For Kerrie, with friendship …”) OK, so he spelled my name wrong, but it doesn’t matter! It is such a special gift, and I can’t believe Mike did that for me. Amazing!




So, this must be the end of my story, right? Not quite. I would be remiss if I did not include the fact that Bernard Hinault, a legend in cycling history (he won the Tour de France five times between 1978 and 1985) came over and introduced himself to us. Philipp and Jérôme were beside themselves with happiness. But soon it was time to board one of the two coaches that returned us, along with Skoda’s other invited guests, back to Pau. When we boarded, we were once again greeted by incredibly nice staff members. They gave us each a large insulated bag with a sandwich, fruit, etc. inside. This was just one of a series of gifts we received over the course of the day. Here’s a picture of the goodies we brought home.


After 3 ½ hours in the bus, we arrived in Pau, and hit the road again in our car to head back up to Angers. If we didn’t have to get back for Jérôme to get to work, we would have loved to spend the weekend exploring the area … and catching the Tour again on the next stage! We were all exhausted, and I was sorry to not be able to help drive. We finally arrived in Angers at 4:00 in the morning, très fatigués, but still beaming nonetheless from our incredible day. Thank you, again, Mike, for everything!!