On Tour

This years Tour de France has been one of extremes, I have never known one like it.  It’s been thrilling from the start and each day since, long hard stages, big climbs, scary descents, fierce competition, amazing racing.

I was devastated, but also much calmer as I no longer have to worry about him, when my favourite ever rider Mark Cavendish crashed and had to abandon with a complicated collar bone fracture.  He was riding so well till the accident, it remains to be seen whether he will after all sign up for one more year in an attempt break the record for the most Tour stage wins.  Currently he is equal with the great Eddy Merckx which for me is good enough.  I had lovely visions of him riding the final day of his final Tour through Paris, high 5ing his loyal fans and possibly even taking the last sprint, moving us all to tears himself included.  He is such a likeable man, when he won the final stage in Rome of this year’s Giro d’Italia, having been generously lead out by Geraint Thomas who is in a rival team, he had to embrace not just his teammates and G but every single Giro rider and many of the support staff.

MrFF and I are glued to the telly every afternoon, some days it’s impossible to knit and watch. Friends called by one day and were forced to view the sprint finish with us.  Even today the penultimate day there was tension and emotion, the French fans lining the climb of the Petite Ballon in their thousands to say goodbye and thanks to retiring Thibout Pinot who was at that stage leading the race, a dream scenario.

Tomorrow will be a relaxed procession into Paris, a final sprint and the presentations. The tour will be over for another year, I will feel the loss.  It wasn’t my ideal outcome, I suppose the British twins Simon and Adam Yates finishing joint first was a lot to ask, but they finished third and fourth.  Next year maybe.