02/09/2019

Tour de France 2019




24 JULY STAGE 17 PONT du GARD to GAP. We have done some hours roadside for this damned race in past years and we'll never get that time back. 

This time the race is coming as close to Sablet as anybody can remember so we decide we shall not road-side until the riders are within a few minutes of our chosen vantage point (chosen I might add after several investigations and trials and excursions to work out where we might get the longest view). We've been confined to barracks for so long in the afternoon by the heat, coincidently watching the race unfold, but on this day we slide into the motor and drive for almost five minutes in the searing heat to the quiet little road junction we frequently cross en route to Rasteau.

Of course we can't quite get there as the world and his wife are already ensconced at the spot we have earmarked for ourselves because it provides the only shade for miles along the route of today's stage. So we abandon our wheels and trudge the last 150 metres or so, to try and find that ultimate viewing spot. The tour caravan has long gone and we can easily determine the mad fools who have been here since that passing (at least two hours ahead of the race proper) by the silly hats, free waggy-hands and other freebie junk in their possession. But we do have a grudging admiration for those who have brought tables, chairs, picnics, drinks in cool boxes etc etc to make the long wait normally associated with road-siding that bit more tolerable. It is after all, a part of the tradition of this race which is the sporting event which easily reaches the highest number of witnesses of such a thing, in the world, in space! Millions, I kid you not. Miss it? Not likely! It is FREE!

Now, I am not going to give you a description of this year's race, not even a summary. If you are a fan of The Tour you'll know what happened and if you are not you won't want to hear it anyway, and certainly not from me. If you do, look it up for the full story, its all there on the interweb! But it was indeed a very exciting race, we enjoyed it immensely, and even this mad standing out in the high 30s for thirty or forty minutes.

The riders arrived in an escape group (first picture) within a few minutes of Mrs Melling and self settling upon our separate roadside stances, followed almost five minutes later by the peleton (second picture). As ever it was all over in a matter of a few minutes (it can be just seconds if the race is altogether and going some). But there is a fantastic wave of atmosphere, vangarded by preceding motorcyclists, cars and circling helicopters. You can't tell much of what is going on as the riders go past but we saw it, we witnessed this bit of the race, this year, it's ours.

For us, we get back to car where we realise we are almost collapsing in the heat but are soon back to common sense as the air con in the car does its business. Then off we go back to the homestead to pick up the race as it passes on through the Baronnies toward Gap. When we eventually get back to Bullsmead Court we can review the stage more thoroughly as we recorded it and hey presto there are Mr Smith and Mrs Melling caught on TV from both motorcycle cameramen and by helicopter camera -- so we can honestly say we have achieved immortality as witnesses of the memorable Tour de France 2019 and at last a meaning to our sad road-siding lives. Along with tens of thousands of other poor sots who road-side for that few seconds of excitement drama and sport!

I won't do it again! Until next time…

PS The guy carrying the number 11 in green (middle picture of the five below) is the legendary Peter Sagan, points winner of the TdeF a record number of times. I spotted last year's Tour winner Geriant Thomas too but otherwise all the main GC contenders and race leader Alaphilippe got by me without me spotting their heads. Odd that. GC? General Classification. First second –overall etc.

Some of these pictures are published by kind permission of Mrs Melling; thank you ma'am. The ones that are up the road; I was in the group of road-siders on the white lines in the snap below. Note how Mrs Melling managed to get the roundabout signage into the last picture (right for Sablet) and note the heat haze.