By 4.30 am on Tuesday I was out of the door and in the car on my way to Dover to catch up with the 2010 Tour De France stage 3 on the cobbles of northern France. Perfect crossing with Sea France to Calais, with the sensible precaution of a full English breakfast on board. From there it was less than 100 miles to a spot near the finish near the town of Haveluy, not far from Lille.
I parked up near the 5 km to go banner and got the bike out for a little exploration of the area and a futile attempt to find anywhere selling a baguette (all closed!). I rode down to the finishing straight and then looped back round to try out the final section of cobbles (pave) they would be riding later. And boy was it brutal, even at my sedate pace. At racing speeds it must be so hard on both bikes and riders and I am not surprised it causes so many problems.
After finishing the ride, there was the long wait until late afternoon when first the publicity caravan and then the riders themselves passed by. I have never seen a flat stage with the riders strung out so much in little groups - but with Geraint Thomas and Wiggo up there near the front. Poor Lance was on his own a couple of minutes down on the leaders having suffered a mechanical issue. Got some great photos, with some riders obviously having come off.
After negotiating the usual post race traffic jam, it was plain sailing back to Calais and home, a beautiful evening rounding off a great day. No baguette found until 7pm though! Vive La Tour!
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