A flat stage under a baking sun seemed to drain everyone. The appearance of water melon was all that was needed to turn a routine afternoon stop into a 20-minute power nap. Throughout the tour I was constantly amazed how quickly the guys would recover after one of these brief roadside siestas.
With all the miles our riders will log before and during a grand tour, we're thrilled to announce our partnership with Strava. Strava's online service is the perfect place to record, analyze and share ride data from your GPS bike computer and power meter.
The Strava community directly addresses one of our team's biggest challenges which is to introduce teammates to each other long before they get together for a welcome dinner or roll out on Stage 1 of a grand tour. We know riders will bond almost immediately when the kilometres begin, but Strava's cycling club feature will encourage those friendships and training connections to begin early, and connect riders all over the globe training towards a common dream.
Best of all Strava is created for passionate cyclists by passionate cyclists. They log their own rides in the system which ensures the features and insights will keep coming at a healthy pace. We're happy that Strava will extend a free one-year subscription to our confirmed riders.
Whether you're going to join us in France this July or you're aiming for a future tour we encourage you to check out the service and join the Rêve Grand Tour Club on Strava.
Wilfred is back from leading his epic mountain bike trip through Patagonia. The group did a lot of camping which meant extra cooking duty for Wil but he still managed to put 2400 km in his legs. Looking very fit and feeling great he's probably in shape to tackle this summer's tour, which would certainly increase the number of photos we have of the man behind the scenes. Speaking of pictures, thanks to Jan Willem for use of some great images from the South American adventure.
On this day Wilfred found a pizzeria in the corner of a deserted village square. While some of the riders hung their bibs to dry under the broiling sun and changed into shorts and T-shirts, Pepijn donned a decidedly non-aero Sombrero he found hanging in the bar and Michiel, well he found a strange tandem apron to test drive.
Among the many things to love about France, bread... fresh, golden, crusty and sweet, sits near the top of the list. While we waited for the de rigueur bowls of pasta to arrive the innkeeper brought us an armload of warm baguettes. You can be assured of two things while riding through France, all but the tiniest of French towns will have a church and a bakery. Were it up to me, and I could only have one, I'd choose bread over religion. I believe the French might make the same choice.
When a wheel breaks out in the middle of nowhere and the van with a replacement is miles up the road what are you going to do. In our case the team decides to go swimming in a nearby stream while they wait. Nothing like a cold dip to help tired legs.
After twenty minutes of splashing about they climbed back up to their bikes, dried themselves in the sun then pulled on their kits to the enthusiastic cheers from passing cars.
By the time I'd unpacked my camera gear, started batteries charging, fired up the laptop and got the first card transferring there was usually bike wash action in the parking lot below my window. I've got to give the team credit for looking after their machines even at the end of some very long days in the saddle. Soapy water and a bit of old towel made quick work of the frame, then it was time to inspect tires for anything sharp that might lead to a flat early in the next stage. Nothing worse than flatting in the first hour.
The boys took full advantage of the recovery tights we received from Ben at SKINS. I think the board shorts over camo was the favorite look, and from what I hear an improvement over the euro-pro habit of walking around the hotel in undies.
The stage from Cambrai to Reams was hot and relatively flat. With the prospect of lunch hovering 30 km up the road, Jasper was leading a tight paceline up a small hill through the shimmering heat. Riders and bikes seemed suspended in air as they crested the rise.
Given that I joined the project as team photographer in May, there were a handful of nights were I couldn't stay in the same hotel as the riders. So it was that I spent the night between stages two and three at the beautiful Domaine Du Chateau De La Neuville Hôtel. It sits on a lovely parcel of land complete with pond, geese, swans and sheep a mere 400 metres from a nuclear power station and its giant cooling towers. My room faced away from the plant. As the morning light filtered into my room overlooking a timeless pastoral scene it was hard to imagine the modern world loomed so close.
Later that afternoon it would be the ancient cobbles before Arenberg that exacted a toll on tired bodies as the team skirted the lumbering and rattling campers which seemed to appear like mushrooms every afternoon around 3 pm. On this section Matthias and Michiel deliberately eschewed the shoulders in favor of a more direct line through the pave.
This was a surprise. We came upon this amazing sculpture of Eddy Merckx emerging from a huge slab of rock in the forest shade at the top of the Col du Stockeu. In one of the rare departures from the exact stage route our team had to descend the equally steep Route de Somagne into the town of Stavelot because the Trophée des Petits Patelins was staging a race on the Stockeu. Between the Merckx statue and the fleet of sleek gravity racers, it was a very surreal scene.