Spokes and Sweat in Alpe d'Huez

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After saying goodbye to Corinne and Sarah and her family, we drove towards Lake Geneva and took a stroll on the lake on a Sunday afternoon. Wow! The people were everywhere and the energy was piping hot! We then crossed back into France and headed for the other big European sporting event of summer 2006 --- the Tour de France!!! After a night at France’s largest lake, Lac du Bourget near Chambery, we made our way to Bourg d’Oisans, the Savoyard village at the base of the monstrous mountain of Alpe d’ Huez. Known throughout cycling as one of the epic Tour de France stages, the 2006 edition featured the mountain as the finishing ascent for a grueling first day in the Alps for the riders. We got into Bourg d’Oisans over 24 hours before the riders were due to arrive and were among thousands of other spectators prepared to take in the famous stage. After some debating, we settled into a farmer’s pasture that he had opened for the event and nestled into a slug-infested - but most importantly, shady (as temps were into the 100s) - spot on the corner of the field. A couple hundred other cars and RV’s made their way into the field and within hours it transformed from grazing pasture into a slamming Norwegian techno-infused rave!!! Two cars over were a group of six Norwegian guys that took Tour de France “pre-partying” to a new level and kept the entire field up until roughly 3am!!! Good on them though…as it was all harmless and good fun! Those of us with ear plugs weren’t too bothered… We also enjoyed having two Kiwis next to us, them mostly noticing our “Kiwi Camping” tent and we had a blast telling them how much we enjoyed their country for 4 months! Bourg d’Oisans was hopping all night and the anticipation for the next day was intense!


The next morning we were all greeted with another scorcher and the early birds started their ascent of the mountain (most on bikes, others walking) to get the best views of the pro peleton.




The Alpe d’Huez climb is 14km long so the spectators had their choice on where to settle in for the day and begin the wait until roughly 4:30pm when the riders were due to arrive. We walked and hiked massive slopes until we found a great “SHADY” ledge to sit on off the street and within minutes, our “shady” spot turned into a Frigidaire oven, baking our bodies to a light reddish BURN!!! Caking the sunscreen on our bodies, we eventually went across the street and sat in the shade until the Tour de France Caravan (basically a procession of cars, floats and merchandise-soaked vehicles that liter the fans with promotional gifts, gadgets and treats) came rolling by to alert us that the riders were roughly an hour behind.


Thankfully the clouds rolled in and although a storm looked to be looming, the rain never came and we all enjoyed the break from the sun as our anticipation grew and grew and the helicopters overhead got closer and closer --- again, signaling that the riders were making their way up the famous 21-hairpin (sharp turns) climb of Alpe d’Huez!!! Finally the lead motorcade pulled around the corner and Franck Schleck (the Luxembourg native who eventually won the stage) and his group of 3 riders climbed past us through an eruption of cheers and eager fans!!!


Our big Americans were not far behind and we had a huge thrill rooting for Floyd Landis, George Hincapie, Levi Leipheimer and Dave Zabriskie.


We missed the other Americans as there were a few larger groups that passed by without us finding them…but seeing these guys up close was such a huge thrill and to not have barriers and walls to separate spectator and athlete…watching a stage of the Tour de France is unlike other modern sporting events. The stage also was significant because Floyd reclaimed the Yellow Jersey (which he lost the next day and then reclaimed in probably the most spectacular way in modern Tour history --- another blog entry) and overall lead, a huge accomplishment with two more stages in the Alps to come.


The next day we watched the riders leave Bourg d’Oisans and it was such a blast being there to watch Floyd ride by in yellow smiling all the way out of the village! The whole Tour experience was something special and although it was definitely different without all the big names, watching a big mountain stage of the Tour (Tom’s second and Jill’s first) is an experience never forgotten!

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