newcastlecycling

Hey Red, we rode the last bit of the stage in the morning in pouring rain, and it was freezing.  Lucky our tour group owner is a commentator for TV France (ex Yellow jersey holder) so for that stage we had a hot shower and cafeteria meal in the press area and access to the whole media compound.  The weather was really nice in the afternoon for watching the race.

After bombing the SBS footage I went and stood to the side about 3 ft from Tomalaris and watched the SBS monitor that is at his feet (this is why he keeps looking down).  It was just like watching it at home but the audio was him speaking instead of out of the tele.  Pretty cool.

Really nice day today in the Alpes, only rode 40k but 20 of it was uphill.  Climbing going good.  They put the wrong gears on my bike and I didn't check and did Ventoux using a 42 x 25.  That was a bit tough.  All seems easy enough now on 34 x 25.

Coffee in small Italian villages is really good!