Stage 18: Gap to Alpe d'Huez

Around 1pm Dad and I started making our way down the mountain.  The cyclists weren't scheduled to come through until 3:30 but the road was already barricaded so we took to the hills and paths.  There was a very light mist but so far no downpours.

From above we could see hordes of Dutch fans clad in orange at the famous Dutch corner at the seventh bend:

And the Norwegians took over the final corner of the route:

We ended up finding a spot between the 3rd and 4th hairpin.  It was a relatively flat part of the course but we were able to get a spot right on the fence.  This was our view across the street.  We could see up the mountain to the next two hairpin turns.  It was a total party atmosphere, lots of people drinking and music blaring from a camper/makeshift stage at the fourth bend.

About an hour before the cyclists were due to arrive, a caravan of sponsors drove through, throwing lots of tchokes to the crowd.  Sort of the warmup band to the main event.  It was quite fun to watch it all and catch some goodies.
 
Once the caravan came through we had about 45 min. to wait for the cyclists. 

And then it was showtime.  You knew the first cyclist was getting close when you started hearing the helicopters (there were about 4 total) get closer.  Part of me wishes that we had a radio on so that we knew what was happening during the stage but on the flip side, it was exciting to catch the first glimpse of the rider.  Would it be Froome, Quintana, Contador or someone else?

As it turns out, it was Tejay van Garderen an American cyclist on Team BMC.

Following behind him was Moreno Moser and Christopher Riblon.

Team Sky came through in a line with Quintana right on Chris Froome's wheel.

The official tour and team cars following close behind:

And then the peleton:

The Alpe d'Huez stage was pretty special this year as the cyclists had to do the climb twice, which meant we got to see them come by twice as well.  On the second ascent, Teejay van Garderen was still in the lead when he passed us but it was obvious he wouldn't keep the lead.  In the end Riblong passed Van Garderen around the 1 mile to go mark and went on to win the stage.

Quintana had a good ride that day as well, finishing fourth for the stage and improving his General Classification standing to third.

Like much of the tour, Chris Froome was being led by his teammate Richie Porte when he passed us a second time.  Only later would we come to find out about the controversial move at the beginning of the ascent where Porte handed some gel packets to Froome which cost them both some time and the team a monetary fine.  In this photo Froome is on his headset speaking with the team car.

Contador and team

Thomas Voeckler:

I liked these two.  Pointing to the crowd as if they were out for an afternoon leisure ride versus going up one of the hardest ascents in the world...a second time.

And some video of the peleton coming through for the final time

When the race was over, we had to hike back up the hill to the village, but this time we chose to walk on the road itself.  Below is a good look back at the road from where we watched the race. 

The red hat, scarf and green hand - all freebies from the sponsors:

The bars overflowing:

When we arrived back to the village we passed the Omega Quickstep and Mobistar team buses, each parked in front of their team hotel.  The teams were staying in the village that night before heading out in the morning to the stage start in Bourg D'Oisans.  

We watched the mechanics at Mobistar work on the bikes for a bit, including Quintana's bike number 128.  While we were there, Quintana himself came up to the bus to thank the mechanics.  I was so awestruck that it was actually him that I forgot to take a picture.

When we got back to the hotel, all the guests gathered in the bar to watch the stage highlights on TV and enjoy a little cocktail party.  It was fun to hear where everyone was watching from and how much they enjoyed themselves - us included.  

Overall, an amazing trip.  Not only seeing the Tour de France in person but watching it from one of the most famous ascents in the race.  And it was extra special getting to share the experience with my dad. 

To see more photos from Alpe d'Huez and the Tour de France, click here.