Life Around Tour de France – Stage 7

This is a guest post by Mr.Q, a quizmaster by profession and a foodie

Pyrenees here come the riders!!

As we head from Barcelona to Andorra, where the Stage 7 ends, the bus crosses into Andorra almost 2 hours into the journey & the Pyrenees in its glory is there all around for everyone to see. There are no trains & flights to Andorra, just the road that too just the 2 lanes!!

The traffic for the day is very tightly maintained and we were all stopped around 7 kms from the end point – Arcalis point, a spot 2200 meters high and which in winter is a well sought out ski resort. The total population is only around 85,000 people and the economy is driven by the tourists. Just for this two day stop more than 1,00,000 people are expected by the Organisers.

So we trooped out with our travel kit & hiked the toughest 7 kms that I have done. The road just meanders & keeps going higher. No wonder this climb is categorized as a Hors Category climb as just walking along is difficult, so cycling can be imagined. But time and again we saw cyclists from all over riding their bikes on the same route (over 5,000 of them), just to prove to themselves & for the sheer challenge of it.

We were lucky to get Luiz, an inspector at the govt. maintained chair lifts which in winter are used for lifting skiers to the top of the mountains, as our friend. So we were given a free ride and it was breathtaking. The sight of the mountains with sparse snow on the caps was indeed a pleasurable sight. Since we had loads of time before the race reached the final point, we went on a hike on a nearby mountain & and after trekking for 30 minutes we reached the top & were rewarded with the beautiful sight of Tristaina lakes – three small lakes, formed from snow as it melts.

The thrill of playing in the snow and having a picnic at the beautiful hills with one side of the mountains belonging to France & the other side to Andorra will always be an image in my mind. The sound of silence was the highlight of the afternoon, along with the food which Luiz had packed for us. The Chorizo, Sobrasada & Mortadela – all forms of Embutidos, cold meat eaten along with fresh bread made the lunch.

We also went to explore the “Orris”, an old form of habitation for the Sheppard & his flock if caught in inclement weather in the hills. This small habitat made from rocks & finished with wood from inside is today obsolete, but is maintained by the govt. as a reminder of the past.

As we move into the hills, one remarkable sight is the 100’s of campers parked on the sides of the race route. We found fans ranging from over 70 years to the toddlers – all dressed up for the day, with flags in their hand and with a smile on their face. For most of them, this is an annual outing and in the next three days they will move from one route to the next, camping out, having parties & making up the time of their lives. Point to note was that this being a sport for the men, the women of the family also have their favorites in the teams and their cheering is indeed a spirited sight.

Since it was climbs, we positioned ourselves at an isolated spot on the way up and could easily identify the top riders as they peddled by with a grimace on their determined faces. Watching them move at that speed and seeing fans cheering them on and some even running alongside the cyclists overall created a festive atmosphere.

For the record – the Race course was 224 kms, the longest in this edition of the tour and Brice Feillu of France with the Agritubel team won the race stage with a solo to the finish. At the end of the race the individual standing at the top got shaken by the determined drive of Alberto Contador of Team Astana who moves into the second position. The Yellow Jersey being taken over by Rinaldo Nocentini of the AG2R team from France. Lance Armstrong slips to third position 2 seconds behind team mate Contador with Fabian Cancellara moving out the top 10.

The Race tomorrow heads from into the Pyrenees and will start at Andorra le Vieille and move into France finishing at St.Girons, a distance of 176 kms. This race stage will see 3 climbs with two of them being Category 1 climbs. The teams will have to seriously sit on their strategies for hiding the sprinters is just not working & the race contenders like Cadel Evans & Christian Vande Velde trying to break away…

Adeu!!…(that’s catalan for you)

Email : mrq@planningfactory.in