Vive le Tour!

The Tour de France is my favorite annual sporting event and it started on July 1 this year. I’ve been fortunate to be able to attend the race on two occasions in 2003 and 2004.

In July of 2003 my sister and I decided to make the pilgrimage to L’Alpe d’huez. We stayed in Grenoble and got up at 4am on race day to start our journey. We had to leave so early because of the road closures that began at 6am. We arrived in Bourg d’Oisans at the base of the mountain and found a place to park and then started to walk up one of the most famous climbs in cycling. We found a great spot about 4km up the climb and waited for the race to arrive. It was a beautiful summer day in the Alps and we shared the mountain with people from all over the world. It’s a day I’ll treasure forever.

This is my favorite photo from the day. It’s Ivan Basso and Francisco Mancebo racing to the summit finish and being encouraged by a very zealous fan who cheered for everyone. And I do mean everyone! I think it perfectly captures the effort of the racers, the exuberance of the fans and the excitement and atmosphere of the day.

Ivan Basso and Francisco Mancebo racing to the summit finish of L’Alpe d’huez in the 2003 Tour de France.