Somewhere upthread was mention of a reflection.
Discovering what was happening was difficult at first as I was not here. I was in rural Brittany east of Lorient, which just happened to be the start of Stage 5. So, being a live Tour virgin, decided to visit the tiny hilltop village of Saint-Goazec - 1 church, 1 little shop and the 1 requisite tabac/bar; all 3 open. Exiting the village downhill with a sharp left and then immediately up was the first categorised climb of the day.
Parked outside the church, purchased excellent chicken & avocado baguette from the store and a beer or two from the bar. Perched at the fountain, made friends with 2 year old Léa and her
grand-mère. Chatted to a few locals. Heard a few Brit accents. Gendarmes came thru, a few Skodas drove by.
Le temps perdu. And then the Caravan arrived. Half the village suddenly appeared. Noise enveloped the village. Léa was content - we gave her our tidbit of
saucisson, tidbit of
gateau and fruit drink.
Walked down the approach hill to the village to find a suitable spot to spectate. Locals had set up a BBQ outside a school/village hall. Red, white and blue bunting was hung from fences,
le tricolore was waving in the warm breeze. Chatted to a few more locals. Heard a few more Brit accents, many accompanied with cleats. Chairs were set up in gardens and claiming roadside positions.
Expectation was building. Distinctive sound of helicopters approaching. And now the entire village must have come to the roadside or hanging out of windows. The break sped up the hill and disappeared. Chavanel and Calmejane were at the back and looked motivated. The next 2-3 minutes seemed to go by as quickly as Gaviria winding up for a finish. Filling the width of the road, the peloton rode by, led by BMC with Craddock heroically hanging off the rear.
Saying
au revoir to temporary friends and driving the route out of the village up the cat 4 climb, pondering who might win in Quimper, the army of workers deconstructing the roadside furniture and signage, the immense organisation involved.
The atmosphere was wonderful, everyone full of
joie de vivre. A glorious way to while away a few hours and highly recommended to anyone - bike aficionados or otherwise.
p.s.
@Dogtrousers - if you were at Fougères, our paths must have passed close by.
