Tour de France in Photos... plus, Living in France for 2 Months

I'm actually cheating on this post, writing it several months after the tour... but I thought some people might enjoy the pictures I was able to take during my 2 months in France. Stationed near the Mediterranean in Montpellier, I was apprehensive about the hot weather, especially during July and August. Although I noticed that your mouth gets dry in about 0.04 seconds, it wasn't too bad.

First we'll cut to the Tour photos.
July 18, 2007 - Stage 11
It was actually pretty tough to photograph as the finish into Montpellier was flat and the road was extremely wide. I came away with a handful of blurry shots and photos of the back of people's heads etc. But after the main group passed, there were a few riders off the back. Since I wasn't watching the tv coverage, I wasn't sure what happened. If you remember, there was the infamous crash with Christophe Moreau and the Astana attack. I was crossing the road when I rider approached so I was able to get a decent shot... Here is Simon Gerrans of Ag2r who has some visible wounds.


July 19, 2007 - Stage 12
Marcel Sieberg, Caffinated.


I think something got lost in translation in this one:



"Yeah, I'm telling you, the course goes straight but there's a killer shortcut if you take a hard right. Goes right around the Pyrenees and straight to Paris."


Stéphane Goubert - the local favorite


Nuclear Green


Philippe Gilbert rolls out from the stage sign in


Erik Zabel on his way to finishing 2nd:


In Montpellier, news was leaked that the Danish Cycling Federation lost track of Rasmussen earlier in the year. Perhaps the Federation needs to hire babysitters.



Biking around Montpellier:


Solar Tailwind.


Une Route Etroite.


Le Sommet Evasif
J'ai monte la montagne a gauche mais c'est tres lointain au grand sommet parce que vous devez le monter par derrière. Un jour....


Pic Saint Loup


Eglise St. Jean Cuculles


Not much of a view today.


Climbing Col du Vent
Tricky camera shot... it was a solo ride so I propped the camera up on a ledge about 20 feet up, and set the timer. My camera's timer is only 12 seconds so I had to descend the cliff run to my bike and ride the switchback... all with carbon fiber shoes with speedplay cleats... thank god no one was watching.