Tour de France 2009, Departure of the 14th stage:

Tour de France 2009

Departure of the stage 14: Colmar-Besançon

Saturday July 18^th 2009

Saturday morning, it’s 8 o’clock and I’m in my bed. Oh no!!! My mother wakes me up… I’m so tired and I just want to sleep. But I remember why she is waking me up: today we go to Colmar to see the departure of the 14^th stage of the Tour de France.

Ok, I hurry up. I wear a t-shirt, jeans and Converse - simple and comfortable.

In the car, on the radio they speak about the last stage and about this mad person who shoots a gun at the riders. At that moment, I think that there are people who are really, really stupid.

I arrive in Colmar at 9.30am. I’m so excited; it’s been a long time since I’ve last seen a race.

Too bad, it’s raining. Then I walk to a hotel. Unfortunately, no teams are there, just journalists.

I’m on the starting line. I had forgotten that the Tour de France was so big.Whoa!

I find a place with no people around so that I can see the riders when they sign in. Behind me is the “Village Départ” and in front of me there are the team cars.

Let’s go! The first rider to arrive is Mikhail Ignatiev.

For now, the atmosphere is still calm. I can see Laurent Jalabert; Christian Prudhomme; Raymond Poulidor; Bernard Thevenet; and the Minister of Culture, Frédéric Mitterand.

There are more and more riders coming. My mother is asking “Who’s this one? You like him?” every two minutes. But the ones that I really like aren’t there yet.

Amongst the riders that I see there are Thor Hushovd, Fabian Wegmann and Daniele Bennati. Many French riders are passing: Lefèvre, Dessel, Lequatre, Bonnet, Haddou and Brice Feillu.Suddenly, we hear a lot of noise. "Oh!" ;Riders from Saxo Bank: Fabian Cancellara, Nicki Sorensen and Jens Voigt. Just after, Andy Schleck. And it’s not finished yet: there is a big ovation in the stands. I’m wondering for whom. Of course… Lance Armstrong. I thought that he was not so popular in France but no, people love him. He has a bodyguard. This guy has class. Really. A few minutes after him, Alberto Contador arrives. But now, it’s another atmosphere. People hiss him. I don’t understand why, even if you don’t like him (which is not my case), a little bit of respect is not that difficult…The riders that I wanted to see are gone. There is the yellow jersey Rinaldo Nocentini who arrives and… his wife who runs after him.

Twelve o’clock - the riders depart. There are some of them who are late, like Mark Cavendish. And it’s over; everybody is gone.

I hope that the Tour de France returns close to my home soon…

-Written by Delphine (delphsworld.tumblr.com)

Delphine is a supporter who lives in France, near the border with Switzerland and Germany. She has been a cycling fan since the last victory of Lance Armstrong in 2005. After that, she started watching the races on TV and if one comes near her home, she goes. Her favourite riders are Jakob Fuglsang, Fabian Cancellara and the Schleck brothers. Besides cycling, Delphine likes shopping and fashion.