How good was that finish from Cadel, absolute gold!! Great to see big George Hincapie pulling the big turn from 4km to 2km out and then Evans having to play a very cool hand with Lotto riding smart for Gilbert and Contadore trying his hardest to outsmart Cadel to steal back a second or two.....no such luck meat lover!!
Cadel is really looking composed and strong this year and his team is really riding so strongly in support. It looks like they have all recovered from that great Team Time Trial and barring a catastrophe the support should be there when Cadel needs it.
Today our group took the bikes on the bus trailer to Mont St Michel for a wander around this magnificent 8th Century Benedictine Abbey and then rode back to St Malo along the Channel coast visiting some quaint little Breton towns along the way. The views at Cancale and Pointe du Grouin were great and you can almost feel the presence of the Corsairs, the infamous French privateers and sometimes pirates of this coastal region.
An interesting fact is the relationship between Mont St Michel and St Michael's Mount, off the Cornish town of Penzance, another buccaneering enclave. In 1067 William of Normandy (The Conqueror) gave St Michael's Mount to the Benedictines in appreciation of their support of him and they re-created the French Abbey on their new site.
Bec & David, two of our Bikestyle Tour guides, on the rampart at Mont St Michel.
Cadel is really looking composed and strong this year and his team is really riding so strongly in support. It looks like they have all recovered from that great Team Time Trial and barring a catastrophe the support should be there when Cadel needs it.
Today our group took the bikes on the bus trailer to Mont St Michel for a wander around this magnificent 8th Century Benedictine Abbey and then rode back to St Malo along the Channel coast visiting some quaint little Breton towns along the way. The views at Cancale and Pointe du Grouin were great and you can almost feel the presence of the Corsairs, the infamous French privateers and sometimes pirates of this coastal region.
An interesting fact is the relationship between Mont St Michel and St Michael's Mount, off the Cornish town of Penzance, another buccaneering enclave. In 1067 William of Normandy (The Conqueror) gave St Michael's Mount to the Benedictines in appreciation of their support of him and they re-created the French Abbey on their new site.
Bec & David, two of our Bikestyle Tour guides, on the rampart at Mont St Michel.
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| Heather & Phillip on the Brittany Coast at St Benoit des Ondes and Pointe du Grouin. |
Ah Gumbles, this has brought back memories of Mt St Michel as we went there too and we had lunch at Cancale, and watched them shucking the oysters out the front of the restaurant we ate amazing food, Rob really revelled in the seafood, I kind of avoided it a fair bit.. now last night/early this morning was wet for them but looks like you had good weather. I still managed to stay up but had a snooze half way as lost 30k somehow!! ;) Cadel just worked himself enough! Keep well and safe, dad says hi too, and Rob. Shaz.x PS Gorgeous sunshine here too :D and I must say your pickies/ commentary are terrific almost like we are there too.
ReplyDeleteHi Shaz,
ReplyDeleteGreat to read your comments and great to see you're enjoying the progress so far. Actually, we got soaked yesterday on the way back from Pointe du Grouin and it was windy and freezing cold.....but its now a distant memory after enjoying a fantastic meal at a beautiful restaurant on the water last night.
Lockie,Gaz and I road to the Mont from Rennes when we visited. Great riding.....flat!
ReplyDeleteWatching via an iPad app this week but enjoyed last night.
Keep in touch Gumbles.
Hi Pete,
ReplyDeleteFinally had time to create a login to leave you a comment. Commentary great and love the pics ... specially the arty staircase! Trust you are keeping well after your freezing day on Stage 4. Look forward to your next instalment ... keep them coming. Go Cadel and BMC!!
Have fun Pete and stay well, D&G at the Beach
Hi Di & Greg,
ReplyDeleteJust home from a great Toulouse style restaurant where I enjoyed a beautiful green pepper steak, accompanied by a great little Corbieres vin rouge. I think that I am going to come home with a few extra kilos around the belt, despite all the riding....the food is absolutely fantastic.
Cadel is certainly in good shape this year and I have never seen him so relaxed and confident in interview. He looks a lot leaner than I've ever seen him and his team is really working well for him. Its going to get exciting this week as they head into the Pyrenees, hopefully the weather holds out for us, it looks like rain tomorrow night and Monday morning...yuk!!
Re the staircase at St Malo beach, I'm trying to get at least one arty shot a day to include in the blog, just for interest.
Cheers
Pete