Tour de France 2013: Tour de France 2013 Awaits

Its only 10 days until the start of the 100th Edition of the Tour de France. It's a day that I've been looking forward to since I last stood on the Champs-Élysées in July 2011 to see the BMC Team lead Cadel to that memorable and historic Australian sporting moment, victory in the the Tour.

BMC leads Cadel into Paris


2011 - Cadel's Crowning moment. 2013? He'll be up there for sure.

"The Tour" is often described as the greatest sporting event on offer and subjective as that statement might be, there's no escaping the enormity and spectacle of the event. July in France is magnificent, as you experience the fours seasons as the race traverses the length and breadth of the country and you absorb the pulse of a country proud of its cycling tradition.

This year the race kicks off with three stages in Corsica and I'll be fortunate enough to be there to see it all get under way. The group I'll be guiding will arrive in Nice this coming Monday 24th June and we'll settle in with some great riding on the Cote d'Azur, before heading over to Corsica

In preparation for the trip, I've been taking regular morning rides with a few mates up to Mt Coot-tha for a few reps up the 'mountain' before enjoying a heart-starter at one of our favourite coffee shops. The weather has been more than a little patchy the past few months, with more wet days than dry and then the sudden onset of Winter this week with coolish 7 degree mornings.

Take the chance to look back over the 2011 Archive on the right side of the page, just a peak at the pics will bring back some memories and give you a feel for what lies ahead.

The pics below are a few I've taken recently to get this year's blog under way.