Seven times winner of the Tour de France, the Texan Lance Armstrong retired four years ago. Now he's back! At 37, people wonder if it's a mistake but he looked pretty fit to me. When he appeared on the podium, the crowd went wild.Standing next to Lance in the smaller photograph is race favourite, Alberto Contador - both race with the Astana team.
A bonus for spectators was the enormous screen alongside the podium, so we could all properly see what was going on.
Today, the Tour de France starts with the first 'race against the clock' - Monaco to Monaco - it's 15 kilometres of hills and flat, taking in La Turbie, Cap d'Ail and Roquebrune. Watch it on Eurosport!
We're all getting excited here in Grasse St Jacques as Le Tour is coming past us tomorrow afternoon on the way to Brignoles. Thanks for the coverage of the build up Jilly - keep up the excellent work!
ReplyDeleteCan't wait. With or without Lance, it is still a fantastic event.
ReplyDeleteSuper collection of photos, and, of course, I am cheering on one of our boys, Lance Armstrong. Quite a feat for him, but I wonder why he's trying again, especially after his bad fall. To me it seems like some of our athletes don't know when to retire when it should be at the top of their game. But, it'll be fun to watch!!
ReplyDeleteFantastic shot of Lance! I admire those bodies that are all muscle with not one ounce of fat to be seen. I suppose I could have that too if I rode my bicycle up and down hills at great speeds.
ReplyDeleteCoverage here starts in 14 minutes - just about to put the dogs out, climb into my warm bed and watch the race!
ReplyDeleteI am officially green with envy.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful horses, Tour de France, Wimbleton tennis, It,s all happening in Europe. Great!
ReplyDeleteHeard the very loud roar when Lance took off - wow!! Monaco looks so prepared for such events....
ReplyDeleteThank you for the great pics, Jilly! Will you be staying at one spot only or will you be at different locations?
Maria, I hate to tell you but I'm sitting at home - like you - watching it on Eurosport! I honestly thought I'd not find a place to stand and take pics and I'm only little and it's hard to muscle to the front. As it is, I see there is loads of room, particularly on the Roquebrune part of the trail. Never mind, I'll console myself by saying that perhaps my camera wouldn't have coped with the speed of the bikes and that's possibly true.
ReplyDeleteGreat photos of Lance. You must have done a good job squeezing your way to the front, or else you staked out a good spot in advance.
ReplyDeleteDave, when I got to the big stand, it was nearly full so I walked down to the front and just sat on the bottom step! A few people offered a seat on their bench but I stuck where I was so I could get pics. Sore bum afterwards!
ReplyDeleteOh Jilly this is going to be such fun to see le tour through your lens. GREAT shot of Lance with the logo behind him. I'm sad I'll miss the ending in Paris. Darn!
ReplyDeleteV
I'm not following the race world, but it must be great to see the Tour de France. And you have great collection photos of them, specially the photo of Lance.
ReplyDeleteGreat shots of Armstrong. I think he should have stayed retired though.
ReplyDeleteI don't think his age is a problem. But with that recent injury it must be hard to compete again at the top level. Some fine photos here.
ReplyDeleteThe race is more exciting with Lance in it, whether he wins or not. So many people are rooting against him... even though he is an ass of a man, he is an amazing athlete.
ReplyDeleteI need to find my Montpellier images of the TDF. The cyclists here will go gaga for the Lnace images. Really sharp.
ReplyDelete