Stage Fourteen

 

I arrived at the finish of today’s stage more than six hours ahead of the peloton giving me ample time to soak up all the ambiance of Quillan, a first time Ville Étape in the lower Pyrenees.  I came in following the L’Aude River, a gradual climb up to nine hundred feet.   This somewhat remote town is surrounded otherwise by much higher terrain.  It was a three-mile, one thousand foot climb out for me and a descent into the town for the peloton after completing its fifth categorized climb of the day.  

It will be a memorable day for Canadien Michael Woods, who took over the polka dot jersey from Quintana, who didn’t contest any of the climbs, riding back in the bunch while Woods was out front with the breakaway riders.  The winner came from the breakaway, Bauke Mollema of Holland, who had also been in the break on the Ventoux stage challenging for the win until Van Aert took off.  I was lucky to catch him with my iPad  camera as he flew past, one minute ahead of everyone else.  

I sat and watched three hours of racing on the Giant Screen 100 meters from the finish perched on someone’s doorstep.  Every so often I’d rise to me feet to gather something from young women and men on the other side of the barriers passing out sponsor items.  It was pre-caravan loot, rewarding us early arrivals and keeping us there. Anyone who has seen a finish can’t help but notice the majority of the fans along the barriers are wearing Yellow hats.  Representatives of Credit Lyonnaise came by every half hour or so passing out the hats to whoever would take one.  

The other hat dispensers (blue sun hats from Krys and faux cycling caps from Skoda and E.Leclerc) made just a single pass and weren’t as generous.  Vittel came by regularly too passing out  chilled bottles of water.  I didn’t let a single one pass without getting one, especially since the half-liter bottle comes with a Tour de France label that I cut off and string together to decorate my room back home.

I also gathered several packets of biscuits and three Tour-themed shopping bags and two reflective bands and a fan and three key chains and a lanyard and an actual banana.  If I’d wished to go wandering I might have stumbled upon the sponsors who give out t-shirts, always a prize, and all sorts of other stuff.  Yesterday I was near a booth giving out small packs of apple juice.  They had so many left over they were giving them out by the handful. All the merchandise being dispensed could satisfy the wants of swaths of villages in needier nations.  

Masks were required for anyone in the gated area along the finishing stretch, though one had to provide their own, unlike last year when they were being given out, an optimum souvenir. with The Tour logo.  I wasn’t there to get one, but Craig was nice enough to send one for Janina and I.  I was hoping to collect a bunch this year, but the only Covid protective product being dispensed was hand cleanser by a couple guys walking along on the inside of the barrier spraying anyone who offered their hands.  Most did, fully inclined to take whatever was being given away.  

A trio of heavily armed gendarmes made a couple of passes through the crowd with an explosive sniffing dog.  He was panting quite heavily in the heat.  Off on a side street where merchants were selling souvenirs a recruiting tent for the French Foreign Legion was among them.

I will take another break from The Tour as it heads to Andorra  tomorrow for its next two stages sandwiched between Rest Day number two.  I will slip out of the Pyrenees to the Ville Départ for Stage Seventeen, Muret.  

The stage will begin with a new wearer of the Auxiliary Yellow Jersey, as Guillaume Martin of France moved up from ninth to first behind Pogacar, the fourth rider to be in that position.  He was among the breakaway riders and none of the others vying for first after Pogacar cared to challenge him, considering him not much of a threat to hold the position, similar to Van Aert and O’Connor who didn’t last long.  Martin even admitted after today’s stage that he may have overextended himself and feared a tough day tomorrow. 

Watching the stage almost from the start afforded a glimpse of Froome.  He had been threatening to become the Lanterne Rouge, falling to within six places of last, but he moved up six places today to 137 of the remaining 149 riders.  He finished ahead of two of the lagging groups, eight minutes ahead of the Cavendish group and nineteen minutes ahead of the last group.  

Cavendish is 143 overall, one thing that Merckx has not pointed out when he cites all his Tour accomplishments compared to Cavendish with all the attention of Cavendish equaling his record of Tour victories.  Armstrong considers Merckx a friend, but has urged him on his podcast  to lay off being perturbed by Cavendish tying his record.  All who know the sport know he is second to none and doesn’t need to point that out.