Stage 12: Bourg-de-Péage to Mende
After being in the car for five hours, it was nice to get out and stretch my legs in the town of Mende. Accessing the road where the Tour went through was fairly easy in this town. In many of the other towns, it feels as if the entire city shuts down and I have to park the car 5 kilometers from the entrance to the town.
After parking illegally once again, I started walking uphill into the last climb of the day, the Cote de la Croix-Neuve. This category 2 climb was impressive, even compared to the monsters I witnessed in the heart of the French Alps. While it was a short distance up to the summit, only about 3 kilometers, it was steep! This mountain featured a grade of 10.1%. When I arrived at the 2-kilometer summit banner, I decided that I had already climbed enough. I would leave the rest of the climb to the professionals. The remaining kilometers stretched up in front of me as if they could touch the sky.
After a brief wait, the helicopters could be seen in the distance, letting all of us fans know that the tour was approaching. Passing by me first was Alexandre Vinokourov (Astana) with Vasily Kyrienka (Caisse d’Epargne). About five seconds behind this group was Andreas Kloden, who was followed about three seconds by Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Transitions). Approximately a minute behind the group with Vino was the rest of the main peloton, which included Joaquin Rodriguez (Team Katusha), Jurgen Van den Broeck (Omega Pharma – Lotto) and Alberto Contador (Astana). Immediately after passing us, Contador and Rodriquez made their moves. From my vantage point, I could not believe that they would be able to overtake Vino and Kyrienka by the summit.
Shortly after this main group of climbers passed, another large group of riders rode by me. This group included Lance Armstrong and Jani Brajkovic. During every stage I have witnessed, I have seen Jani situated directly next to Lance Armstrong. He is doing his job protecting Lance but he is also gaining an invaluable amount of knowledge from this 7-time Tour de France winner.
I found out the results of the stage minutes later from a bar back in town. I was amazed that Contador and Rodriquez were able to overtake the breakaway group and still have the legs to sprint out a finish.
By Fitzalan Gorman, staff writer
