Woke earlish so we could go and have breakfast without rushing too much before getting on the bus to go back to Angouleme for the end of the Time Trial from Cognac.
The weather was a little bleak looking but it wasn’t too long before it came good and the sun screen went on again for another day in the sun watching the riders come in. A few of the tour group decided they would ride from Poitiers to Angouleme. On the map it was about 100km but as they found out a little later it was more like 130km. Still, I am sure it would have been a good ride for them.
The other riders got off at Ruffec again and rode the rest of the way into Angouleme.
We managed to get a spot within the last 150m of the course which was on a slight rise. It was good to be that close. We staked out claim and laid the flag across the fence to show our support for the aussies. Only to have someone come along and tell us that we weren’t allowed to do that. Only problem was he told us in French. But we got the idea when he placed the flag on the outside of the barrier … damn it!
It was another warm day in the sun for Estee with her neck getting a little red from the sun. They mustn’t have that strong a sun in South Africa.
The noise as the riders came in was great. With people banging on the barriers and screaming. This was particularly the case when the French riders came in to the finish straight. Sandy Casar got a good reception, particularly after winning the stage the previous day.
The excitement grew a little more once the lead riders of Contador, Evans and, Leipheimer were on the course. There were constant talkings about who was in yellow and how much time had been lost to the other … in FRENCH!!!! So we basically had no idea so after the finish, we went up to the big screen for a bit to see if we could see what the result was. In the end it was Contador to Cadel (23sec) and Leipheimer (31sec). So we had to start thinking of ways to get Contador off the podium on the Champs Elyssee. Some of them weren’t necessarily legal or moral but hey … when you want some one to win…
We got back to the hotel, without any bus incidents, at a reasonable hour and headed out for dinner in the town square. Dinner wasn’t too bad although we did have to wait a long time for our coffee in the cool night air. It wasn’t the best thing to be doing.
Posted by telfie 
