Finally the day had arrive, the start of the le tour de france.
The traffic heading into Monaco was pretty slow but we eventually got in and managed to get one of the last spots in a carpark right in town. After a bite to eat we rushed off to see the caravanne. We managed to score some cleaning cloths for glasses, a little pot and seeds to grow some clover (which were soon lost leaving only the pot), some 'livestrong' chalk and we bought some livestrong bands. Glen also bought a tour pack which had 10 items including a tshirt and hat.
During the break we wandered up the hill towards the casino and found a great spot to set ourselves up for photos. One of the professional photographers was also there so we had a bit of a chat to him about what he did and it turns out he had been covering the tour for 25 years. The time trial eventually started, the cyclists coming out in reverse order of their current points standing. The last few came out in the order that they finished which meant that Cadel was second last and Carlos Sastre was last as the previous year's winner. Lance Armstrong was 10th as he hadn't been back in competitive riding long enough to work his way up to where his ability would put him. Over the next 3 hours or so the riders made their way around the 15km course at 1 minute intervals until the final 20 who were spaced 1 min, 30sec apart.
Lance Armstrong, Astana
Matthew Lloyd, Silence Lotto
Stuart O'Grady, Saxo Bank
Mark Renshaw, Columbia Highroad
Brett Lancaster, Cervelo Test
Michael Rogers, Columbia Highroad
Cadel Evans, Silence Lotto
After a long, hot day we headed back to the car, had dinner at a pasta restaurant and weaved our way through Monaco enjoying the principality all lit up in the night before heading back to Draguinan.
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