Sunday, July 4
Happy Independence Day!
Dash, dash, dash…
Breakfast was a bit quieter this morning because our French promotional buddies had all checked out and taken off for an early (10:00) TdF caravan. We didn’t make that event. It was a quick train ride into Rotterdam; stash our bags in a station locker and then a quick Metro trip to intersect the race course. We picked a spot where the course actually crossed via an overpass so we got to see the group of 192 riders exit from a tunnel on one street, run across the intersection and then catch them again a few minutes later. At this point, the race was in the “Tour de ville”—before the official start—but they were still really moving. After the second viewing, we again hoped on the metro and dashed for a station towards the edge of town, but the beat us there so all we got to see were a few dozen support vehicles. It’s unbelievable how fast these guys move.
It was back to the station to grab the train to Brussels and to beat the Tour to the finish. The finishing line was crazy busy, but we did manage to find a spot on the fence about a half a kilometer from the finishing line. This was the sprint to the finish and it was just a blur. If you really follow cycling, it’s much better to do it on TV, but it’s still amazing to be in the midst of all the excitement.
Our viewing spot provided quick access to a couple Leff biers and friets from a neighborhood joint. I may be getting frieted out.