Round and Round the city

The Tour of Britain returned to London with a large amount of hype following the success of cycling in the Olympics.

From Tour of Britan 2008 - Stage 1

Having travelled to Paris for the last stage of the Tour de France for the past two years, it was a wonderful opportunity to have the race go by my front door! So I made my way out to find a good spot. Despite the hype of large crowds, there were very few people - much less than the London marathon attracts. So I managed to easily find a great spot - and for the first two laps I had a prime spot for taking pictures from a great angle. But that was ended by the officious marshals. "Are you an official photographer? We'll my supervisor has told me I have to move you from here...." - I was perfectly safe, behind a barrier on a under used crossing - presenting no risk to anyone... The marshals seam to spend the entire event moving people on from far less safe positions....

The good news is that the Singapore GP organisers have changed their minds and removed the 200mm limit on zoom lens and allowed tripods into their event.

Tour De France - La Finale 08

Visiting Paris in a more leisurely manner for two days, rather than the day trip last year, avoided the need to get up at the crack of dawn to get the first EuroStar to Paris! So this time it was a cab to St Pancras International rather than Waterloo now stripped of the the "international" tag. The last time I visited the Eiffel Tower I was 8! I remember we'd been on holiday in the France, and learnt that Lord Mountbatten had been blown up by the IRA earlier that day while we stood on the tower - not quite like remembering what I was doing when Kennedy was shot... The tower was a great excuse to switch to my recently acquired fish eye lens Then to the reason for being in Paris on that particular weekend - the traditional laps of the Champs-Élysées. Even getting to the course at 11 in the morning only secured a second row position - those at the front had been there a couple of hours already! First the caravan of advertising - no less bizarre from knowing what to expect from the previous year. Then after hours in the baking sun the riders arrived - and before the second last lap I got lucky and someone in front of me had to leave and I got a precious place on the railing... Hours of standing and a small dose of sun burn - a small price to pay for a enjoyable weekend.

Tour De France - La Finale

	So after an early Sunday morning start, at least for me, and a pleasant few hours with a Sunday Times, I arrived on the Champs-Élysées to stand and wait for a group of cyclist to flash past - at least they would pass by seven times... After an hours wait having been entertain for a short time by the sign painters....
From Le Tour 2007 ...

Then along comes a lion! Followed by various other cars, vans, lorries and motorbikes with modifications to advertise the main sponsors - entertaining - but also a little bizarre. Then another long wait - given the size of some of the vehicles, the riders needed to give them a good start - I'm sure some of the large trucks didn't proceed the tour all the way, taking easier routes along less narrow/steep roads to the finishes on the tops of the mountains! The for the real thing, and the gosling for position to see the riders well enough to take pictures - being just at the slowest point on the circuit there we a fare few people with large cameras and lens all trying to get them pointed in the right direction - of course those at the very front didn't even have cameras!!! It would have been really nice to be amongst the professionals - no problems with getting a good view. But lots of hassle from the french police in sharp black suits with little red "police" arm bands - they checked credentials of the same group of six cameramen at least five time - then when two or three more joined them that lead to all sorts of use of mobile phones to clear up if they where all allowed to be there - they all stayed! And then for the real event - bikes flashing past, the clatter of SLR mirrors in sports mode. To many pictures to post here - you'll have to visit the Picasa Album to see them.... And once that was done back to Eurostar - more about that latter... Share on Facebook

Tour De France - Grand Depart

"Le Tour" has visited London - and it was as if everyone in London was on the course watching - which meant a long hunt for a spot that I could see enough of the road to actually get some pictures! But I did find a good one - just round a corner - which slowed the riders down - just a little... I'm not sure who where braver - the riders taking the corners at speed or the camera men trusting their motorbike drivers to take the corner at a sensible speed.

This rider - Nicolas Vogondy I think, was the only one I saw fail to make the corner.

Fabian Cancellara was definately shifting when he past - and he proved to be the fastest on the day.

Upcoming Visit of Le Tour to London

A head of Le Tour 2007 arriving in London next week, I thought I'd post pictures from the Tour of Britain 2006 arriving in London...

	This rider tried to break clear - but on the rapid circuit of St James' Park a bunch sprint finish was inevitable.
From Tour of Britain 2006