Dear Family and Friends,
In France, the 14th of July is Bastille Day, or the day that the people stormed the prison in order to abolish the old feudal system that existed in the late seventeen hundreds. It is celebrated much the same as the Forth of July in the states and most villages hold some kind of fireworks display in the evening.
Since Joe had the day off from work, he took the kids to see the end of the 10th stage of the Tour de France in Gap where they were able to find a place about 300 meters from the finish line. They first watched the caravan go by and were able to catch some of the many free goodies handed out by the tour sponsors as they passed by.
After some waiting (the riders were an hour late due to the heat), the top two riders, Andy Schlek and Thor Hushold sprinted past on their way to a photo finish. The rest of the pack followed soon thereafter.
Unlike last year, Joe and the kids were able to mill about near the team buses following the race. Joe enjoyed checking out the professional equipment used by the world's top riders.
A couple of the riders from team Milram, Fabian Wegmann and Gerold Ciolek, loaded up on calories after the race. One of the riders purchased some large slices of Flan (a type of pie) and consumed each of them in two or three bites.
Of course, the individual who received the most attention from the press and fans was Alberto Contador, the Spaniard who won last year's race. However, once he had his bowl of pasta and his drinks, he took off in one of the Team Astana cars towards the next stage in Sisteron.
Bonne Semain!
Joe, Julie, Nicolas, Elyse, and Nathaniel
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