Sunflowers are emerging from their tightly bunched heads and their colour yellow announces July.
Wimbledon winds up and the Tour de France sets out, heading south towards the Tarn, our department.
‘Old Black Socks’ is no longer in the hunt.
Lance Armstrong retired after last year’s tour, this time it could be definitive….
You spotted him by his un-chic black socks and heavy pedalling, and “the focus’.
Doped or not doped [nothing proven]–he was good to watch.
They flashed through Lautrec last year– too fast to catch a glimpse of “Black socks”– buried in the pack [le peloton].
The atmosphere is festive and the anticipation intense–and it’s all over in a trice.
Meredith, miraculously, caught the yellow jersey’d leader Andy Schleck in the centre of a frame.
They’re coming this way again on the July 13th.
Will the work on the road that bypasses Lautrec be finished? Touch and go!
They pass through the Tarn most years, heading for the Alps or the Pyrenees.
Part of charm of “le Tour” is its easy accessibilty for the public.
We milled around at “le départ” one year in Albi–rubbing shoulders with these world class athletes, about to head off for another 150 kilometres of torture in the pulverizing heat.
On the mountain climbs you fear for the riders’ safety, as the crowd closes in and the passage narrows alarmingly.
Keep back!
“Get out of the way,” I find myself shouting at the TV!
The French regard the Tour as the third greatest sporting event on the planet–after the Olympics and the soccer World Cup–and unlike them, it’s annual.
(Americans have no problem naming their national baseball final–the World Series!)
Certainly as a feat of endurance the Tour is probably without equal.
You’d have to admit that Armstrong, finally hanging up his socks at the age of 38 last year, had–excuse the pun–feet of endurance.
MEDIA CODA
The television coverage of the Tour is a miracle of coordination. From on high–with helicopters–at ground level on motorbikes, the movement is constant–but at the pace of the riders. Many French people watch it as a way of getting to know their country.
Our friend Deming–an American–says she once took a holiday in a village she’d liked the look of as the Tour passed through!
Look forward to a bird’s eye view of Lautrec on the 13th!
Robin Ellis 
Robin,
We had the Giro d’Italia stopping overnight in Montevarchi a few years back. Funny how all the railings got repainted so quickly and the streets cleaned! The power of national TV!
As far as I remember (an American will surely confirm or correct this), the World Series was initiated by the long-defunct NY newspaper the New York World. It thus had no global connotation.
We are enjoying the blog – and the garlic. A presto, Keith
Hi Keith,
Not many people know that about the naming of the “World” series I’d take a bet!–thanks.
We are loving the oil.
A package is in the post–I hope the contents are still useable on arrival….!
rxx
Must be quite an event to watch, especially when you’re a sportsfan. The tour de France is very popular in the Netherlands, too.
Maybe I’m just lazy, and a stranger to that kind of activity, but my excuse for not watching the Tour de France is that I grew up with two older brothers and a father who had to see everything related to sports.
I’ve had an overdose….
So, though I admire their achievements, I won’t be watching much of the Tour on tv, and rather be working on a painting, now I’m “the boss” of the tv. But maybe I’ll make an exception on the 13th…. Just to see your beautiful little part of the world. Never had much chance to travel, so I’ve never been to France.
Dieneke
Thanks for the nice report from the “Tour de Misery”. In the last years it seemed that Tour de France was a rolling pharmacy on wheels. The years before we were very enthusiastic here in Germany, especially supporters from Jan Ullrich.
Now we have Women`s Football World Cup here. Not as popular than the Men`s World Cup, but they have many spectators and a good atmosphere in the stadiums. By the way England and the US Team are on a good way through the tournament.
Oh it’s SO exciting. One year, it passed by our gite in Brittany and the TV helicopter landed in our field! I though my son was going to explode with joy – he was allowed to peer into the cabin and inspect every switch and dial… and then, to crown it all, he managed to collect lots of sweeties and little gifts thrown out by the accompanying cars. The bikes shot by in 30 seconds but he remembers it even now and he was only about 3 or 4 at the time.