Grand Finale

Well the epic, historic, unforgettable 2005 Tour de France has long cleared the streets of Paris. And with all the celebrating over, I can finally recount our last memorable weekend with the event.

Saturday Time Trial and TGV
On Saturday, our lively crew took in the final time trial in St Etienne. After squeezing in our morning rides in the northeastern Provence, we all headed north to find the our viewing spot for this 55-kilometer race against the clock.

Our drivers, Alain and Pierre, found the perfect place to deposit us just between the start and finish lines for the race. We only had to walk a few hundred meters to get to either spot. Most of us started our viewing by checking out the start area. That way we got to see all our favorites – from Leipheimer and Lance to Basso, Hincapie, Llandis, and “Chicken Boy” Rassumussen – start before working our way to the finish.

Initially the crowd along the course was pretty thin and finding a spot on the barriers wasn’t all that challenging. And then there are those who prefer to watch at least some of the action in a bar where drinks and shade can be found. But it was virtually impossible to find a bar or café with a television in this relatively poor, deserted industrial city. Though some of the more adventurous folks in our group did find a bowling alley that had the Tour up on a big screen.

I ended up joining a small group of VéloSport travelers who had found a nice shady spot just behind the 500-meter line. Glen, Tim, Jonika, Ryan, Dusty, Jack and Cedric were all there standing and sitting in the shade in front of a television an ambitious vendor had set up next to his concession stand. And he and his family were doing a booming business selling crispy French fries, grilled chicken wraps, and lots of Heineken. We could watch the action on television and then just turn around to see the actual, real-life cyclist go flying by.

We all agreed that it was painful to watch poor Rasmussen struggle to finish the race. And then when Armstrong passed him – after starting six minutes behind him – we all just hoped the polka-dot boy would finish this race. The favorite for the event for almost every one there was Armstrong. This was truly his last race and surely he wanted to go out with a final win. Besides, it would be his only stage win (except for the team time trial) during this epic Tour. As he neared our group, it seemed evident that he was unstoppable. He flew by our group just a yellow streak for what would be one of the last times we would see Armstrong cruising to a win.

After the racing wrapped up, we all boarded our buses and headed to Lyon where a super fast TGV train waited to take us to Paris. We arrived in plenty of time and made our way as a large, happy group to platform C.

Following the red arrow to our train.
On the train, we were wined and dined by all our wonderful VéloSport guides. Katie headed the charge and served us up our specially catered dinners while Thierry, Mike, Dean and John poured wine for us all. We got to Paris well fed and ready to rest up for our final stage.

Mission Accomplished
One special thing I managed to accomplish – with the help of Sophie and Kevin Livingston – during the time trial was to deliver a very special gift. This last spring, Mark and Angela Benavides joined us for Ride Provence. The last day of their stay in Malaucene, Mark presented me with a mission that at the time seemed almost impossible. He had a huge print of this photo and he wanted to present it as a gift to the policeman in the shot. He had no idea what this policeman’s name was but was confident I could find him. I carried this photo with me for most of the Tour and occasionally asked cops along the way if they knew #31 (the number on the front of his motorcycle), but no luck. Then, I showed the photo to Sophie who knew right away who he was. She had met him during races in her region of Brittany and knew his name was Pierre. That is when Kevin Livingston took a peek at the photo and told me he also knew Pierre. He is the one policeman that Lance trusts to drive for him. While we were wandering around between the start and the finish areas, we came across a big group of moto cops and showed them the photo. They were impressed with this gorgeous shot and told us that Pierre was at the moment on his motorcycle escorting Lance to his final win. They were happy to give Pierre the shot and we handed it over along with a note from Sophie on Mark Benavides’ behalf. Since then, Pierre has sent Mark a thank you email with the desire to send a gift to him on behalf of his squadron. Mission Accomplished!

Paris Finale
Chris Gutowsky finishes in Paris with style.

Our final day in Paris is always bittersweet. It is such a thrill to watch these amazing athletes as they ride the final kilometers of three weeks of hard racing and yet you never really want the Tour to end.

The day started off rainy and slick, but our intrepid travelers rose to the occasion and put in their morning laps on the Champs Elysees. Despite the conditions, everyone was thrilled to have the opportunity to ride this historic loop. It gave many of our cyclists a new respect for the difficult finish loop over uneven cobbles.

With the riding over, we all cleaned up and enjoyed brunch at our respective hotels before heading to the swanky Hotel Crillon for our exclusive viewing. As we have for the past several years, we gathered in two reserved suites in the Hotel Crillon. From our balconies there, we have an incredible view of the circuit as it passes the Place de la Concorde coming and going. Our suites also have multiple big screen televisions so we can watch the racers as they work their way to us and then run out to the balconies and take a peek at them rounding the Place de la Concorde.

Greg and Steve Miller from Salt Lake City, Utah joined us for the special Hotel Crillon viewing.

Several special guests stopped by to say hello to everyone. Frankie Andreu with OLN came by to say hello; Alex Stieda regaled us with Tour anecdotes; writer and photographer James Startt also paid us a visit.

As the racing heated up and the laps counted down, we all found our own viewing spots. Some of us went down to the area in front of the Crillon where all the team cars and buses were gathering. Connie even managed to hitch a ride with one of the teams and got to do a lap around the Champs Elysees. Later, after the race had finished, several of us went down to the street where we could actually meet our cycling heros.

I decided to watch the last part of the race from the comfort of the suite. There I got to witness my personal favorite—“Vino”—finish strong after a rough Tour of unsuccessful attacks.

We wrapped up our afternoon at the Crillon and headed down to the street where Chris had planned a street party for us all at the L'Embassade Cafe. It was a great way to wrap up an incredible trip with so many wonderful people. We enjoyed Basque beers and shared our favorite memories. I had met so many great people on this trip, it was hard to say good-bye…Instead I hoped I would see each and everyone of our VéloSport travelers again some day on a bike somewhere beautiful. A tres bientot!!

Senator John Kerry, who followed the last two stages of the Tour, was a surprise guest at our street party after the race.