Category: TDF 2015
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A wider perspective
Hello! I’ve been out and about a bit this week, including a visit to a local art group where we were looking at composition using a panorama. I think it’s a wonderful format which can be used for many subjects. It allows scope for storytelling, (the Bayeux Tapestry being one of the earliest and largest examples) cartoons and […]
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La Course by Le Tour de France 2015: Paris Champs-Élysées
Bonjour! La Course at Le Tour de France is a new women’s race initiated last year to great acclaim. It precedes the final stage of the men’s Tour and provides exciting racing on the Champs-Élysées. The racers include the best in the world today (including some from the Women’s Tour in Kettering only a few weeks ago). The […]
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Tour de France 2015: Stage 21 – Sèvres, Grand Paris Seine Ouest to Paris Champs-Élysées
Bonjour! Stage 21, the final stage in Paris sets the seal on the Tour. Regarded by some as a procession or show stage, there is still the matter of the Yellow Jersey completing the course before the phenomenal final sprint on the Champs-Élysées. Not quite so predictable on this occasion, as the roads were made […]
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Tour de France 2015: Stage 20 – Modane Valfréjus to Alpe d’Huez
Bonjour! Stage 20, the final stage in the Alps and probably the hardest of them all, as the route peaks on the magnificent and notorious Alpe d’Huez. It’s demanding, tough and lined with more fans than you could ever imagine. This was a mesmerising stage, with astonishing breakaways from Valverde and of course Nairo Quintana, who pushed […]
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Tour de France 2015: Stage 19 – Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne to La Toussuire – Les Sybelles
Bonjour! Stage 19 continued in the Alps. It was a really tough day for everyone – even the smooth progress of Team Sky appeared to unravel after a quick breakaway from Valverde and Contador left them reeling. Suddenly Chris Froome was racing virtually alone as his team-mates fell away. For British fans, the saddest demise […]
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Tour de France 2015: Stage 18 – Gap to Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne
Bonjour! Stage 18 was arguably the best this year. As a course, it had everything. It was a long stage which began on the flat, ascended several hard climbs, some 1:10, with descents to match! The climax came at the the end, where the course followed the most remarkable road known as the Lacets de Montvernier, the ‘shoe […]
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Tour de France 2015: Stage 17 – Digne-les-Bains to Pra Loup
Bonjour! Stage 17 followed the rest day and marked the beginning of the final section of this year’s Tour. It was the first of four gruelling days in the Alps, with all that goes with them; dramatic scenery, gut-wrenching climbs, toe-curling descents and roads strewn round the mountains like ribbons. This stage cruelly claimed Tejay van Garderen, […]
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Tour de France 2015: Stage 16 – Bourg-de-Péage to Gap
Bonjour! Stage 16 was the prelude to the final climbing stages in the Alps. This stage again followed a long, hot course through dramatic scenery. This stage had two hard climbs but was really more about the infamous descent into Gap. This road has seen many riders come to grief and Sky’s Geraint Thomas fell […]
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Tour de France 2015: Stage 15 – Mende to Valence
Bonjour! Stage 15 pressed on through the stunning scenery beside the rivers Ardèche and Rhone towards the Alps. The conditions were hot with the Tramontane wind’s influence. In spite of the hills and climbs, there was a chance for the sprinters on the flat at the finish – really the last before Paris, so there was much to […]
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Tour de France 2015: Stage 14 – Rodez to Mende
Bonjour! Stage 14 passed through some of the most stunning scenery so far on this Tour – the stars of the stage being, arguably, Les Gorges du Tarn. Back down to earth with the bike race and Team Sky held their place, but the wonderful surprise came from a British rider, Stephen Cummings, who took […]
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Tour de France 2015: Stage 13 – Muret to Rodez
Bonjour! Stage 13 came down the slopes and back into the sunshine but accompanied by oppressive heat. The terrain was deceptive, long flat roads suddenly reaching hills, passing through pretty towns set on the river Tarn, just lovely! In the race, special mention for popular French rider Jean-Christophe Péraud, who had a very serious fall, yet managed to battle on […]
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Tour de France 2015: Stage 12 – Lannemezan to Plateau de Beille
Bonjour! Stage 12, the final one in the Pyrenees, where the weather gods seem to punish all and sundry! From sunshine to hail, with driving wind and rain, it was a gruelling stage. There was a great spell by World Champion, Michał Kwiatkowski who with Vanmarcke lead for some distance, but the day belonged to Joaquim ‘Purito’ (the little […]
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Tour de France 2015: Stage 11 – Pau to Cauterets
Bonjour! Stage 11 saw the second day in the Pyrenees with a course that included two notorious climbs, the Col d’Aspin and the Col du Tourmalet. The climbs are so hard but the speed in the descents is hair-raising! So many close shaves and near misses – even a herd of cows – adroitly dodged by […]
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Tour de France 2015: Stage 10 – Tarbes to La Pierre-Saint-Martin
Bonjour! Stage 10 on Bastille Day, was the first of three days in the Pyrenees, following a great course through the foothills, up into the mountains and finishing with a testing climb. The dazzling performance of the day came from Chris Froome, who broke away with 6km to go and left everyone behind, almost dancing on […]
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Tour de France 2015: Stage 9 – Vannes to Plumelec
Bonjour! A team time-trial provided the excitement on Stage 9, before the rest day and the first real mountain stages in the Pyrenees on Tuesday. Time trials show the technique of riding so well and it’s a delight to see a well-practiced team moving like a machine, absorbing the air to go faster. This course […]
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Tour de France 2015: Stage 8 – Rennes to Mûr-de-Bretagne
Bonjour! Stage 8 Another hot day in the saddle for the riders, following a meandering route through Brittany with the Mur de Bretagne climb at the finish. The fans turned out by the score, cheering the riders. In the race itself, Chris Froome won the Yellow Jersey, Daniel Teklehaimanot retained Polka Dot, Peter Sagan won the sprinter’s Green […]
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Tour de France 2015: Stage 7 – Livarot to Fougères
Bonjour! Stage 7 saw another lovely sunny day, the route through the Normandy fields on into Brittany, was lined with fans all the way. Daniel Teklehaimanot was part of the leading group for a great part of the day and retained the Polka Dot jersey. For British fans, the joy came from seeing the huge smile on […]
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Tour de France 2015: Stage 6 – Abbeville to Le Havre
Bonjour! Stage 6 saw a complete transformation in conditions – the sun shone brilliantly, there were gentler crosswinds and the course followed the beautiful Normandy coastline to Le Havre. This was an emotional stage – and an historic one – we saw Daniel Teklehaimanot win the Polka Dot Jersey (King of the Mountains), the first rider from […]
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Tour de France 2015: Stage 5 – Arras to Amiens
Bonjour! Stage 5 took a bleak turn heading through driving wind and rain, on a course past the fields, cemeteries and memorials of the World Wars. Flags and pennants, bedraggled by the wind, lined the streets, along with many fans. This was another flat stage, suited to sprinters. Sadly, France’s champion, Nacer Bouhanni, fell in another crash […]
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Tour de France 2015: Stage 4 – Seraing to Cambrai
Bonjour! Stage 4 crossed from Belgium to France through wide fields on narrow, dusty lanes to town streets, but all featuring cobbles, seven gruelling sections in total. A much happier day for most than Stage 3, but for those nursing serious injuries, the cobbles must have been hellish. The top teams and positions stayed pretty much as before; Team […]
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Tour de France 2015: Stage 3 – Anvers to Huy
Bonjour! Stage 3 headed towards France via Belgium, on a course that finished with a climb on the notorious Mur de Huy. All proceeded well, in bright sunshine, until an horrendous crash caused riders to pile into each other, landing round a streetlight. Many fell, including Yellow Jersey, Cancellara and four riders abandoned. The race was halted while medics […]
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Tour de France 2015: Stage 2 – Utrecht to Zélande
Bonjour and Hallo! The second stage of this year’s Tour continued through Holland following a course set to suit the sprinters. The only catch? The weather! The presence of windmills and turbines in the landscape gave testimony to the power of the wind which blew and blew throughout the stage. It was by turn, sunny, wet, […]
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Tour de France 2015: Stage 1 – Utrecht to Utrecht
Bonjour! – or should that be ‘Hallo’? The 2015 Tour de France begins in Holland with an individual time trial (the only one this Tour) in the city of Utrecht. A beautifully flat circuit round the city centre, gave the fans a close-up of the riders and the chance to decide who the key players will […]
Maxine Dodd 