Saint Jean de Maurienne - Le Tour Stage 9

Plans to make it to the Col de la Madeleine, an Hors Categorie (too hard to categorize) climb during today's stage of Le Tour were derailed. 1) We slept late. 2) We had to download our Garmin Europe maps, which we should have downloaded before our trip, but somehow forgot to do. Blame it on the wedding... Despite the late start, everything worked out. And we even got to spend some extra time with Lauren and Maz, dining on a Kebab. Jeremy was so happy!

Instead of staking a spot on the mountain to watch the riders climb, we drove to the Finish Town, Saint Jeane de Maurienne. We arrived just as Le Caravan was coming into town, which was perfect. Very little waiting required before the riders would cruise by. Around the 2KM mark, the road curved nearly 180 degrees - the perfect spot to view the cyclists as they approached, arrived, and continued on. And after only a few moments waiting, we were delighted to see the lead pack! We caught several pictures and cheered / jeered Alberto. Didn't see Shleck... Then after another few moments, another pack of riders came by, and we caught Levi Leiphimer riding strong. Again, a few moments passed, and another group, including Lance Armstrong, rode by. They all looked really good, despite the day's difficult HC climb. Content with what we saw, photoed, and videoed, we packed up and got back in the car.

As I type, we are in the car being escorted by Le Tour Rent-a-cop Security Guards through a crazy traffic jam. There must be a hundred or so tractor trailers lined up in advance of crossing the Italian Border. Merci, Rent-a-cops!

Onto Torino we go. We havne't had enough bread and cheese yet, and we're dying for a pizza in the piazza for dinner.