Paris-Nice 2010 Part I

It has been a long time since I made an entry here. I know for sure nobody visited since then.

I have been to Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne 2010 and Paris-Nice2010 Prologue so far this year.

I post some pictures that I took at these events. Lately I bought Nikon D90, a digital reflex camera. It is good. It has 18mm-200mm zoom lens on it.



I arrived in Monfort-L'Amaury around 8:00 a.m. on Sunday, 7th. I took a walk and found these men setting up the start ramp.


This is a picture of the "Village" placed right next to the Team Parking. They are here to entertain the children. There was a Merry-go-round in the center which was powered by volunteering parents (I guess).


This is how this device is devised. The parents (or anyone who volunteers) have to pedal to make it go round.

continued...

Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré Part VII

I have leftover photos from Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré. I will post
the pictures and then later write something.

The Stage 1 (Grenoble - )

The team presentation pictures.


The Astana squad. Vinokourov is looking away.


This one is "more" complete with Kashechkin. Vinokourov seems to be
looking at something remote or his mind is at somewhere remote.
Vinokourov received the biggest applause or cheers from the audience.
The French simply love (or should I say now after TdF 'loved') Vino.



The Cofidis bunch. Bradly Wiggins has the yellow jersey as he
took the previous stage (prologue in Grenoble).


The Discovery Channel guys. George Hincapie looks extra relaxed.


The Caisse d'Epargne riders.


The Milram men.


The Rabobank members.


The Saunier-Duval Prodir bunch.

I remember (and I realize, with hindsight, that it was a curious 
sight) David Millar and David Zabriskie having a chat just before
this picture was taken. I wonder whether they had already
decided to switch to Slipstream by then and they were going
to be teammates.

Anyway, I like Zabriskie so I will remain his fan.


The Team CSC men.


Those special jersey wearers line up in front.

Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré Part VI

I am back from Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré. will update the blog later. I am busy updating the other blog (in other language) and preparing for Tour de France so the updating will be slow. I took nice pictures and had a fantastic experience in France.

Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré Part V

The tentative but final version of my watch plan. 

Team CSC's site has posted the participating riders:
Iñigo Cuesta, Volodymir Gustov, Bobby Julich, Marcus Ljungqvist,
Anders Lund, Nick Sørensen, Chris Anker Sørensen and Christian Vande Velde.

I will try to get the autograph from two riders.

Prologue (Dimanche 10 juin 2007)

Place(s) to watch: Grenoble
What to do: Staying by the Team CSC team bus if the security
is not tootight. Or at the U-turn point in the middle of the
parcours.
Sleep at: Near Grenoble at a camping site

Stage one (Lundi 11 juin 2007)

Place(s) to watch: Start in Grenoble / the elusive feed zone
somewhere near Lozanne? (The Itinéraire de l'étape of Stage 1
does not indicate the ravitaillement)
What to do: Try to get the autograph from Iñigo Cuesta and
Marcus Ljungqvist / Pick up some bidons, sacoche or what is 
found / Take pictures
Sleep at: Near Saint-Paul-en-Jarez at a camping site

Stage two (Mardi 12 juin 2007)

Place(s) to watch: Start in Saint-Paul-en-Jarez, ravitaillement
near Saint-Just-Saint-Rambert and Finish in Saint-Etienne
What to do: ditto
Sleep at: Near Anneyron at a camping site

Stage three (Mercredi 13 juin 2007)

Place(s) to watch: One of the two MG. 4 or somewhere?
I have not decided where to be or what to do. I will check out the
parcours in the morning and then decide. If I find a good place to
be, I will take my car (satellite TV and paiting kit) and stay there.
What to do: not yet sure
Sleep at: Somewhere near the top of le Mont Ventoux.

Stage four (Jeudi 14 juin 2007)

Place(s) to watch: le Mont Ventoux
What to do: Watch the satellite TV and paint the road / (if possible) 
Climb the mountain from Bedoin in the morning.
Sleep at: Near Nyons at a camping site

Stage five (Vendredi 15 juin 2007)

Place(s) to watch: Start in Nyons
What to do: Bug the Team CSC riders at the start
( and then dirve to Col du Télégraphe)
Sleep at: somewhere near the top of Col du Télégraphe

Stage six (Samedi 16 juin 2007)

Place(s) to watch: Col du Télégraphe
What to do: Watch the satellite TV and paint the road / (if possible) 
Climb the moutain in the morning.
Sleep at: Valloire at a camping site?

Stage seven (Dimanche 17 juin 2007)

Place(s) to watch: Annecy? or Col de la Forclaz
What to do: Support Team CSC riders
When someone from Team CSC is after the general classification, 
I will definitely try to see the finish. Otherwise, I mightbe at the top
of Col de la Forclaz (category 1 climb 18.5km before the finish).

Drive home (over 550km to go via Switzerland) 

There are a lot of things I have to try and see as preparations for TdF.
I have to see if I have enough equipment for a long term camping trip.
I want to have a notebook computer to store the digital photo files from
the camera and to update my blog whenever possible at camping sites
with internet access or WLAN cafes.

Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré Part IV

The official site of Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré finally put up the
time table (Itinéraire de l'étape). I don't understand the reason the
time table of the prologue states its parcours is only 4.2km and it
starts in Grenoble and finishes in Grenoble. Others tell it is 7km
and it starts in Pont-de-Claix and ends in Grenoble. I have to wait
for a little while to see what is correct.

Another thing I noticed is there is no ravitaillement (feed zone) in
Stage 1, which has 219km of parcours. How do they manage to keep
nourished?

I also realized that the race would pass Col du Télégraphe in Stage 6
and Stage 7. But when they pass Col du Télégraphe the second time,
(as the start, Valloire, is already over 1,400m above see level) the
climb is only a slight bump in the parcours.

I thought that only Stage 7 had Col du Télégraphe. I have to make a
slight adjustment in the plan of Stage 6 watch. I will go watch the race
on top of Col du Télégraphe and pass Col de la Croix de Fer.

Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré Part III

Planning, planning. Time is on my side. The official site has published
Parcours général and profils of the mountain stages but not itinéraires,
which is I think, the time table. This time table is very important because
it contains the crucial information when you want to know the detailed 
course. Of course, anybody who has been to a bicycle race knows this.

It is going to be a week of race watch trip. It going to be a test to see
if I have done enough preparation for a long race watch trip before TdF.

It is over 650km of overnight drive to Grenoble. I hope that the prologue
begins late in the afternoon. I wish I could drive on Saturday but I
cannot.

Prologue: Pont-de-Claix / Grenoble
Watch plan
Staying at Pont-de-Claix. 

Actually I am not sure if I can make it to Grenoble in time. After the
race, I will check in a camp site near Grenoble for a good night sleep.

"Camping France" by Michelin helped me find a candidate.

Étape 1: Grenoble - Roanne
Watch plan
Watching the start in Grenoble and moving to the feed zone after 
the start?

I expect the feed zone is somewhat close to the next stage's start
(Saint-Paul-en-Jarez), so driving to the feed zone won't do any harm.

I will check in a camp site near Saint-Paul-en-Jarez.

Étape 2: Staint-Paul-en-Jarez - Saint-Etienne
Watch plan
Watch the race at start and finish seems to be easy since there is
a connection between the two cities by way of the highway A47.

I am not sure if I can make it to the feed zone by way of A74.  I will
have to wait for the time table to be made available by the organizer
if it should be made available at all.

When the race is over, I will drive to a camp site near Anneyron.
There are two suitable sites that I have found in "ECC" (Europa
Camping Caravaning).

Étape 3: Anneyron
Watch plan
C.L.M (Contra-la-montre, time trial) has two category 4 climbs.
What to do?

After the race is over, I will drive to le Mont Ventoux to stay the night
there. Is staying at the top of le Mont Ventoux allowed? It is possible to
camp out in the area?

Étape 4: Hauterives - Le Mont Ventoux
Watch plan
Waiting at the top of le Mont Ventoux. 

It would be nice if I could park my car near the top because I can
watch TV with my mobile satellite system in my car while waiting
for the race to come.

There is another thing in my mind. Namely, doing the Mont Ventoux.
From Bédoin, it is said that a well trained amateur cyclist could reach
the top in two to three hours.

After the finish, I will move to Nyons. There are camp sites near the town.

Étape 5: Nyons - Digne-les-Bains
Watch plan
Watching the start in Nyons?

Since making it to the next watch point (Valloire or Col de la Croix de Fer)
is important, I will watch the race in Nyons and move on. So I expect to 
be at Col de la Croix de Fer sometime in the evening. I hope I can find 
a place to stay there.

Étape 6: Gap - Valloire
Watch plan
Waiting at Col de la Croix de Fer.
After the race, I will try to find a place to stay in Valloire.

Étape 7: Valloire - Annecy
Watch plan
Waiting at Col du Terégraphe. I will try to reach Annecy before the race finish 
by way of the highway (A41).

I will climb up to Col du Terégraphe while parking the car down at village of
Saint-Martin-D' Arc.
After the race goes, the traffic and the pedestrians make a terrible
congestion. So moving is much quicker by bicycle down to the village
and following the race is much less pain.

This is the plan so far.

Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré Part II

I consulted with Garmin MapSource (City Navigator Europe v9). I also
checked the official site of Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré. The prologue
takes place in Grenoble. I was there once in 2006. I shopped at a
Decathlon shop, where I bought some camping equipment.

From my place, it is over 650km to Grenoble. I guess the prologue
starts sometime around noon since the prologue is a short ITT. If
I drive 8 hours and rest for 4 hours, I will be in Grenoble by noon.

The route suggested by the program leads to Grenoble by way of
Switzerland and only a short strech of highway through France. 
I like this idea since the vignette valid for one year (2007) in
Switzerland is only around 30 euro. If I take a route through 
France, where you pay the toll as you go, it would cost more.

The last stage ends in Annecy. From there, I have to drive
550km back home. It won't be that bad.

The official site has not posted the detailed info on the stages.
They have only a JPEG file showing the rough sketch of the
stages (as of 26th April 2007). I have to wait a little bit
and study the stages by the time the details come out. I have
to decide where to go watch the race and where to stay the nights.

It would be like a rehearsal for TdF.

Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré

All of a sudden, out of the blue, I hit on the idea of following this particular
stage race. I decided to use most of my vacations following TdF 2007
around September 2006. I talked to my employer and colleagues about
my intention. I secured my vacations early this year.

I had still a week left. I thought I could spend this leftover 
late September at World Championship in Stuttgart. Stuttgart is practically
on my turf. Some colleague wanted that week and I gave it away.

I found out that I could take a week in June since none of my colleagues
had planned anything in June. Then I took a look at the Team CSC
race calendar. Team CSC is participating in Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré.

If I burned some midnight oil on 10th and 17th, I could watch all of the 
stages. Is it feasible? I'll see. I will study the parcours of CdDL and
decide what to do( or more exactly how to do it).

By "burning the midnight oil", I mean driving to a distant location
without sleeping overnight. I do this a lot. I have to do this if I want
to visit a race held on Sunday.

I think by the end of April, I will have driven more than 4,000km 
(maybe close to 5,000km and that is only in April and only on weekend)

Who beside me did (or does) this crazy race watch?:
Critérium International, Ronde van Vlaanderen, Rund um Köln,
Paris - Roubaix, Amstel Gold Race and Liège - Bastogne - Liège

I don't just stay at one place.
I did (or do) the Start, Feedzone(s) and Goal watch. By the end of the
race day, I am as exhausted as the riders who ride the race. I know 
my exhaustion does not compare to that of the riders. 

Sometime I wonder why I am doing this. I don't know but only 
my passion for race watch keeps me going.

Criterium International Part V

They had flown to Luxembourg Friday and drove here in a rental car.
They saw the opening stage the previous day. Unfortunately it rained
on Saturday and they got soaked. That was what they told me.

They had already started setting up their banner and the flags  just in
front of the podium, about 15m after the finish. I also had some items,
namely, the national flags of Germany, Argentine, Luxembourg, 
Denmark and USA.

Sometime later, I noticed a group of people standing behind us with that
much coveted "the red lion" flags, big ones and small ones. I immediately
knew they were Schleck fan club members, I mean, who else? Some of 
them had a polo shirt (it looked like) with the "Andy & Frank Schleck 
fan club" logo.

I greeted them and they looked at the decoration we made. I asked the
gentleman where I could get one of those flags. I told him that I had
been looking for those and all I could get was the normal national flag
of Luxembourg. I pointed at the big national flags of mine. Then he
suggested I could have one of the small flags. Wow!! I got the red lion
flag from Schleck brothers' fan club members. I thanked him. Then
he said to us that the lady standing behind him was Schleck brothers'
mother. Wow!! We shook hands.

The race went on. When Alexandre Vinokourov finished with an
impressive time, I thought he would take this stage. When our Bobby
Julich renewed the record, I thought he would win. The last 15 (or so)
riders really excited the spectators. They were flying and the suspense
was definitely there. Andreas Klöden was also good and I was a bit
worried that something bad like a flat might take Jens' victory away.
When Sylvain Chavanel came in with an awesome time the French
spectators were overwhelmingly elated. But not for long. Alejandro
Valverde and Thomas Lövkvist came in with a smashing time.

And finally our Jens Voigt came home with a comfortable lead enough
to secure his overall victory. I think that I was the only one who came 
with the German flag.

So ended my race watch day. I had 370km to drive home from
Charleville-Mézières.

During the ITT, we noticed that JJ Haedo abandoned the final ITT.
He crashed the previous day and we guessed he could do away with
the small stage to prepare for the bigger win like Rund um Köln on
Easter Monday. I will be there so I wish you a quick recovery, JJ.

The pictures will be posted sometime later. My priority is to plan for
the Ronde van Vlaanderen and Rund um Köln.

Lastly, I thank "Andy & Frank Schleck fan club" for their generosity
to give me the flag. I will take that red lion anywhere I go to see the
Schleck brothers.

Criterium International Part IV

Monthermé was not far from the start and my Garmin StreetPilot C510
knew where to go. The race was to pass the town to go to nearby hills to 
come back to the climbing goal. When they came, I saw Jens Voigt 
in the break. I thought, "Wow! He is looking good. He can win this."

Other race fans on a bike, a lot of them, seemed to move to a mountain
point to see the race. They were locals and they knew what to do next.
I thought of following them but abandoned the chase. I had not
slept a second since Saturday morning.

I slowly but cheerfully climbed the last climb of 4km to the goal where
Team buses were already waiting for the riders. It was warm and
rather sunny by then. I stood about 220m before the goal.

And it happened. I knew Jens were still ahead of the peloton because the 
French voice from the loud speakers announced his name at time.
From what I understood, with my poor French, the voice was telling
things like "the best placed French rider is whoever-so and he is 
with whoever-so from Lampre in a group of ..." I could not see
who was leading. I had noticed this earlier that the French must 
stress French names no matter what the race situation was.
I remember listening to French radio chasing the race in my car, Tour
de France 2006, and I could not understand what was happening
as I only kept hearing French riders' names.

Anyway, Jens Voigt came all alone with a rather big lead. Andreas
Kloden passed me next only to be passed by Valverde before the
goal. They were with in 1m from me. I tactically stood on the side
of the road where I knew riders would pass. I shouted, "Jens!!" but
I don't know if he heard it.

Jens Voigt, or shold I say, "Yents Voit", looked great in yellow and 
green. With the lead he had, he could win the race unless he had a
flat during the short ITT.

I had my car parked in the town. I went back to it and consulted with
my GPS. I wanted drive to Charleville-Mézières. First my GPS told
me to pass the goal, where I had been earlier, to get to Charleville-Mézières
but the workers were still busy dismounting the podium and the
barricade when I got there. Police officers told me gently that 
I could not get through that road and suggested kindly that I should
take the route along the river. 

So I drove back down the hill. I drove along the river, La Meuse, but 
my GPS insisted repeatedly that I turn round until finally, when I got 
closer to Charleville-Mézières, it agreed with me and showed me the
way.

I found the place. Some Team buses were already there. It was
that typical European mid-size city center, a square with a fountain, 
cafés and those pigeons if not doves. I guess I saw almost exactly the
same square in Mons in Belgium, 2006 Giro d'Italia stage 2 start.

I found them by the fountain two Danish nationals eating lunch, one 
more to join a moment later-picking up the lunch at nearby café, whom
I last saw in Paris 2006. They are also Team CSC fans, of course.

Criterium International Part III

Jens Voigt did it again, for the third time in his career to win the maillot
jaune. The French call him "Yents Voit" (as Jon Voight, the well-known
actor, "The Champ" 1979 among others), whereas the German call him 
"Yents Folk-t" (completely ignoring "L" phonetically). I can not 
describe it accurately but please guess.

Come to think of it, Voight could be an alternative spelling of Voigt. Does
Mr. Voight somehow have German trait in his family?

Saturday, 30th March, it rained most of that part of Europe so the air
was really damp and the road surface was still wet. As soon as I hit the
hilly highway (Autobahn in German), I was annoyed by the thick
fog. It was sometimes so thick that I can not see beyond 20m or 30m
and the highway signs. I had GPS navigation system in my car and it
helped. I think I could have never made it to Les Vieilles Forges in 
time or I could have turned round without it.

My car can show the outside temperature and I noticed that the
temperature varied from 3.5 to 8.0 rather rapidly within a few
kilometers. When the temperature dropped below 6.5, I ran into
the fog. The foggy area was on and off all the way to Les Vieilles
Forges except for the short strech in Belgium.

I stopped at the "Aire de Berchem" in Luxembourg. It is a parking
facility with a gas station, restaurants, restrooms and a shop. My
plan was to look for that flag. According to Wikipedia, "the red lion is
the official ensign for ships registered in Luxembourg." I could not
get one and I drove on.

It was my first time ever to go to Criterium Inernational. I could not
see the opening stage on Saturday as I had work. I left early Sunday
(around 01:00 past midnight) only to get to Les Vieilles Forges around
06:30 in the morning. I had thought that the race start was somewhere
in the village but it turned out the start was at the lakeside swimming, 
camping, kayaking and resort facilities. "Equipe Parking"
sign was there. There were already 10 cars or so waiting in the parking
lot on the side of the road where the Equipe parking was. I saw French
and Luxembourg license numbers but not German ones.

Who in the right frame of mind would drive to this little French
resort village all the way from Germany? It was still dark.

I knew they were coming soon or later. And it did. Around 06:45, 
EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI bus and team cars came. I was trying to 
get some sleep in my car but decided that I had no time to doze off.
It was still dark!

By 07:30, all the team gathered and the mechanics were busy
unloading the bikes and the soigneurs were putting the bidons
on the bikes. It is unusual for a race to take place this early in the
morning. They had two stages that Sunday.

Anyway, I got JJ Haedo, Jens Voigt, Anders Lund and Chris Anker
Sorensen autograph my Team CSC retro sweater and I could not be
happier. I saw the start and left for Monthermé, the goal of the second
stage.

Critérium International Part II

My GPS already knows where to drive to (Start and Goal). There are
two stages held on 1st April. I have to be there early in the morning.
Luckily I don't have to drive too far, only 370km to get there. And
my GPS tells me to drive via Luxembourg and Belgium. Before I
enter France, there is no motorway (highway). That means 
I won't be paying the toll.

What is missing is Team CSC 2007 team jersey and etc.

Critérium International

I noticed earlier this blog site's automatic line feed is terrible. Some text goes out of the 
visible area. I have to explicitly feed the line manually.

I am planning to go to see Critérium International on April 1st. That day
they have two stages; a relatively short race in the morning and a TT in
the afternoon. That mean I had to be there at least 7:00 in the morning,
1 hour and a half before the race start.

Team CSC's participating riders are already announced. Excellent 
members. The Schleck brothers and Bobby and Jens. These are most 
likely room mates at their hotel. I have already met Lars Bak and
had him autograph me. I am reallylooking forward to seeing JJ Haedo
and Chris Anker Sørensen for the first time.
And I will have Anders Lund's autograph, which I missed at Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne.

One concern is 2007 Team jersey is not available yet. Unless the Team
CSC web shop start selling the stuff Monday 19th March miraculouly
and immediately and then the Danish Post and Deutsche Post hand in 
hand deliver the pack miraculously and immediately, I won't have the 
jersey by April 1st. 

I had 27 out of 30 Team CSC riders autograph my Team CSC 2006 jersey
(short sleev and long sleeve) in 2006. I missed Christian Vande Velde 
(although I encounted him at Tour de Suisse and Tour de France), Peter Luttenberger and Brian Vandborg(I could not see them in 2006).

This year I have already had these people;
Lars Bak
Kasper Klostergaard
Martin Pedersen
Luke Roberts
Andy Schleck
Alexandr Kolobnev
Christian Vande Velde
David Zabriske
Frank Schleck
Bobby Julich
and
Bjarne Riis

Paris-Nice Addendum

Addendum:
While hanging out around the team bus hunting for the chance to get the
autograph, I happened to see ASO president Patrice Clerc come to chat
with Bjarne Riis. They had a brief chat with a big smile on Clerc's face.
Monsieur Clerc parted with our Boss with a pad on his shoulder. This 
smile and the pad seemed to me a sign that said, "Your team's spot on ASO
organized races are secure (as long as you are with me)."

Paris-Nice Part V

One thing I did not have was the Start list on that day.
I had taken the photo of the Team CSC rider's start time taped on the bus.
So I knew who was starting at particular time. Since the main objective
was to support (root for) them but not to take picture of them, usually I don't get good picture of them. I don't even bother to 
look at the LCD screen on the back of the camera to see what is in 
the finder. Consequently, I often get those horrible pictures of 
unfocused asphalt, trees and the sky. 

That day I did manage to get Andy Schleck, Frank Schleck and Bobby Julich in action.

Anyway, after the race I managed to get Franck Schleck, David Zabriske and Bobby Julich autograph my Team CSC retro sweater. I also get the bidon that Bobby used while cooling down his muscle on the trainer after the race.

So that was it. a typical race day ended. I had 550km to drive back home.

Paris-Nice part IV

Alejandro's Tool case. A real pro's work place.

It is the autograph time! Riders came and got their TT bike to make the practice rounds. TT stage is not the most optimal occasion for a fan to beg for an autograph. 
Before the TT, some riders, who want to take the staeg, prepare themselves for the stage; and the preparation often requires concentration, thus the riders avoids any distraction. 

I respect that and try not to disturb those riders. Then it is hard to get their autograph. It is also
difficult to get their attention when riders shut themselves behind the tape and ride the trainer.

But this Paris-Nice prologue is differnet. Because the TT course is so short and consequently the riders spend most of the time riding the actual course. They come out of the taped area. Plus, the weather was fine that day. Who is not in a better mood?

I got Christian Vande Velde, Alexandr Kolobnev, Andy Schleck and Bijarne Riis to autograph my CSC retro sweater. In the process Christian commented, "You are ruining a fine sweater." Well, it is not 100% accurate words but he said something like that and I said, "Not. It is for that purpose."

I had already had Kasper Klostergaar and Luke Roberts at Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne the previous week. 
I had three more to get, namely Bobby Julich, Dave Zabriske and Frank Schleck. 

I new the course from last year's visit and I also made the morning rounds. The sharp turn in the middle of the ascent was the place I chose to stay to watch the race. 

I have "stuff" in my car. Some national flags, 
Ukrane (Volodymir Gustov), 
Holland (Karsten Kroon), 
Sweden (Marcus Ljungqvist), 
Norway (Kurt-Asle Arvesen), 
Germany (Jens Voigt), 
Australia(Luke Roberts, Stuart O'Grady, Matthew Goss),
U.S.A (Christian Vande Velde, David Zabriske, Bobby Julich),
Spain (Carlos Sastre, Iñigo Cuesta),
Switzerland (Fabian Cancellara),
Danmark (Lars Bak, Michael Blaudzun, Matti Breschel, Allan Johansen, Kasper Klostergaard, Anders Lund, Lars Michaelsen, Martin Pedersen, Chris Anker Sørensen, Nicki Sørensen). 

I am missing the Russian flag for Alexandr Kolobnev, Argentine flag for Juan José Haedo and Luxembourg flag for Andy and Frank Schleck.

Paris-Nice Part III

Bobby cooling down after the race. This very bidon on his bike was to be mine a few minutes later. Thank you Bobby!

This was the second time I did Paris-Nice. Last year, 2006, I came
here. This year was no different than last year; only just one week before
the set date I thought I would not be there. The ongoing and unsettled
battle between UCI and three big race organizers (ASO, Unipublic, RCS)
and its dismal media report made me think that the race would not take
place. So instead of just staying home doing nothing, I decided to go watch 
Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne. It turned out the dispute was shelved, 
only shelved for momentarily, at the last moment and Paris-Nice
was to take place as it was planned by ASO but not by UCI 
(because Unibet was out).

I had 550km to drive to Paris, a real midnight oil burning so to speak. Driving is easier
and life is much sweeter with a GPS navigation system on board. So I got to Paris
around 6:30 am Sunday morning.

I saw people (policemen, race organizer's worker's) working in the dark. I
found a parking space near the Goal and Start. It was Sunday and the
parking along the curb was free. I dozed off for a while. I woke up around
9:00 and decided to look around. It was a sunny and warm day.

As usual, I took out my bike and assembled it. It was only moment later
when I stoppedat the  intersection when a car honked at me. 
It was Team CSC Skoda Octavia driven by DS Allan Gallopin. I recognized 
Frank Schleck in the front seat (and Bobby Julich was in the back but I 
did not notice that at that time).

I was wearing Team CSC retro sweater and on my Cervelo.  Of course by now they
(team staff and team riders) saw me and recognized me. (I have been haunting
them quite a while by now.)

I did not expect any actions going on this early. I remembered that last year I was wandering about the area for the Start when 
I saw Bobby Julich and Jens Voigt riding the TT bike checking the course 
early in the morning. So it happened again.

This year I wanted to ride the TT course just to get the feel. I figured that
the best way to do this is do the rounds early in the morning. By
then, the course is indicated with those arrows. If I did this too late,
the police would keep the cars, bikes and pedestrians off the course. 

Team jerseys for 2007 are not available. I don't have them. Customarily I 
show up at a race event wearing the team wear and have them autographed 
by the riders. Not so many fans do this; it may make you look like a geek. 
Well, the first time I did this, I was self-conscious and felt a little bit 
awkward. Now I feel comfortable in them. Let's admit it. I am a freak.

Anyway, I was wearing Team CSC retro sweater, jeans, Podium cap, 
Oakley shades and normal shoes (not cycling shoes). You can easily use
Speedplay pedals with normal casual shoes anyway.

I went to the Start and as I passed Bobby Julich and Frank Schleck. I 
greeted them with "Good morning" and Bobby replied "Morning" and Frank 
"Hey man!" They were going to ride the course early in the morning on
their Cervelo Soloist. It was the second time I heard him say the similar. 
At Drei Länder Tour in Mannheim, Frank said, "What's up, man?" to me.

I remember seeing Bobby Julich and Jens Voigt making the morning
rounds alsoearly in the morning last year (2006).
The early bird catches the worm.

I found the Team CSC bus with the material truck. TT machines were
already out and Tacx Satori were also out. As expected Alejandro was there. 

I rode the prologue course. As the profile of the course indicates, the first
half is an ascent and the latter half is a descent. I was at the end of the
descent when Frank and Bobby passed me from behind on their TT bike.

Hanging out around the Team bus is the key to getting autographs and
taking pictures. Most riders (Team CSC or otherwise) came between 
10:30 and 11:00 am. As I saw last year, they rode the course round and round. 

Paris-Nice Part II

Alexandr Kolobnev, who was to win a stage the next day. A lot of fan came up to him with autograph cards with his picture in Rabobank jersey.

A typical preparation for a one-day race watch.

1. Download the race info from its official web site (Parcours, Time table and etc)
2. Inspect the time table and decide where and what to watch
3. Work on the GPS map on the PC to mark the important places as waypoints and transfer them to the GPS navigation system
4. Stock up (food and drinks that I consume behind the wheel)
5. Set up my bike as "race watch" spec. (Zipp wheels etc.)
6. Fill the car up and load the car with the above

A typical equipment set for a race watch.

• Felt-tipped pens (to autograph with)
• Team jersey (to have them autographed)
  
• The Bike (for increased mobility)
• A Digital Camera
• Other cheering goods (National flags etc.)

For Paris-Nice (I can only watch the prologue in Paris), I have completed Step 5 by Friday and Saturday 10th March I will complete Step 6. This is a standard procedure for one-day race watch.

For stage races like Tour de France or Tour of Germany, where I stay overnight for more than two nights, the procedure is more complicated. It involves finding the place to sleep.

In 2006 I followed Tour de France prologue to stage 2 and stage 13 to 20. The first stages took place in Strasbourg (and its neighboring area) and I could travel to Strasbourg by train. Every day I went there and came home by train. DB (Deutsche Bahn) discount tickets are available. The tickets that I used were valid within Germany, 
namely up to the border station "Kehl". I could pay a little bit to ride to Strasbourg. 
Strasbourg is the second stop from there. So, I rode my bike to get to Strasbourg from Kehl.

There is a bridge (Franch name Pont de L'Europe and German name Europabrücke) over the Rhein a couple hundred meters from the train station. 
There is the border line between the two countries in the middle of the bridge. 

Within Germany you are required to pay for the bicycle tickets. Yes, carrying your bicycle with you on a train costs you unless you dismount the bicycle and pack it in a bag. Within France you don't have to pay for the bicycle if you have a valid ticket for the train.

• 
  

Paris-Nice Part I

Sunday 11th March 2007

It turned out that Paris-Nice would take place as it was planned (or as it was not planned by UCI). Anyway, I will be there.

Last year I went to Paris for the first time in my life (excluding the time when I used Charles de Gaulle Airport). At that time I did not have a GPS navigation system and used a rental car. That day it was brutally cold and even it snowed a bit in the afternoon. It was fun seeing my favorite Team CSC. I did not do any sightseeing in Paris.

This year I plan to ride the prologue course early in the morning before the police stop the traffic and start clearing the bikers and pedestrians off the street. Last year I spent much time looking for the Start and did not have enough time to ride the course. I actually saw Bobby Julich and Jens Voigt cheking the course in the morning, though. This year, I don't have to worry about the geography and I can concentrate on what I should be doing, namely, riding the same course as my Team riders and watching the race.