Road Climber: N2A - day 10: Went to Serre Chevalier to watch end Stage 17 of Tour de France.dFte s

Four of us determined the previous night we would travel to Serre Chevalier today to watch the end of Stage 17 of the Tour de France (TdF) which commences in La Mure.

While I'm usually up by 5;30am, it was good to have a bit of a lie in knowing we would not be cycling today.We had decided to have a walk around Briancon in the morning then catch a bus to Serre Chevalier, which is just down the road, at about midday. We had been advised to arrive at the finish some hours before the riders to watch all the action that takes before their arrival.

A word on the Chalets in which we are staying, they are well appointed, in a great location with fantastic views over Briancon to the mountains. The previous night people connected with the Chalet provided the catering for a great dinner. Tonight an owner/chef from a restaurant in Briancon, where we will be having dinner tomorrow, will be catering tonight's dinner at the Chalet.

Before catching the bus to Serre Chevalier, I walked around Briancon's old town and spent far too much time trying to find an ATM. The first couple of ATMs found didn't have any money and there were some frustrated tourists around who were also trying to obtain money. As you can imagine, there are a lot of tourists in town because it is the height of summer and the presence of the TdF. Finally saw an ATM inside a Bank and successfully withdrew some money.

The bus dropped us off a little way from the finish of Stage 17 of the TdF. We joined a throng of people moving towards where the race would finish, including cyclists who had ridden from Briancon and other points. The atmosphere was great and the excitement in the air was palpable - the French really love their cycling. We found a grassy spot with a little bit of shade from a tree at about 450m mark from the finish. It was another very hot day. Knowing that we would be spending a number of hours in the sun I had purchased a wide brimmed hat that morning and applied a lot of sun cream and also brought along a long sleeved jumper.

While I knew the TdF was big, being at the finish, seeing the daily interest from people and the blanket television coverage really brought home just how big. In the hours leading up to the arrival, there are sponsors floats and cars which seen to go around in a continual circle throwing out give-aways. It is interesting watching people competing for cheap give-aways. I was handed a couple of sponsors caps. There is also a big trade in souvenirs where one can buy cycling clothing and all sorts of cycling and TdF memorabilia.

The big screens at the finish kept everyone up to date on how the race was progressing. The television coverage kept a never ending stream of commentary. The commentator was unbelievable, he kept up a high level of excitement and never seemed to catch his breath..

Primoz Roglic of LottoNL-Jumbo won the stage to Serre Chevalier, which was his first ever TdF stage win. The riders are moving so fast they flash by in an instant.

We had decided we would walk back to Briancon on a track we had been told existed between the two towns. We had initially been told the distance between the two towns was 4kms and then 7kms. We realised when travelling on the bus it was longer than we had been advised. We eventually found the track and it was a good walk of over 10kms through some nice bush settings back to Briancon. We came across a number of walkers, runners and mountain bikers using the undulating and pretty rough in places track, as we walked back to Briancon'.

It had been another good day, especially being able to experience the atmosphere and excitement of the TdF. In hindsight, I probably should have ridden to Serre Chevalier like a lot of others did. Although, I really didn't want to be worried about my bike. It was probably good to have a rest from cycling, although the legs were given a really good workout on the way back. I'm planning to ride up the Col de l'Izoard tomorrow from the Briancon side (side descended yesterday) to watch the finish of Stage 18 on the summit.

The day finished with another great group dinner.