Just returned from France having taken a trip with Geoffrey to see a couple of stages of ‘La Grande Boucle’. We took in the 3rd stage – Waterloo to Wasquehal 06 Jul 2004 and the 4th – Cambrai to Arras (team time trial) 07 Jul 2004.

Saeco riding the team time trial

On the first day we managed to catch the stage on one of Northern France’s infamous sections of pavé at Gruson. Following a night in the delightful town of Lievin, the highlight of which was watching some sort of chariot racing in a French bar, we took in the team time trial. Drove out to a small village on the route called Haplincourt from where we watched the riders in the pouring rain. A short video clip of the Brioche La Boulangiere team (sadly without Beloki)during the team time trial can be downloaded here. The rest of our pictures can be viewed here.