What a day!
Only someone spending the preceding two weeks in a damp, damp England could have understood how amazing the Tour de France Prologue through the streets of central London was.
I was lucky enough to tag along for some of the Bikestyle London self-guided tour.
Tour de France Opening Ceremony- Trafalgar Square
Friday. Anyone wondering whether the Tour de France in London would be a success should have had a look over a packed Trafalgar Square. The ceremony was the usual mixture of small children performing, officials speaking but more interesting was the presentation of each of the teams and interviews with the riders. Robbie McEwan was funny, when asked whether he was going for the green jersey said he already had three and that might be enough to get him through the week! Interesting since he went on won two days later.
The Tour de France Prologue in London
The crowds were huge and we found a place near Buckingham Palace in Green park (conveniently under a shady tree and in view of a huge TV screen). The crowds were 4 or 5 deep but there was enough movement that you could easily get into position to see the riders. They came at one minute intervals from 3pm until about 6:30. Photography was difficult because they went past so quickly (the sound of the disk wheels made it sound like they had motors) but there were a number of spots where you could look down the course and get more time for the camera to find focus! The English were great spectators; the cheers for every British rider was amazing; the sound of the roar preceded ever British rider especially Wiggans as they rode towards me. But, in the end, it was Cancellara’s day and on the tube back to the hotel I heard a couple of English kids discussing how good he was.
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