That's not to say it wasn't a bit of a chore getting to this point... A lot of people seemed to have camped out quite early in order to get a decent spot along the Champs-Elysees, and for some reason the officials thought it was necessary to make people take the scenic route to the VIP areas. Don't they know who we are?! I had been hoping that we'd be given backstage pass-esque tickets on lanyards - to me they just seem more official. We were actually given a wristband, which is more a festival or freshers' week thing. There is usually a challenge with these: keep it on as long as is humanly possible. Mine lasted until Tuesday evening, as it actually came undone. That never happens!
We had been given a timetable with our invitations, but you always get the feeling that it wouldn't be kept to. Especially considering our host seemed to have problems getting into the tent! Corin (from Sky) was great; really welcoming and got us settled into an environment which was definitely alien to us. The tent was really nice, but not at all how I'd imagined it - in a good way, obviously! To be honest, I didn't know what to expect so trying to second guess it was probably a little pointless. There were about six tables inside the tent itself, with nine seats each. The best bit about these tables was the decoration in the middle; green bath salt style stuff made into hill shapes, with models of cyclists placed among them! Brilliant!
To top that off we even had a VIP goodie bag - not the usual kind of thing inside it, but something that will come in useful and should actually last.
Along with the dining tables we also had several small wooden picnic tables with parasols on the decking just outside of the tent. Considering the amount of people that were invited it seemed a bit odd that there wasn't a huge amount of space for actually watching the Tour de France circuits!
But before all that it was time for some food. We'd been given the choice of some aperatifs which were handed round by the waiters while we got used to our surroundings. The starters were to share, but they really didn't look all that appetising to me... I did make sure I tried bits of everything - I think I probably ate more of the tomato slices than anything else! When it came to the main course I didn't do much better either. The menu said: veal surprise served with white asparagus and a sherry vinegar jus. I'd never tried veal before, but that went down alright - it was more the 'surprise' element that I didn't go for. It appeared to be heart. I didn't really know what it was at the time; I tried it and didn't like the texture of it - I wasn't being fussy or squeamish, I genuinely disliked it. The white asparagus part was fairly nice to start with, but there was just too much of it - plus the huge lump of garlic was a bit offputting... As Phoebe said in Friends, "There are other ingredients Monica!" So the main was a bit rich, although the meat was perfectly cooked. I didn't go hungry due to the richness, so that was a bonus!
At least once we got to the dessert stage I was safe. Unfortunately I was still a bit full from the rest of the food so I couldn't have much (compared to some of the other people sat with us), but what I did have was delightful! A slice of strawberry tart and a slice of galette with a raspberry topping. I'm salivating at the thought!
In between the courses the publicity caravan was in full swing. In case you're unfamiliar with the idea, basically a load of cars and floats driving up and down the Champs-Elysees. They have written on them the names of the main sponsors and inside them are bouncy, crazy people having a bit of a dance and trying to gee up the crowd. A lot of them coming past us also wished us "bon appetit" as they drove past!
Annoyingly the riders seemed to be delayed by about an hour. That's all we could work out, as the only announcements were in French, but far too fast and on a dodgy PA system so there was no chance of me being able to make any decent translation! As it turns out most of it was down to a certain Lance Armstrong and his team... I have the utmost respect for him and everything he's done, but I could have missed the end of the stage. That would've been the most pointless thing ever! Thankfully I didn't miss the end, as they got into Paris just in time. Lucky!
As we'd walked along the Seine quite a bit the day before I could vaguely recognise some of the roads, as well as how close they were to us. It was truly amazing when the riders crossed the finish line the first time to start their circuits in Paris! The atmosphere really came to life after drifting a bit.
By this time I'd been standing by the railings for almost an hour, as I wanted to make sure I could actually see what was going on - being a short person I've learnt this is essential! As my dad is taller he didn't bother, instead he stayed at the table for longer to have more dessert, some coffee and a chat with Jill Douglas. You know, Jill Douglas - the blonde Scottish woman who pops up during the Six Nations and occasionally at the velodrome? The only slightly famous person in our section of the VIP tent, oh yes.Thankfully there was a big screen just opposite to where we were, so when the riders were coming back down from the Arc de Triomphe or Place de la Concorde we could see - so cameras were at the ready! I was getting pretty good at it by the end; it didn't help that the cars seemed to be filtered from lap to lap, so you couldn't just remember which was the closest to the bikes. But you knew when the cyclists were practically with you as rounds of applause started up within earshot - that was our cue to start climbing onto the railings to get a good view! I do feel quite bad as I didn't really clap them very much, but I was not going to waste the opportunity to try and take some great photos. I might need them later in life when I start forgetting more and more things that have happened to me! Especially as I managed to get a couple of shots of one of my heroes, a certain Bradley Wiggins. He actually cycled right past me, but it was impossible to tell at the time. Another amazing thing was when they came past us from the Arc de Triomphe - it's downhill so the peloton went even faster and created a lovely breeze on the second half of each lap!
We kept hearing "Mark Cavendish" (quite funny in a French accent), so took that to be a good thing. Yes, it was possible to see the Team HTC-Columbia riders each time, but telling them apart was a different matter.It was when it got towards the end of the race, the seventh and eighth laps, that people really started getting excited. Understandably so. As I had very little idea what was going before then I didn't think it would really affect me, but there were some taller and more eagle-eyed people stood next to me - this was how I realised that Cavendish was indeed in with a shot of winning. The breakaway group was caught by the mass of the peloton, and the man next to me just happened to say, "They're starting up the Cav train now." This was a mistake from him. I suddenly turned into JD from Scrubs - head tilted, daydream into full swing... I imagine you're aware of the song 'Love Train' by the O'Jays? Well in my head it went like this: "People all over the world join hands, start a Cav train, Cav train!" Stuck there for hours too.
Anyway, back to the cycling. On the last lap is where not being able to see every inch of the circuit got very frustrating - the big screen was helpful, but a policeman kept standing in front of it! Also, it was even harder to tell which rider was which. I could only go on colours, and the increasing frequency of "Mark Cavendish" coming across the PA...
All of a sudden the crowd started shouting - the riders had just about reached the Champs-Elysees and the finishing straight. I was really surprised how many people seemed to be supporting Cav, so I felt confident enough to join in and cheer him on (even though I was a guest of Team Sky). It was so exhilarating watching the big screen when Cav appeared to slingshot out of nowhere and into the lead, eventually winning by about four bike lengths! I even managed to grab a photo of him in his usual victory pose!
Cav may not have managed to grab the green jersey this year, but two wins in a row on the Champs-Elysees can't be bad! It was the perfect end to an amazing weekend - I'll be back for it again one year!
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