Stage 21 Le Tour de France 2016

I've just spent the last three weeks working two jobs. My day job and my night job- sitting on the couch trying to stay awake to watch the Tour de France. I've had variable success. Apparently Mark Cavendish won 4 stages. I didn't see any of his wins. The broadcast here is from 10pm to 2am, it's a marathon for the Australian viewer, one that I've whinged about before.

But it started in Normandy this year, at the spectacular Mont St Michel. I saw that. I had been there in 1998, it's such an astonishing place. Of course there is spectacular scenery along most of the 3,000 km route. My favourite stage is the final stage, Stage 21 Chantilly/Paris Champs Élysées. The Tour de France has finished on the Champs Élysées since 1975. And I was there, on the Rue de Rivoli in 2013 to watch the final laps of the 100th Tour (and see Chris Froome win his first). It was an incredible experience.

Sunday night I got home from work at midnight just in time to watch the stage start. I did the best I could but had to give up as the cyclists arrived at the Arc de Triomphe for the first time. I taped it and watched the last few hours the next afternoon. The broadcast didn't finish until 5 am. It's pretty impossible. 

The final stage is basically a nonstop moment of Paris glory. There are heaps of aerial shots of iconic monuments. 

with some unusual view points at times

The Louvre

A glimpse of the new Les Halles,
I haven't had the chance to visit as yet. 

Opéra Garnier
one of my favourite Parisian buildings
I end up visiting every trip

I just love the gilded bronze statue of Joan of Arc
at this corner, Place des Pyramides

The spectacle of the Patrouille de France
they did a perfectly timed flyover as the cyclists
turned onto the Champs Élysées

And there was some cycling too. 

Celebrating with a beer!
Instead of the traditional champagne

A fabulous stage win for André Greipel,
with Peter Sagan second.
Two of my favourite sprinters.

Paris in July 2016