We managed to get to the start, the first pave section at Inchy and into the velodrome for the finish. A few observations may be of interest.
Firstly, it rained heavily all the way there on Saturday and we expected it to be very muddy. It went clear overnight and was even misty first thing. There was really only mud and water at the edges and not too bad. It was warm and breezy by the end.
I had a good look at the bikes being readied beforehand in Compeigne. Most were using 25mm tyres at least -some 28s and some maybe bigger. Most tyres I saw were Continental, but one team were using Schwalbe Ones. I took a particular interest in the braking. Sep Vanmarke had a single "cross" lever on his bars on the back brake. The Lotto Jumbo team all rode Infinito CVs but had Oltres on the cars as spares. Sep had three CVs! There is a disc-brake version of the CV Infinito, but none were here. The CV vibration damping technology might well be seen as a success with Sep coming 4th and all the team finishing the race. Only two teams were using disc brakes - Lampre Merida and Direct Energie.
The atmosphere in the velodrome was superb, with most of the local support behind Tom Boonen. The French, as usual, were supporting Francais de Jeux, and as usual, they were nowhere.There was a good turnout from the Cancellara fan club. Despite two falls he was in good form and hung around for pictures and farewells. Seems a nice guy.
Cavendish was inconspicuous. In fact, I didn't recognise him. He seems very slim at present, which makes me think he has given up on track hopes for Rio and is preparing for the grand tours. Normally he is chatty and buzzing before the start, but he just went off as if cycling to work.
Sagan seemed very disappointed. He sort of cruised around on the grass. I thought perhaps he was showing off the WC jersey, but he just seemed in a world of his own.
Bit of a ramble, and not thought out, but it might be of interest...
Watched almost all of it but kept loosing my internet feed, so the most reliable I got was the Aussie commentary - which was very good, then back to the English one for the finish.
