I went to Ripon with my cousin, as planned. We found a cafe and had late breakfasts in there, then we went out to watch the sprint, which didn't really happen - the riders just rolled through. By then there were already big splits in the peloton. It was interesting to see the body language of the riders, ranging from "
Perhaps I can do this" for those at the front, "
This is hard work" for those chasing, "
Must try and catch up, but I am feeling knackered" for the stragglers, and something that looked "
Oh, FFS - aaaaaaaaaaargh" for the Lanterne Rouge!
We then drove over to Nidderdale to watch the men's race tackle the Lofthouse climb and
something very odd happened!
We cycled over to Lofthouse and did enough of the steep climb to get a feel for it and find a spot with great views of the road and surrounding scenery. I am getting over a heavy cold so I didn't want to thrash myself doing all 1.2 km of the climb. The first few hundred metres was enough for me today! It was great watching amateur riders doing the climb. Some of them were seriously fit and climbed as swiftly as the pros did later. There were quite a few children riding the climb, which was nice to see.
The pros made it look very easy. I saw one rider riding one-handed in the bunch while he casually swigged from his bidon. That was on a section which I think was at about 18%!
It was a nice day out for us.
Tomorrow, I'll see if my cousin or I have a few decent photos to share.