Tour de Castelnau Magnoac

Last month, the tour de Castelnau Magnoac or rather le Tour de France 2016 what a coo, after ten years (allegedly) is passing through our village! There are maps in the mairie showing the various legs of the tour and when it will be due here! Apparently smaller villages bid against each other for the publicite and the action to arrive in their town, even though some of the beginning and end points are roughly the same each year the route can vary inbetween. We were excited having never seen it before other than on the tele, and despite the slightly negative comments from a few, re stand for a several hours and in three seconds it's all over, were really looking forward to it.

They started with the flags tents and razzmatazz obviously a couple of days earlier....but at nine am the town was buzzing and it felt like a big party despite the fact they were not due until about twelve-thirty.

flags in place, now set up a few stalls

We were strategically placed on the roundabout where they would fly by on route to the next village, Puntous and then Trie. What we did not realise was that the so called caravan that arrives two hours before the tour is a promotional cavalcade, desperate not to miss it and on a majorly hot scorching day, we were perched on our roundabout camera poised in midday sun and hour before the caravan arrived. When the whole caravan thundered by it was more like twenty- five minutes of fun-filled carnival. The street was rocking every vehicle that came by was chucking promotional items for kids and adults alike. From biros, caps, shirts things to eat, key rings and fobs umbrellas and shades. The caravan thundered through to a musical beat. Modelled from the innovative to the slightly grotesque. A car shaped like a giant madeleine springs to mind , giant rolling tyres, endless cars with something to advertise, but all good fun.

 In between the sports minister for France jumps out of the car for a friendly chin-wag with our mairie and one of our local cyclists who does big distances at the weekend jumps in a posh car with a glass of champers and is whisked away ...what is that about?

 

then there is Lenny the lion not sure what he was advertising, but with our church roof in the background  an interesting backdrop 

now we know what they are advertising and the prelude for the run through

these two dudes turned up in the middle of the caravan, grabbed champagne as you do...ex tour?

Nearly two hours after the caravan, we were told they are not far away, the excitement is immense. Having gathered all our widgets, eaten the freebies a cavalcade of motorcyclists, gendarmerie first and then these guys second, you could hear the noise all the way up the hill from Boulogne sur le Gesse!

here they come!!! 

wow raced through...but that was just the top twelve-ish,  Chris Frome is in the pack....

.....much more too come as the second band raced through

much later chilled on our own terrace with salad and rose

A really thrilling spectacle, i would do it again. Note to ones self do not stand in thirty-five degrees with no hat no water, no food, no purse, no sunscreen for five hours...frightened to miss those oh so vital three seconds even though a very tiny walk to the house.