Monday, April 21, 2025

Le Tour de France 2007 – Day 5: Rest Day

-

HomeDiariesLe Tour de France 2007 - Day 5: Rest Day

Rest day, it’s a bit of a misnomer if you are journo on the Tour.

My first task was to get the washing done, I try to travel light and do a washing every couple of days, it’s a “fine drying day, today” as my mum used to say, so by the time I get back tonight, my wardrobe should be replenished.

I left Martin to get a little extra beauty sleep after all that driving and wandered-off to find a caff. It didn’t take long and I soon had my cafe au lait and armagnac in front of me.

Rest Day
Lourdes is pretty tacky and most shops are selling plastic tat, aka. religious iconography. Photo©Martin Williamson

I caught-up on the emails and texts then had a think about today – the piece will be, what a journalist, mechanic and rider do on the rest day.

The answer for us is easy – work! First stop was Pau to catch our old pal and spanner-man supreme, Allan Buttler of Discovery.

Rest Day
We catch up with our old pal Allan Buttler. Photo©Martin Williamson

En-route we caught-up with Dario Cioni (Predictor/Lotto) to get some pics of him on his rest day run.

Rest Day
Dario and Martin share a coke and have a blether. Photo©Ed Hood

Cadel was there with him, and ‘Fast Freddy’ Rodriguez.

Next-up was to find Al, the hotel where Disco were was guarded like Fort Knox, but it didn’t stop the hopeful ‘groupies’ at the gates. Apart from asking Al about his rest day, we wanted shots of Alberto Contador’s steed.

Alberto was out on the road so we agreed to come back around 2.30. It was no problem to ‘loose’ an hour – omelette and frittes filled the time nicely.

Back at La Navarre there was a press conference due, but we shunned the glitz in favour of the back of Alan’s truck.

Rest Day
Ed hears Allan’s latest filthy joke. Photo©Martin Williamson

You can read about our chat, and the one we had with Dario Cioni, up on Pez. The mood in the Predictor/Lotto camp felt good and we even got a ‘hi!’ from climber, Mario Aerts as he wandered past carrying his baby, and there was Mrs. Aerts, down for a rest day visit.

Back at Lourdes we got busy on the copy and pictures, revelling in the lobby wi-fi and a beer as we worked-away.

Rest Day
A typical French countryside cafe toilet! Photo©Martin Williamson

The red light on the BlackBerry flashed – an email, from our friend Al Hamilton. I get about 20 a day from him, from his home in Spain and we banter back and forward a lot. I wondered what insult he would be firing at me this time.

It was no insult, but it pierced me to the core; “have you heard that Vino has failed a test, after the TT on Saturday?”

My heart sank, albeit I wasn’t surprised; Vino’s roller coaster form had left me baffled and there was a feeling in my waters about it.

There’s another rider who’s making me feel the same, but I’m not familiar with French (or Danish) defamation laws.

Rest Day
DIscovery always use this hotel when they’re in the area, and no wonder – it’s secure and very nice. Photo©Martin Williamson

The emails and texts came flying-in; we debated whether Martin and I should go back to Pau, where Astana were based. But what was the point?

Vino was out – with someone else’s blood in his veins, Astana were out and I finally had to face that my 100 bucks on Kloden was a goner.

A trip to Pau would yield pictures of reporters clustered around Astana’s manager Marc Bivers – who looks just like a London East End gang leader – plus the inevitable shots of team vehicles driving away.

I got that T-shirt last year, with Basso, Ulrich and oh yes – Astana!

Not much else to say; tomorrow we’re driving the full stage again and we’ll be stopping to get public opinion on – doping, what else?

Oh! I nearly forgot, my T-shirts smell great.

Ed Hood and Martin Williamson
Ed Hood and Martin Williamson
Ed and Martin, our top team! They try to do the local Time Trials, the Grand Tours and the Classics together to get the great stories written, the quality photos taken, the driving done and the wifi wrestled with.

Related Articles

Giro d’Italia 2013 – Stage 16: Valloire – Ivrea 238km. We’re Here to See Intxausti Win

Wednesday morning, 09:55 the 'Milano by-pass' average speed around 10 mph. You only think you've seen traffic jams 'til you come to Northern Italy. And it's not helped by the fact that everyone thinks that it's their private fiefdom; the standard of driving is dire. We arrived late on the Monday rest day and after much messing around at the airport deciphered that our hire car was through an agency, so we had to tour the car hire offices 'til we got the right one.

Roadside at the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and KBK 2018

Roadside at the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and KBK 2018. The first classic weekend of the year has been and gone and safely back in a rather snowy Scotland I've got time to reflect on the Classic season opener. The glorious Belgian sunshine all weekend could not lift the thermometer and the riders endured bitterly cold conditions for both Het Nieuwsblad or Kuurne Brussels Kuurne. 

Grenoble Six Day 2009 – Day Two; ‘Descende!’

It's 3:00 pm on Saturday and time for my 'pression' - draught beer - at Bar Clemenceau, I coincide this with a trip to the shops, so as not to arouse too much suspicion. The weather is glorious, despite the carpet of leaves on many of the side walks, it's like a Scottish summer day. Shorts are fine - essential in the heat of the velodrome - in the sunshine and the frantic Grenoble traffic is on valium for the day.

Scrapbook: the Gent Six Day and Hasselt ‘Cross, 2015

Ed and pals spent a few days at the Gent Six Day, catching up with the racing and old friends, and taking in the world cup cycle-cross race at Hasselt as well - but before we consider the racing at the track we have to think about the entertainment; whilst Belgium is a modern country and advance technologically we still marvel at the track-side entertainment; it’s like stepping back to a miners’ welfare in the 70’s – but the crowd loves it - and so do we...

At Random

Happy New Year 2019!

Nearly 2019, how did that happen? It seems just like last week were sitting in the Vivaldi bar in Gent having watched Dane Michael Valgreen win Het Nieuwsblad - or Gent-Gent as us auld yins would have it - but another year has indeed almost gone.

Two Outa Three – Fabian Cancellara and Tyler Farrar

Fabian Cancellara - I got that one right; and I said that Tyler Farrar would be right up there, as Meat Loaf would say; "two outta three ain't bad!"

Junior Tour of the Kingdom 2019 goes to Finn Fisher-Black

Overhauling a 34 second deficit from Saturday’s savage Lomond Hills Stage One finale, New Zealand rider Finn Fisher-Black in the colours of Netherlands outfit WWV Junioren took Stage Two and the overall win at the Junior Tour of the Kingdom in Kennoway on Sunday.

Rotterdam Six Day 2012 – Day Three

The 'Devil' had just started in Day three of the Rotterdam Six Day 2012 when I wandered down the stairs in search of bottles of water (still - no gas), and by the time I got back what should have been ‘just another race’ had become another of those episodes which remind you that as well as being glamorous, the sport is also a very dangerous one.