2015 Tour de France Notebook -- Stage 3

For summary of this project, click here.

Here is my Stage 3 notebook entry:

Shorthand translation:

The stage began seemingly so peaceful in Antwerp.  But the anticipation of the last climb -- the Mur de Huy -- kept everyone nervous.  It reached a breaking point around 53K from the end with a terrible crash.  So many riders went down, including Fabian Cancellara in yellow.  The officials stopped the race -- amazing and unprecedented -- which was the right call.  But I loved seeing Cancellara still making it to the end with his teammates patting him on the back,

2015 Tour de France Notebook -- Stage 2

For an overview of this project, click here.

Here is my Stage 2 notebook entry:

Shorthand translation:

An incredible stage today.  Beginning in Utrecht (which seems like so long ago now at the end of the stage) with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, and then it was onto the rain and crosswinds.  Twice winds broke up the peloton -- the final time into three groups which stayed that way till the end.  Caught in the back group:  Nibali, Quintana, and Degankolb.  Greipel pulled ahead of Cavendish at the end (and Sagan got an amazing second place despite getting a flat tire late in the race).  And Cancellara came in a great third for the four second time bonus.

2015 Tour de France Notebook -- Stage 1

For an overview of this project, click here.

Here is my Stage 1 notebook entry:

Shorthand translation:

An exciting and amazing stage -- all under yellow umbrellas in the 100-degree weather.  The eventual winner, Rohan Dennis of the BMC team, chose to start early and set a world record time that no one could beat.  Some highlights: seeing the Dutch rider Tom Dumoulin race amid the roar of the crowd in Utrecht, cheering on Fabian Cancellara (didn't quite make it into 1st, but nice to see him back in action), and seeing the amazing architecture of this very modern city with beautiful bridges and old buildings mixed in with the new.