Friday, March 29, 2024

Le Tour de France 2006 – Day 12: Postscript

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HomeDiariesLe Tour de France 2006 - Day 12: Postscript

Bonjour! Sorry I haven’t drawn a line under my sojourn at Le Tour de France 2006 sooner, but the last few days have been a tad hectic getting back into the groove.

Gert Steegmans – he’s Robbie McEwen’s lead-out man. He’ll win a classic one day.

The 500 miles from Dover to Kirkcaldy were dire — but I knew that before I started the drive.

I was supposed to go home via London to do a piece for cycling.tv in the studio, but I couldn’t face the hassle, so my chance of fame will have to wait. It’s hard to live parallel lives.

On Le Tour the traveling is difficult, no doubt, but you have complete focus on the little bubble you are in.

All that really matters is pressing the ‘send’ button on the laptop once that copy is typed.

In the real world there are so many things to worry about — bills, family woes, work, getting the honde (that’s Flemish for dug) out of the kennel — but you know you definitely won’t bump-into Christophe Moreau at any stage in the day.

Carlos da Cruz - never puts his crash hat on till the last minute so it won't spoil his hair. You have to admire his commitment to posing.
Carlos da Cruz at Le Tour de France 2006 – never puts his crash hat on till the last minute so it won’t spoil his hair. You have to admire his commitment to posing.

Still, it’s how I have chosen to live my life and I’ve forgotten what boredom is.

I think there are plenty of sources of information on Le Tour so you don’t need me to tell you about what you can see as well as I can on Eurosport.

I’m back on duty in Bonnie Scotland this weekend at the East Road Championships on Sunday.

Over the week and a half I was at Le Tour, I was in England, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Holland and Belgium.

I can honestly say there is no place as green as our little corner of the globe, and East Lothian is especially beautiful.

Evan Oliphant and Ben Greenwood are riding at Saltoun so it won’t be an easy one, see you there and thanks for all the hits on the site.

Ed Hood
Ed Hood
Ed's been involved in cycling for over 50 years. In that time he's been a successful time triallist, a team manager and a sponsor of several teams and clubs. He's also a respected and successful coach and during the winter months was often working in the cabins at the Six Days for some of the world's top riders. Ed remains a massive fan of the sport and couples his extensive contacts with an inexhaustible enthusiasm for the minutiae and the history of our sport. In February 2023 however, our dear friend and beloved colleague Ed suffered a devastating stroke and faces an uncertain future; Ed has lost his ability to speak, to read, and has lost movement on the right side of his body. He's working with speech and physical therapists on rehabilitation, but all strokes are different and each patient responds differently, so unfortunately recovery is one day at a time. Ed ran his own business installing windows, and will probably not be able to work again. Please consider joining us to make a contribution to Ed's GoFundMe page to help stabilise and secure his future.

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