2015 Tour de France Notebook Stage 6

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Here is my Stage 6 notebook entry:

Shorthand translation:

Great beauty, triumph, and heartache in this stage.  Beauty in the amazing Normandy scenery.  Triumph in Daniel Tekleheimanot being the first African rider to earn the Polka-Dot Jersey.  And heartache in Tony Martin crashing in the last few kilometers of the stage.  Mom and I are hoping he recovers tonight and is back in yellow tomorrow.  Quite a stage.

2015 Tour de France Notebook Stage 5

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Here is my Stage 5 notebook entry:

Shorthand translation:

Rooting for Cavendish to win the sprint, but a thrilling finish all the same with a well-earned victory by Greipel.  Rain through much of this stage, and wind -- which caused a large break in the peloton once again.  But for me I will remember most the beautiful wide open spaces of the countryside, the World War I memorials, and (as pictured above) the beautifully well-organized teams at the front of the peloton, keeping their GC contenders safe throughout the stage.

2015 Tour de France Notebook -- Stage 4

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Here is my Stage 4 notebook entry:

Shorthand translation:

Pave or cobblestones -- whatever you want to call them, they defined this stage.  All the favorites did well -- especially Nibali & Froome, who not only stayed in the front when the peloton split, but drove the race through some of the most difficult pave sections.  But then the real shining star at the end was Tony Martin, who after switching a bike with a teammate within the last 10K, then pulled ahead of the pack to win the stage.  Amazing!  After three stages of disappointment, it was wonderful to finally see him take yellow.

2015 Tour de France Notebook -- Stage 3

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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

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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

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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.