The Tour de France 2012 hit Laroque on the Limoux – Foix stage on Sunday 15th July. It was a long day…. and that was just for the supporters.
The day before, passing through Quillan, we passed whole communities of camper vans holed up in prime spots for watching the race.
Unlike the Ariègeoise a fortnight before, there were plenty of signs to stop the poor old riders going wrong
And here at Laroque, we had our own rules and regulations to keep the event running smoothly.
Team UK (Laroque branch) prepare a poster to support the British competitors.
And here’s Brian, chalking all the Brit names across the route. He got a huge cheer from French spectators the whole way down the street. There are more of them than seems likely from this shot.
The pre-Tour caravane begins. They’re selling official merchandise. Everything that follows is free.
But while it was still pretty quiet, we had ‘a nice cup of English tea’ with neighbour Aisha
The LCL float, distributing baseball caps.
The Haribo float. Sarah caught a tiny bag of sweets flung in her general direction.
The Belin Box
Banette. They produce flour for local bakers.
You can have a flutter on the races at a PMU bar. Here’s their float.
Sarah gets a cocktail sausage
Free madeleines when the St. Michel float passed. Not Worth Getting Fat For.
No free tyres when the Kleber float passed
Almost over….. the Nesquick float.
The haul we found we had after everything had passed by, mainly destined as souvenirs for friends in England…. lucky people.
The first riders pass. Sue can identify almost all of them.
Bradley Wiggins passes our front door. No time to stop.
Team support.
Yet more riders…. known to Sue.
With the riders long past, all that’s left are support vehicles, official cars, medical support, press, gendarmes……..
Thanks Sue, thanks Tom for the use of all your photos.
From Pyrenees to Pennines 
Fancy Bradley not stopping for a brew – how rude!
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No, it’s OK. I understand. He was busy. Things to do, places to go.
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And each day he remains in Yellow, he’s closer to the overall victory. Today was a great stage. I was happy to see Voelckler win the stage and the polka dot jersey.
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Yes it was a great day, wasn’t it? I don’t normally do more than dip in and out, but it was SO HOT today I was glad to stay in the cool and view. How DO they do it?
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I’ve seen quite a few Tour de France photos on blogs recently but yours are certainly the best. Fingers crossed for the last day for Bradley.
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Thanks! For the most part you must thank my daughter-in-law’s mum Sue (What’s the name for this very under-rated relationship?). And yes, today dedicated to rooting for Wiggins, Froome and Cavendish. I never used to care!
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