It was a nice day in Provence today — finally! It’s March with the first trees in flower, though hardly visible since snowy alpine weather brought a foot of snow last week. If you’ve been following the “race to the sun,” you know this same cold front resulted in the shortening of stage 3 and kept the southbound peloton in long sleeves and, yes, tights. Until today.
The Paris-Nice stage 5 start rolled out from Pernes-les-Fontaines under sunny skies and the air, though brisk in the shade, warmed up to almost normal temperature levels. The locals turned out to bask in the sunshine and enjoy the relaxed and festive ambiance of a stage start. The crowd included several hundred area grade-schoolers, many there on bikes to test themselves on a special obstacle course and take a lap around town.
Their repeated chant — Al-bert-to Con-ta-dor — chased the riders off into the slowly warming countryside. We stayed on for lunch in Pernes at a delightful restaurant (just opened!) about 100 meters from the start line tucked into the Place Louis Giraud. A good lunch, the stage start and sunshine; just the kind of early spring day a cyclist needs to melt those memories of snowy misery.
© 2012