The Tour de France is a famous bike race that takes place every year with multiple legs in ever-changing towns and cities all around the country.  However, the last leg always takes place in Paris with the final stretch along the Champs-Elysees.   This year the leg of the race that came right before the final Paris leg was in Annecy, France, an eastern town near the Alps.

Five other Penn Staters and I went to go see this leg.  We left Friday afternoon to take a train to Annecy, which was about a three-hour ride.  I loved seeing the hills of the Jura slowly get taller as we approached the Alps.  Annecy sits right on the end of Lake Annecy, which looked beautiful from the train car.  The race itself was actually going to take place right on the edge of the lake.

It was a little stormy out so we got dinner and then headed over to where the race was beginning so we would know where to go the next morning.  Workers were busy moving around trucks and putting up fences while huge gray clouds floated overhead and gusts of wind made water splash up onto the boardwalks.  It was a little surreal seeing such rough weather paired with the beautiful mountains across the lake.  Fortunately it was nicer on the day of the race.

The next day we woke up early and headed over to the park by the lake.  I had seen the Tour de France on television in the past but I have never really been a fan of professional bicycling so I had no idea what to expect.  There were booths with sponsors, official boutiques selling Tour de France gear, large bleachers and a cleared out area where the team buses were going to arrive.  We did not have to pay to go and walk around or watch the race, we just had to walk up to the side of the street.

After about an hour the crowd really began to grow and the excitement began to build.  We found a spot by the edge of the road and watched a parade with floats for each of the Tour’s sponsors, playing music and throwing the occasional gift into the crowd, like tee-shirts or free samples.  By now the fences for the race has been put up and the team buses had arrived and you could watch the cyclists stretching or signing autographs.

Eventually it became time for the race to start.  We were right by the starting point where the crowd was the largest and we ran to find a spot with a good view of the cyclists.  People were climbing walls and trees to try and get a shot of the race.  Fortunately we found a spot just in time to watch the bikers going zooming by to the sound of cheers.

And just like that, they were gone.  The crowd slowly dissipated into the nearby shops and restaurants of Annecy and my group and I got some ice cream.  It would seem like a town filled with tourists would be annoying or take away from the visit, but it actually added to Annecy’s charm.  I think it might have been the most beautiful place I have ever visited, and to experience it during a major international sporting event was priceless.

Location: Annecy, France