Saturday, September 01, 2007

photo hunt: dirty

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We booked our vacation this summer so as to be able to enjoy one stage of the Tour de France live in a small Alpine village. It was our second time and it was - once again - a fun and exciting event, although Armstrong wasn't there this time!! The whole event brought a festive atmosphere beginning the evening before the stage and lasted until the day after when the campers left the road sides.

The bikers were preceded by a publicity caravan of cars and trucks with advertising and small gifts for the public, a treat not only for the kids. The tour itself was through in less than 15 minutes and the peloton moved way too fast to pick out individual riders so I just randomly took some pictures...unfortunately the last edition of this sports event ended with controversial doping issues, adding a rather dirty touch to its reputation... find below my doping-free not retouched pictures for today's theme!


the festive atmosphere in the village, yellow t-shirts were given away



part of the caravan with my favorite snack!



Bikers through the village




grafitti in the Alps, showing a big heart and the yellow jersey


48 comments:

  1. I bet it was great fun to be there. Too bad about the dirty note it ended on but a clever take on this weeks theme.

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  2. Lovely photo! ANd it is a shame how DIRTY this sport has gotten!
    I have grown up watching the tour. We used to drive from my home in Switzerland to the closest spot they would come to!
    I still love it and will continue to watch! The problem in THIS particular sport is that they are VERY strict and seem to not let anything through the cracks, compared to OTHER SPORTS!
    What was the Village you stayed? It looks familiar, though then again so many villages look the same in the ALPS! ;-)
    Great photos! THANK YOU!

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  3. Very interesting photos! Particularly the one with the heart, loved it!

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  4. What a pretty village - and great graffiti

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  5. Great photos as always Mar. Must've been exciting to be there in person! It really is too bad that cycling has been plagued by these doping scandals. Great shots nonetheless! Happy Hunting :)

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  6. Great pics. I was delighted that the prologue took place in London this year. It was hugely well attended (me included. The drugs isue really has tarnished what is one of the truly great sporting events in the world

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  7. Very clever Mar. But you are right. The doping issue is a dirty one!

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  8. Too bad it ended on a dirty note. It looked like fun. have a great weekend

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  9. great pictures. have to agree with Indiana Amy, i too loved the one with the heart :)

    happy weekend ;)

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  10. Great shots! The Tour came through Ivry in 2003 but certainly did not look as pretty as in the Alps.

    Have a great weekend.

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  11. Even if there still is a lot of dirt in the biking sport, I'm glad you had a great time. these pics was great and I'll thank you for sharing!

    I do hope Tour de France will be a clean one next year and my dream is one day to see it with my own eyes.

    Wishing you a great and clean end to your week:-)

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  12. those are beautiful photos. it is sad that doping among some athletes mired their professional life.

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  13. stunning photos--I would have loved to have been there!! Beautiful.

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  14. Wow, what a great adventure!

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  15. Great pics, shame it had to be tarnished by the drugs :-(

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  16. Wow, cool shots! I agree about Lance and the whole doping thing...that was sad. :(

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  17. Great job Mar! Isn't it sad how sO many events these days are "dirtied" by poor behavior OR "presumed" poor behavior? Tis sad! The pics are great! I know you had sO much fun there!

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  18. Oh, lovely photos! I love the Alpine Village. I wished I was there.

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  19. It is so sad that drugs have dirtied this event. Great shots!

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  20. Great take on today's theme! Love the heart on the mountain.

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  21. Great entry for this week! Thanks for sharing!

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  22. Great pictures even untouched. Your life sure is exciting.

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  23. Great pics you got!..But feel about sad how dirty this sports has done:(...c",) HAve a nice weekend!...

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  24. Interesting interpretation, and great photo's!

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  25. I like the graffiti in the Alps ! and am sure the bikers were pretty dirty too !

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  26. Is the graffiti a memorial in the alps with the t-shirt? All great photos,.. have a good weekend.

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  27. Interesting take on dirty.

    Come see mine.

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  28. That looks like a lot of fun. That Village looks so quaint and beautiful. France is still high on my list of places to visit ( btw I reopened that comment box on my dead blog if you ever need to leave me a note lol)

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  29. Wow, I love the graffiti in the Alps!

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  30. Great pictures! It is indeed a shame about the doping issues - it really does leave a bad taste. At least you had fun while you were there.

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  31. Nice photos. I just wonder why sportsmen and sportswomen are still using drugs and steroids in competition? Don't you think it's a dirty tactic?

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  32. That must have been an incredible experience. How cool that they hand out publicity gifts to the spectators. :) Great interpretation of the theme - it is sad that doping has dirtied the sport.

    My Photo Hunt this week.

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  33. Mar - what a great experience! Now can I tell you I'm probably the most jealous because I know and appreciate what you have been through..

    The pics are absolutely incredible and it is sad that something like this has happened.

    Great use of dirty! Thanks for visiting too!

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  34. The bikers surely are dirty too after all that biking! *giggles*

    I think they have to skip the Dom...

    Nice touch!

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  35. Aw, my hubby loves to watch TDF and Isle of Man videos so when my son saw your pic, he recognized the bikes/race. It feels sad to learn about the doping incident, isn't it?

    Great weekend to you! :)

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  36. A definite different take on the weeks' theme. I thought maybe the alps were full of dirt therefore making them "dirty".

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  37. What a great take on this week's theme! I'd love to go see the race someday, what a fun trip that must have been!

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  38. You've had two fantastic "happenings" that you saw this year...The Boating World Cip, and now The Tour De France....Amazing, Mar...truly! You and Mr. Mar do some very fascinating and exciting things! BRAVO TO YOU, my dear.

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  39. Great photos! Love the car with the pretzel on the front :)

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  40. Great photos! Looks like a fun filled event. The heart on the mountain is marvelous. Thanks for sharing.

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  41. I got an award the "Blogging Star" and as I am convinced that you are one too, I have choosen you. It's at your disposal on my blog !

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  42. Hello Mar!
    Great and interesting pics! It's really bad and sad to learn about all this dopping!!! Hope the next one will clean! I'm a little late because I work again now! Have a beautiful sunday!

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  43. Great photo's. I especially like the action shot of the cyclists!

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  44. It's a pity, so many well known cyclists are using the dirty tricks of doping. Else it's very fascinating to follow la Tour.

    Great photo's

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