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89th Tour de France - Grand Tour
France, July 6-28, 2002
2002 Tour de France journals
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Mike Tomalaris, SBS broadcaster
Nationality: Australian
Mike Tomalaris is the producer and sometimes presenter of SBS TV's Toyota World Sports, the only daily prime time sports show on Australian TV. Mike has covered the Tour de France for SBS Sport since 1996, and always brings a distinct Australian perspective to the network's coverage of the world's biggest annual sporting event.
Stage 14 - Sunday July 21: Lodève - Mont Ventoux, 221 km
From the top of Mont Ventoux
Stage 14 of the Tour has just started and Armstrong and co. are not expected here for another four hours. What a place! Everything that has been said and written about this amazing location is true. It has to be said, this is the most intimidating landscape on the planet - whether you are a cyclist or not.
The last time I came here was in 2000 - the year Armstrong and Pantani went toe-to-toe in that classic finish at the top of the barren summit. Its a memory that will stay in my mind forever. With an icy cold wind blowing off the French Alps, thousands waited at the top. What they witnessed was the most amazing duel in recent Tour history.
Today it is sunny and warm. Weather-wise, its completely different to what I experienced on that frigid day two years ago. I would say close to 250,000 people are in the vicinity of the base or on the climb itself. As you make your way up the rise, the tree-line is replaced by a white coloured rock formation which dominates your eyeline. Below are the beautiful vineyard-lined valleys of the Provence region, which is in start contrast to what I am seeing up here. Either way, you have to respect this place for what it is.
The Tom Simpson shrine can be found about two kilometres from the top. It is being visited by thousands - of all ages and sizes - who have either cycled or walked their way the 20 kilometres, as no public vehicles are permitted to drive the mountain. Simpson is a Tour legend. Today he is being remembered and idolised. People just sit and stare at the man who died doing what he loved in 1967.
I don't care who wins or loses on Ventoux in the next few hours, whatever happens today, this is another memory I will forever cherish.
