Through The Corn Belt
The stage today was another day of long straight roads. It was shorter - at 176km, and the sun was shining so the general mood in the peloton was lightened compared to yesterday. We're 2 weeks into a 3 week event and yet have a lot more than a week to go - which doesn't seem to add up somehow.
I was in a group of 3-5 people for most of the day; I think a larger group is more efficient (less time at the front). Nevertheless, we were finished by 2:30pm giving plenty of time for a snooze and even a swim before an early supper.
As an aside, I should mention the story of Adrian - who is riding with us and also posting videos on Youtube about the ride (somewhere - can't find them at the moment). When on holiday in the Channel Islands aged 9 some 34 years ago, he put a message in a bottle and threw it in the sea. Some time later, he received a reply from a 9 year old french girl, Emmanuelle who had found the bottle on the beach and replied to Adrian's address. They corresponded for many years but for one reason or another never actually met - until The Tour de Force came to Mont St Michel a few days ago. Finally, after 34 years of waiting, they met each other in person! See the reaction here
Strava link here
I didn't take any pictures today, but you can see an assortment from other people from previous days here
Tomorrow is a bumpier day with 7 categorised climbs over 191km, finishing in Lyon. None of the climbs are big, but it'll be important to finish as fresh as possible considering the monster day on Sunday.