A Paradocs Abroad

There was a comotion out in the square earlier this evening - sirens, and revving engines. We went to investigate, and discovered that a bike race was going past on rue St. Yves.

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It turned out to be a circuit race. All the categories seemed to be together (juniors, women, masters, hot-shots, etc.) Nobody seemed to be getting pulled if they got lapped, and everyone seemed to be staying in the race even when they were miles off the back, and/or lapped.

We watched several laps, clapped our hands, and yelled, "Allez! Allez! Allez!". Our vantage point, on the stage in the square, was ideal because the riders were climbing toward us. We ride that annoyingly steep, cobbled climb fairly often, and I could sympathize with the pain evident in the faces of the dropped riders. The only other fans seemed to be friends and family of the racers - several handing up bottles.