Last Sunday was a swelteringly hot day in the Alps as the peloton ascended four categorised climbs before the finale on the road to Avoriaz. Not expected to be hugely selective the stage nonetheless did for the hopes of several soi disant GC contenders: notably Lance Armstrong falling foul of three crashes and Bradley Wiggins simply failing to hack the pace.

I was situated just past the 5km to go banner on one last hairpins. Below is a little video of what the stage looked like from my perspective. I hope you enjoy it...

And I'd also add on observation as to the difference of viewing a race like the tour on the road as against on TV. At the roadside knowing what's going on isn't always easy - at best a dozen or so people trying to decipher a poor picture on a small TV in some German guy's camper van - the race then whizzes by and you're in the dark again. So while I picked up Armstrong's crashes and that Schleck had won many of the other details of the day passed me by and until I picked up the next day's L'Equipe. So while it's unrivalled as a spectacle and opportunity to get up close to the riders you can miss the bigger picture and have to be extremely lucky for the defining moment to happen in front of your eyes, let alone recognise it as such.