Domestique Partner: The Tour’s after-party

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The Domestique Partner is an anonymous columnist who is writing about the experience of being a pro cyclist’s better half. Follow along this season to learn about what it’s like to live on the other side of the barriers

Paris: Monday morning, July 25. WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED LAST NIGHT?

Oh Paris, the one day of the year filled with glitz and glamour.

I travel with a few friends. Different teams, so we when arrive, we part ways. Sometimes in Paris it’s as much of an adventure to collect the VIP pass as the rest of the day can be. The Tour is fantastic with security, and on the final day, getting anywhere NEAR a team is next to impossible without a pass. So I head off to meet the soigneur on hotel duty to pick up my pass there. Not exactly en route. But could be much worse. By 4 p.m. we arrive on the course, and slowly meander to our grandstand seats, ticketed by the team. We make polite small talk with each other — some of the girls I’ve never even met before. But on this day, we are one unit. Anyway, this part of the day is pretty boring. It’s not even like, real bike racing. No one cares except for the top sprinters, and everyone else is totally checked out. Give me a local crit race any day over this parade.

The real juice is what happens after the race. So here’s a quick run-down, or what I remember of it. It’s gotten a bit trickier in the last few years since they have made the finish later, but we still manage.

First up: finish the race. We meet at team busses in Place de Concorde. Jubilation, celebration. But, the cameras are still on, so it’s pretty …

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