STAGE 4 notes

As we arrived at the Col du Galibier in the French Alps, we hadn’t anticipated spending the night at the summit due to road closures later that afternoon. So, there we were, facing 3c degrees in shorts, with no food provisions—only wine, good thing though—and sharing a laugh about my friend who had to venture out in the middle of the night because “nature called.”

We managed to get some sleep in the car, thanks to the couple of sleeping bags we had brought “Au cas où.” The rising sun revealed the first sights of the day and began to warm things up. When we drove down the mountain, the road was closed, as expected. Fortunately, the Gendarmes (French police) recognized our car from the night before and allowed us to go to the nearest village to buy provisions. The stage would pass by around 4 PM.

We grabbed what we needed and headed back up the hill. By 10 AM, we were positioned at the Col du Galibier, where people were starting to arrive and claim all the prime spots. After waiting about 3-4 hours, the caravan finally passed by, meaning that the peloton would arrive 1 hour later or so1. Realizing we needed a better vantage point for great photos, we moved to a new location and, by chance, met the renowned Luca Bettini (look him up!).

Our conversation about photography flowed smoothly, especially since this was my first cycling photo session. Luca’s quick tips were invaluable. Here are some of the first shots. By the way, it just so happens that the first shot I took ended up featuring a random guy who turned out to be the Tour de France 2024 winner.

Mental notes: Set the camera to continuous shooting mode. You might get some blur due to the high speed of the cyclists. Also, avoid shooting in the highest RAW quality to prevent slowing down your camera.

 

Stage 7

 

Stage 9

 

Stage 11