Saints, Sinners And SouvenirsRoadside report: We could just go and get all the same pictures as everyone else today, but as we’re in Utrecht for the first time, let’s have a look around instead. Not the smartest idea as the mercury soared, but sometimes you’ve got to hurt a little to live a little, to appreciate what’s around you. The Tour’s visit to Utrecht was an idea conceived on the back of two beer mats in a pub almost 15 years ago. Then, after years of work, the Tour went to Rotterdam in 2010. No matter, as word came soon after that Utrecht would host the big show; the Netherland’s fourth-largest city is determined to give the best welcome possible.Trek Factory Racing are about to head out of the Jaarbeurs Exhibition complex for a guided roll along the prologue course when we come to collect our accreditation and car stickers. Fabian Cancellara is back, but the Schleck influence is gone: Andy has retired and Frank is injured. It’s a sign of the times, as Andy was the great white hope when I started coming to the Tour. Everything changes, and yet everything stays the same. The Tour is still massive and it’s coming to a huge market.Holland is (arguably) the most bike-loving country on earth; there are thousands of people, of all ages, and all shapes and sizes, cruising or belting around the streets by the canals. But the eternal frustration for the bike rider here is the traffic-light sequencing. Get...
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