For Queen & country (& Johnson Controls)

With today being St Georges Day (patron saint of England) we celebrated by adorning each of the bikes with English flags and the team began the stage with the sound of 'God save the Queen' ringing in their ears.

Unfortunately we had typical English weather - wet and overcast - which made the long hard climbs even less bearable.

The team pressed on though and made good progress through the dramatic scenery of Southern France. Steeps hills and narrow roads interwining with flatter stretchs along the river Arc.


Big hills mean fast downhills and there were a few today, giving the tired legs and lungs some respite.

We arrived in Aix-en-Provence in the late afternoon to join colleagues from the Marseille branch. Our arrival was delayed slightly by 2 punctures within a few hundred metres of each other - the first of the tour.

The team were greeted to sirens and cheers as they rolled into the fitting surroundings of a sports complex in Val de l'Arc, a stone's throw away from our overnight stop in Aix en Provence.

We greatly enjoyed meeting and talking to the Marseillais and really appreciated them taking the time and effort to commerate our arrival in Aix-en-Provence so thanks to you all.

Tomorrow will be another tough day as we head East along the coast stopping at Frejus before our final day in the saddle and the finale of our ride in Monaco.

Keep the comments coming and if there is anything you would like to ask the riders, please drop us a note.

The postings on this blog do not represent the positions, strategies or opinions of Johnson Controls