Snow at Sant'Anna di Vinadio?

We like to keep an eye on the local webcams and were surprised to see what looks like snow / heavy frost around the Santuario Sant'Anna di Vinadio this morning. Have a look at the image below and see what you think:

It could just be rain but it would be nice to think it was the first dusting of snow!

PS. The Santuario Sant'Anna di Vinadio is on the Italian side of the Col de la Lombarde, you may have seen it in winter from the top of the Lombarde chairlift.

Tour de France 2008 - Stage 16 - Col de la Lombarde

On Tuesday 22nd July 2008 the Tour de France passed through Isola 2000 via the Col de la Lombarde on its way from Cuneo in Italy to Jausiers in France. We were lucky enough to watch this incredible event from the Col de la Lombarde. After about a one hour walk from the chalet we reached the summit which was already very busy with spectators and race organisers. We walked a little way down the Italian side of the Col so that we would have a good view of the cyclists as they wound their way up the mountainside. Photo below shows the view from our picnic site:

The first sign of the caravan arriving was a red and white polka dot Champion van coming up the road, they were handing out polka dot t-shirts which were extremely popular and attracted a large group of people who were almost mobbing the people handing out the t-shirts. After a little while the main bulk of the caravan passed by throwing out all sorts of goodies such as Haribo sweets, Champion hats, PMU big green foam hands, Cochonou sausages - the list goes on ...

The time between the caravan ending and the cyclists arriving gave us ample opportunity to don our new hats, t-shirts and wristbands ready to cheer on the riders. The first to come through was Stefan Schumacher of Gerolsteiner, he went past really fast considering he was going uphill!
Photo below shows Stefan Schumacher:

Not too far behind Schumacher was a Credit Agricole rider (I think) then a couple of small groups of riders before the peloton arrived. We saw the yellow jersey of Frank Schleck pass by and then the British rider David Millar in a group off the back of the peloton.

As the riders passed over the Col on their way down through Isola 2000 the spectators packed up all their freebies and made their way back down both the Italian and French sides of the Col. It really was an unforgettable day and if you do ever get the chance to watch a stage of the Tour de France do take it - you won’t regret it!

Here are some more photos of the riders passing under the banner marking the top of the climb, we've tried to identify them but if you know any different do let us know:

Above: unknown

Below: Pieter Weening

Above: Fabian Wegmann

Below from left to right: Inaki Isasi, unknown, Trent Lowe

We also have some video footage of the stage which we will try to upload soon.

Welcome

Hello and welcome to the first posting on our new blog from chaletisola.com.

The idea of this blog is to update you with the latest info and goings on that we hear about from the lovely ski resort of Isola 2000 in France. For example when the first snow of the season falls, when the resort opens, what exciting events are on and hopefully much more.

For those of you who haven't visited our website yet (www.chaletisola.com) you may not be aware that we rent out a beautiful ski chalet that sleeps up to 8 people and is located above the main ski area in Isola 2000. If you are interested or require more information about the chalet do check out the website where you will find photos and pricing for our ski chalet.

We're now well into the summer season at Isola 2000 and without doubt the most exciting event so far has been the Tour de France passing through the resort on its way to the Col de la Bonnette and Jausiers on 22nd July 2008. We will be publishing a post devoted to the Tour de France at Isola 2000 and the Col de la Lombarde very soon - including photos.