Paris with her future husband – by Ella

Since my last update, I have been pretty hectic. I started my new job last week…looking after the elderly (which includes a whole range of unpleasant jobs). However, it is flexible. I work 5-10pm 20 days a month but can get extra day hours. Which leaves me plenty of room to go training. It seems a bit weird going from full-time education to a job, but it’s all for my trip to Australia in January.

Ella Sadler Andrews

To sort of celebrate the end of my bad knee season and before I get back into full training, I booked a very last minute trip to Paris to watch the end of the Tour de France; with the ulterior motive of trying to marry Andy Schleck. I had planned on keeping myself entertained but luckily enough Stuart MacLean was in Paris too after his epic London-Paris 24 ride so we, along with his Right to Play friend Mona spent the time together.

To my surprise, I actually have family in Paris. I had never met them but they were really nice and even didn’t mind me stumbling in at 5am after a very strange party…

On the Saturday, along with my new-found family, we did the typical touristy stuff in Paris. Not my cup of tea but it was still entertaining. What a circus Paris is…I was just waiting for Sunday to arrive to tell the truth.

I met Stuart at 11am on Sunday right on the Champs Elysee course and then went to find a good spot to observe (perve). The crowds by midday were huge and it was a struggle to find anywhere decent to stand. Oh how I wished we had VIP passes =(. Eventually we settled and I stood still on one leg (bad knee was angry at me) for around 5hrs waiting the riders arrival whilst Stuart buggered off with Mona to go to the Rabobank area. The ‘caravan’ or whatever it is was mildly entertaining but I was really there to watch the riders.

When the riders did arrive I tried my hardest to find my favs. Andy looked beautiful but I kept missing him and then I would get worried thinking he had crashed…Fab (Cancellara) looked awesome, looking after Andy. So they came and they went…and I didn’t even realise it was the finish. Wish I had learnt French at school. When I finally got my legs to move again, Stuart and I went to meet Mona who had managed to get a VIP pass (jammy). She took FOREVER so I left to get some food before our star-filled party in the evening…Wish I had stayed though; after I had left Owen Wilson and his girl friend appeared from the VIP area on bikes with paparazzi following them.

I went back to my cousin’s flat, got into some clean clothes and tried to relax. I forgot to mention that Mona had managed to wangle us tickets for the Garmin after party with NERD being the band. I know it wasn’t the Saxo Bank party but still! Not knowing what to expect or anything about a dress code, I wore turned up jeans, flip flops and a linen top. Fancy eh?!

After getting some food which I struggled to eat due to nerves, we arrived at the club/venue. There were queues of people wanting to get in…and we just sailed right past. POM (Garmins sponsor) were handing out their drinks which Mona was confused about. Apparently their is a POM advert with a Garmin rider massaging himself in POM drink. After drinking, well sipping (it’s gross) our free POM, it was onto free Dom Perignon…

No riders were there just yet, despite it being past midnight. NERD played, average. But at the end something AMAZING happened…riders started to flow in. OK so the Garmin lot with Millar and Vauters himself, then came McEwen, Hushovd and for some reason Ross Edgar, plus loads of other Rabobank and HTC. So I was pretty star struck by this point. Mona knows them all so was chatting away whilst my face was this ‘=O’. Looking like an idiot in flipflops and jeans whilst surrounded by beautiful models in heels and silk dresses…Yeah it was pretty surreal but I REALLY wanted to meet Andy and Fab.

Mona thought she saw Bert Grabsch over by the stairs so pulled me over only to find…ANDY and FRANK SCHLECK and FAB! Holy moo cow I nearly weed. Out of the air appeared the hand of a God (Andy) which I shook whilst trying to muster a smile, or a word or something to stop me looking like a complete goon. Anyway I failed, he didn’t propose but still I touched him…Whilst trying to gather my marbles (I was a serious jibbering wreck “OMG it’s Andy, OMG I can’t believe it” – you get the picture!) Fab was stood about a metre away from me in a white linen suit looking somewhat like a drug lord but handsome nonetheless.

I was sooo close to going to talking to him and saying that he is my idol and that I want to be like him when I’m older (in terms of pave and cobbles, nothing weird). But his wife was there, looking like a scary Italian chav so I chickened out. That’s my only regret of the night, not talking to my idol =(. Ok so by this point I was seriously tired and with a free bar and an early start, I knew that it could turn out to be a distaster…bed was needed. However Mona and I managed to persuade the bouncer to the VVIP (very, very) are where the riders had migrated. The free bar had been seriously wiped out with only Diet Coke available. You could tell that a lot of alchohol had been consumed, riders were sprawled everywhere. More often than not, with an (oblivious to their talents) girl (or two or three) draped round them.

We didn’t stay for long…After some random Rabobank rider came up and slurred something in French to me, it was time to go! On exit, we got gift bags with all sorts of goodies but most notably Jean Paul Gaultier perfume. I got given aka. stole two extra bags and ended up with mens perfume too…

We all went our respective ways after we left. Left to ponder the surreal occurrences of the past few hours. I got in at 5am, and had to get up at 6.30am. I was too hyped to sleep so had to settle with a very tired body the day after! The long journey of train, tube, tube and bus was torture on minimal sleep but I got home on Monday after 12hrs of travelling…

The whole experience is one I will never forget. I just hope that one day I can get to know them in a different light and know them to be more than just my heros! I just felt like a crazy adoring fan…but at least I knew who they were, unlike the girls leeched to them.

Since then it’s been work, a few little pootles on the mess around bike and Friday a 2hr ride on my race bike! Was only meant to be an hour but I got carried away…Tomorrow I start to properly get fit. The whole shabang! Goodbye Ben and Jerrys…I feel like a heffalump.

I think I could probably write for a bit longer, but it’s already an essay. I will let you know how the fitness is going soon. Great to see the Horizon Fitness-Kona girls doing so well! If only I had been at Limousin…I know Simo and Greenie were missing me. Can’t wait to see them all again! Hopefully at the National Crit Champs next week?

Ciao!