The Final Push - Day 4

376km down, only 100 to go until central Paris beckoned... Easier said than done.

Promised a fast first 30 but with the standard Westerly head-wind and, of course, the minor undulations, it was less than speedy and included the longest hill of the trip. As usual the speedsters made a dash for all the decent energy bars on offer at the first stop, us mere mortals surviving on scraps of peanut shell and the like.

This stage had once again seen SP head off early. Having already practised the section late the previous evening there were concerns that he might try to re-employ the tactics that had brought about his Stage 1 victory. Dirty tactics were also brought to the attention of the support team when Ed reported that his brakes may have been tampered with - this proved merely an excuse for him being off the early pace.
The final few miles through Paris proved to be a surreal experience. We brought the traffic round the Arc de Triomphe to a halt and were greeted by cheers, whoops and hooting all down the Champs Elysee - not to mention hordes of our Japanese friends thinking the Tour de France had already arrived in Paris and snapping away merrily. Britton.T was later seen trying to flog a signed sweat-soaked T-Shirt.

Arrival at the Tour Eiffel was emotional for all involved! After 476K we had all finally arrived at our destination and without a puncture between the three of us. Some modest partying followed and once again Ed showed us all how to do it with arrival back at the hotel in time for breakfast.

Here's a picture to prove we really did get to the tower and the banner reminds us, amongst the events and laughs of the day and the previous three, why we were doing this in the first place and the reason for our supporters having contributed so generously to Macmillan.

Thank you all!!!