With the previous night's terrorist attacks in Paris, 125 miles to the south, the decision to go racing wasn't taken lightly. Amazingly, the crowd came out in force, and there were very few empty seats to be seen in the stands. When there was a moment of silence for the victims of the attack during the opening ceremonies, we've never heard a stadium full of people so quiet.
For sure, we wouldn't have wanted to be in the shoes of Eric Peronnard, or Xavier Audouard. Xavier sent out a message that read, "Despite the tragic events in Paris, Promotors of the Event, along with the French Autorities, French Federation and the Riders, have decided that the best tribute to give to the Victims was... to stick together and not change anything to our program (i.e. lifestyle), which would be exactly what the terrorists are looking for (obviously, security has been -even more- strengthened, all around the Event)."
"We sincerely and deeply thank all the Riders and their Crews/Families, especially the American Riders, for the fantastic attitude they are displaying, as I write this from the stadium."
These guys made for a special kind of cheerleader for the partisan crowd.
