Unfortunately for Australia there was no fairytale ending and our great hope of a first ever Aussie win Cadel Evans finished second, some 58 seconds behind Team CSC Saxo Bank (CSC) rider Carlos Sastre.

And right in the crush of the crowd taking in the finish of the world’s greatest cycle race in Paris was Nowra cyclist Robbie Williams who has just finished a stint of also riding in Europe with the Drapac Porsche team.

“It was just sensational,” Williams said.

In VIP seats, provided by the business partner of legendary cyclist Eddy Merckx, Dirk, who also organises the Tour of Qatar, which the Drapac team will contest again this year.

“We made our way down to the VIP seats about 15 minutes before the riders came onto the circuit for the first time,” he said.

“The excitement built.

“They (the riders) still had 64km to go when they came flying past the first time.

“The race speed looked pretty fast for the guys on the front especially with the cobbles and the long drag up to the u-turn.

“The last stage is usually a bit of a parade with the guys who have anything left in the tank after three weeks of racing attacking trying to steal the stage from the sprinters.

“As it turned out Geert Steegmens from Quick-Step won and we saw him kick out from 200m to go, right where our seats were!

“He was motoring.

“It’s quite amazing to think we were racing him just before he left for the Tour in Halle-Ingooim, where Stu Shaw finished third.”

To start the day the team caught the TGV from Brussels midi to Paris Nord then the metro to the Champs Elysees, which on its own was an experience.

“Once we were above ground the whole avenue was abuzz with people, barricades, police and excitement,” he said.

“We had five hours or so until the riders arrived and that was pretty easy to pass when you’re in a city like Paris when the tour is on.

“Our team boss Michael Drapac had an apartment on the Champs Elysees and so it was easy distance to meet him and go for a walk.

“We did a lot of kilometres all by foot, but when you see the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and all the other incredible monuments around Paris you soon don’t notice how far you have actually walked.”

Following the tour finish, team boss Michael Drapac took the team out for dinner at the Louvre overlooking the museum and the Eiffel Tower.

“It was really special for all the boys and capped off a fantastic and unforgettable day.”