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Thinking of maybe trying to get over to France this summer to see some of the tour. A quick look for ferry prices and its pricey at £400 for the family for an overnighter with the family in the Camper. But thats a few days before kick off and staying for two weeks.
Anyone got any experience of being over there?
Is it worth it or is it just a mare with the amount of traffic etc
Really fancy it but feel like i'd be going in blind so good people of STW give be your best!
I've seen a stage start, bunch(flat) finish, middle of a general road stage and a few prologues. The prologues were the best because you get to see all the riders and the atmosphere is great. A mountain stage must be even better but I would have thought traffic would be a bit poo-stain.
This year we stuck around after the etape to watch them through on Ventoux and then hotfotted it up to Paris to see them on the Champs Elysee. It was great, you see much more of them on mountain stages or on something like the Champs Elysee than you do on the open road.
Traffic/crowds though, are a nightmare. Remember there are a LOT of people trying to get to the same place. If you're going to a mtn stage, you'll be there all day. I wanted to get right up Ventoux, but we'd never have got in and out in an afternoon and off to Paris if we'd gone up the top somewhere, we took a sneaky side route in as far up as we could get and a bit of a hike over to the stage, then hot footed it out when they'd gone through.
Next year I'm toying with the idea of doing some cycle touring round the alps and trying to catch a few stages.
Is a real carnival atmosphere, totally crazy. Worth doing IMO.
Seen a couple of mountain stages and the Finish in Paris.
Paris was good 'cos they do laps of the Champs Elysee. Mountain stages can be good but most of your time is spent waiting for the race and not really knowing what is going on.
Traffic can be a nightmare if you're near the finish.
I've usually fit it into a holiday rather than going specially. I think unless you're extremely keen that the flat stages in the first week wouldn't be that interesting.
I really like it but I wouldn't bother with more than one or two stages in person per tour.
Go for it. I've been twice and was on the Alp D'Huez in 2001 when Lance blew the race apart. The atmosphere is fantastic but you need to be on the set piece climbs in the Alps or Pyrennees hours if not days beforehand to get a good vantage point. Camper van is the best option for flexibility. Have you tried Norfolk Line for the ferry, believe it or not last year we paid £39 for the 2 of us with a T4 VW van return, Dover to Dunkerque.
The best way to see mountain stages if you don't want to camp on them is to cycle up, might be a bit tricky with the family though.
Luz Ardiden when Armstrong finally too control of the 2003 TdF. Was a the kilo marker, his eyes wre a blazin. Saw the previou day too, camp nearby and cyle in in the morning
They close the roads hours in advance, even to bikes. Don't plan on being able to buy anything in any town that it passes through cos everywhere will be closed (apart from the bars which will be doing roaring trade!)
To watch one of the big mountain stages you need to be there at least a couple of days in advance, park the camper van up then sit back and relax. It's the best place to actually watch the riders as they're all strung out - watch a stage finish and they're past you in a mad blur of bikes in seconds.
Having said that, stage starts/finishes are often good places to get autographs or pictures and look at all the shiny carbon exotica. Try not to drive to a stage start or finish cos traffic is properly mental and loads of roads are closed. The French just accept this, take the day off work and have a street party.
There's always a fantastic atmosphere. Watching a stage finish a few years ago there must have been a dozen different nationalities around us yet everyone was chatting away, sharing food and drink then fighting for the freebies thrown out to the crowd!
Take the camper van, ditch the wife and kids and get down to the pyrenees for the start of the third week. Make sure you take your bike and ride up the mountains to watch, you will love it!
In '83 a mate and I rode from Geneva to the Alps and saw Robert Millar finish 3rd on Alp d'Huez. Best way to experience the Tour is by bike.
They close the roads hours in advance, even to bikes.
No, not all the time at least. We were able to ride up to the Col de Petit Saint Bernard (actually down to it via the chairlift at La Rosiere!), then down the road back to La Ros right up to and even after the stage start (the Col was at the end of the stage). As soon as the back markers were through, everyone followed down on bikes as well. Great atmosphere.
Not coming any closer to us than Albertville this year, shame.
2nd above, but in Cluses some years back
Ventoux this year for me, having battled it during the Étape the week before. No chance of getting up the mountain, so hung out on the pavement in Bédoin, dashing into the bar across the road for beer and to catch the race on the TV.
As soon as the final car had gone through, I've never seen Mrs North move so fast. She took her tiny 4'10" frame and shot across the road into the bar and nabbed four seats right in front of the TV. I nonchalantly went to the bar.
An ace, ace, ace way to waste a whole day. 😀
Take a camper van up the Tourmalet about mid-March. You should just about get the last available place. You'll need four months worth of beer though.
Joking aside though, it should be great. We saw the Giro in Sorrento this year. Watch the bikes race through then saw the end of the stage in a bar with a beer garden and outside telly.
Several years ago we were in France during the last week of the tour, hitting the outskirts of Pairs as the whole tour ‘caravan’ was parking up before the finaly day. Sadly I had to go to Euro Disney the next day – where I managed to sulk for the full day
I saw the stage that finished in Perpignan this year.
Yes there was a lot of waiting around - we arrived by 10 for breakfast and to stake our claim for a space. They closed the roads by 12 and then followed a long lunch, beer, wine, waiting and talking.
I would say that it is hard to know what is happening in the race. If you have a radio or a bar with TV nearby 🙂 it does help.
Oh and they were all gone in less than a minute but worth the waiting around.
Saw it go through Leon in the SW a couple of years ago. Brilliant fun, the build up starts about 1.5hrs before with police and locals taking up position. Then the caravan comes along throwing goodies at the crowd. The peloton was funny, 3 boys in a breakaway going like the clappers about 7 minutes the rest come through at what seemed like a snails pace, chatting to each other, scratching their bums lots of team vehicles and that was it. It was a real experience to see one of the worlds great sporting events so close and for free. Went to a Le Clerc to watch the final kms on a telly, those three got caught with 6 km to go. Evening surf and another great day in France.
We too were on Luz Ardiden in 2003, just up the road from where Armstrong attacked. His eyes were indeed ablazing. I've seen a lot of top level sport all around the world, but that moment was right up there with the best of them. Fantastic atmosphere in the Pyrenees too, largely due to the number of crazy Basques spray painting 'ETA' slogans on cars with Spanish plates in the middle of the night 🙂 Seen the race in the Alps, the Vosges and Paris too, but I think the Tourmalet will be the place to be next year. If you can go, just go. You won't regret it.