Solo Etape entry - the nitty gritty please

I am the god of hell fire

Myself and a pal are interested in the 2011 Etape

Id be grateful for some help on the practicalities from those in the know please

Firstly we are keen to avoid an organised tour party
On the one hand this will disadvantage us in many ways however wed prefer the flexibility of going it alone

Firstly then what chance do we have of both applying via the website and being successful in getting an individual entry?

Secondly what do people do when they find themselves on the top of a French mountain on their bike 100km or so from where they started?

Im aware a guided trip will have provision for this however cant help but think its rather an expensive way of doing it

The Etape really does seem to be a big corporate event but there must be a number of folks who go it alone

Or should we just do the Maratona LOL

Cheers

Advice welcome

wicked

Sorry no advice but am thinking along the same lines.
I can have the use of a motorhome so was thinking of taking it and staying upto a week. But after finishing on the Alpe how can I get back to the camper?!

surista

Definitely helps if one (or, preferably, both) have spouse/partner/friend along - they drop you off the morning of the race near the starting point, then drive to finish city and meet you there. That's how some of my friends have done it. Main hurdle is if your spouse/partner/friend etc. is fine with driving in France...

jnr_h

Did it this yr. Bought an entry only (damned pricey) through one of the package operators.

The event had an organised bus service from Bagneres back to Pau for the day before so we got tickets for that, dropped the car off and bussed it back.
Arranged some self catering accom in Pau until after the Etape, then went and camped near Lourdes and spent the week doing some epic riding and tour watching.
There were a few times before hand when it felt like it would've been easier in an organised tour, but overall I wouldn't change a thing.
One of the best weeks ever.
Hook it up!

simon_e

Hang around here long enough and there will be people signing up for it. 260 matches for 'etape du tour' via http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/search.php

Don't know if these are any use to you:
http://road.cc/node/25926
http://www.etape.org.uk/
http://www.2010etape.blogspot.com/
The blog was written by Bikeradar user Popette, her 2010 Etape thread is at http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1267298.

wicked

The marmotte is looking logistically far easier if harder on the legs!

johnny2legs

I did it this year and was glad that I went with an organised group. They had accommodation booked already in Lourdes and buses to and from the registration and, more importantly, a shuttle to take the riders and bikes to the start in Pau and pick up at the finish.
It was expensive. A german friend of mine who I rode it with booked it through an agency he used and it came to about 700 euros. But I think that not having the stress of getting to and from the start and finish and just let us concentrate on the cycling and enjoying a really great day.

malcolmfrost

The second half of 2011 is much easier logistically, the finish is only 60k from the start, so it wouldn't be impossible to drive over, dump the car and then cycle back a couple of days ahead.

Alain Quay

see

etape.org.uk

andyp

We did it ourselves in 2009. We hired two cars and drove both down to Malaucene the morning before the Etape and parked one of the cars there, then headed back to our hotel in the other after a nice lunch.

Had lunch after the Etape the next day, then drove back to Montelimar and picked up the other one. Easy.

jhop

I've done it independently many times and although precise arrangements vary slightly from year to year basically it seems to boil down to:
i) If you have a vehicle with you, drive it to registration village earlyish on the day before the race and drop your bike at the secure park (leave only basics at hotel etc unless you intend to spend the night after the event in same hotel). Register etc collect ticket for coach and then drive to the designated car park areas accessible by bike from the finish. (For mountain top finishes this usually means somewhere near the foot of the last mountain.) You then relax on the coach drive back to the start and the registration village where you soak up the atmosphere, chill etc before riding to your accommodation. We usually keep only basic overnight stuff at our hotel and put it all into a small rucksack which we drop off before we line up in the start pens on the day at a lorry set up early in the morning this is then taken and is ready to be collected at the finish. Then after you have finished all of the post event etape celebrations you ride past all of the vehicles jammed up trying to get away and get to your car easily. Then you can drive to wherever you have arranged to stay for the night.
ii) If you have no vehicular access then travel very light drop off your bag at the start on race day, complete the event and collect bag at the finish ride to accommodation as appropriate. Incidentally in 2004 when the etape last finished at St Flour we then spent a couple of days cycling back to Limoges where we left the car it was a very long stage! But we did get to see the pro's doing the same stage we had done. Also the last time the etape finished on top of Alpe d'Huez we cycled back down to Bourg then spent a couple of days cycling before travelling home. I have also cycled to the airport using this approach e.g. Pau Bayonne 2003. This does depend on location of finish town obviously.