Le Tour Virgin
I'm hoping to make my Tour debut this year-well as a spectator on a bike anyway!
Ideally I would like to cycle through Albertville (the stage start) and out along the stage, go up the Madelaine and perch myself there for the day. In general what time do the stages start and how soon beforehand are the roads closed? Is it difficult to get onto the stages?
Thanks.
Ideally I would like to cycle through Albertville (the stage start) and out along the stage, go up the Madelaine and perch myself there for the day. In general what time do the stages start and how soon beforehand are the roads closed? Is it difficult to get onto the stages?
Thanks.
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I ve not done it but I reckon a bike is the best way. All the parking spaces will have been nabbed days beforehand by Dutch Caravans! The roads do get shut earlier but usually Les Gendarmes are a bit more sympathetic to bicycles. But at some point you will get told to stop (usually a good long while before the race comes through so take a backpack with some warm clothes/drinks/food/beer etc) and make sure you re on a col not riding between them. The start times and predicted times for the race/caravanne will be posted nearer the day, they tend to keep the exact route quiet for longer and just release the start/finish details and the salient points first.We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
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The ALbertville stage is a relatively short one (140k) so will start later than usual. Almost all Tour stages aim to finish between 5 and 5.30pm so you'll probably be looking at a 1pm start (maybe 12.45). The Gendarmes start to get touchy about 2-3 hours before the race arrives so you'd be best getting on to the Madeleine by 11 (assuming you're going to watch it near the summit). You might be able to leave it til later but there's a higher risk you'll get a jobsworth who makes you get off and walk. Either way, find a nice bar on the way up and settle in for lunch, they'll come past shortly afterwards. Enjoy it though, it's great fun. But as mentioned previously make sure you've got warm clothes, food and flip-flops to walk about in if you've ridden up.0
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We cycle to watch at least 1 tour mountain stage each year. It is dead easy to do, and i think it's the best way to see the race. Your plan is perfectly workable, and as long as you set off in good time you won't need to worry about road closures / gendarmes etc. too much. A detailed timetable for the stage will be published later (June?) on the letour.fr website: just aim to be a couple of hours ahead of the caravan.
BUT yours is not a great plan to actually see any racing. The col de la madeleine is so early on stage 11 this year that we basically know already that you'll see the break and then about 5-10 minutes later the peloton will ride past tempo, with the big names hidden in the mass of riders. It'll be early enough (in the day and the stage) that there will be little atmosphere at the roadside. And the ride out will be a bit rubbish too: 20-odd km of pretty boring valley roads (small ones tracking the busy main road, often right alongside it) from Albertville to La Lechere where the climb begins.
I think you should choose another of that day's climbs to ride to and watch. If it was me, I would drive from Albertville to St Jean de Maurienne (40 mins?) where the climb to La Toussuire begins, and ride up the final climb from there. That way you'll probably get the remnants of the breakaway, followed by the GC riders, possibly even split into several groups (depending on how the stage unfolds, and how high you stop to watch). The atmosphere will be good as well, and the anticipation at the roadside is much more intense when you can't predict exactly what will come round the corner when the race arrives.
I realise you might have time constraints that make this plan (or similar) unworkable - I sometimes do too. If so, then the riding out to the Col de la Madeleine and back will still be a nice way to see the race go past at a watchable speed. It will be a compromise though. If you aren't constrained, go to where the action will be. The experience is totally different there.
EDITED - I wrote stage 15 but I meant stage 11.0 -
We're hoping to catch the end of Stage 11 finishing at the summit La Toussuire Les Sybelles.
Anyone got any tips for getting up to see a mountain top finish? I'm guessing it's best to leave the car behind and pedal up early in the day?0 -
Pedal up as early as you can really. They seem to have got hotter on road closures over the past few years - I guess its safer that way ? Take extra clothing too - it could be 80 degrees or it could be almost snowing.0
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Here's what we decide between. We've never been stopped from riding up a final climb:
Option 1: ride up in time to eat a packed lunch at your chosen viewing spot. As long as you have a remotely normal conception of lunchtime, this is risk free in terms of road closures.
Option 2: eat lunch in a cafe or restaurant at the bottom the climb and then ride up. This is a bit more stressful (you'll worry about road closures but it's still be fine and lots of people do it). If there's a nice town with good food options at the bottom (e.g. Bourg d'Oisans, Morzine), this is a tempting option. Otherwise (e.g. St Jean de Maurienne...) I think option 1 is better in all ways.0 -
2 years ago at Avoriaz & Tourmalet the Gendarmes really cracked down on people cycling up the mountain approx 2 hours before the caravan was due. Remember for a mountain top finish not only do you have the caravan you also have all the techy guys and press guys racing to the finish.
Because of the looping nature of the Albertvillie > La Toussuire stage, once you have got to the top of the Madelaine you do not have much more difficult cycling to do to get to the final climb. Nice fast descent down to Saint Marie then >10km along the valley to Saint Jean and there's the not very steep or long final climb.
If you've never been to the tour before then the extra effort will make it all the more worthwhile. Being on the final climb is like staying until the end of the match, not walking out of the stadium with 15 minutes to go because you want to beat the traffic.
If you have good legs and are not afraid of fast descents you might be able to see the riders on BOTH Madelaine and final climb.0 -
Thanks for all the help folks.
I am staying in Annecy so the climb to La Tuissure is more difficult from a logistical point of view. Based on your comments re picking up on some racing I may go to the previous days stage instead and go up the Col du Grand Colombier, its not the last climb of the day but looking at the profile it might be the one where the action will be.
And yes, doing both days is the obvious solution. However with the Marmotte already taking one day out of our romantic week away, Mrs. RR certainly wont sanction 2 days on le Tour!0 -
Alan A wrote:2 years ago at Avoriaz & Tourmalet the Gendarmes really cracked down on people cycling up the mountain approx 2 hours before the caravan was due. Remember for a mountain top finish not only do you have the caravan you also have all the techy guys and press guys racing to the finish.
Because of the looping nature of the Albertvillie > La Toussuire stage, once you have got to the top of the Madelaine you do not have much more difficult cycling to do to get to the final climb. Nice fast descent down to Saint Marie then >10km along the valley to Saint Jean and there's the not very steep or long final climb.
If you've never been to the tour before then the extra effort will make it all the more worthwhile. Being on the final climb is like staying until the end of the match, not walking out of the stadium with 15 minutes to go because you want to beat the traffic.
If you have good legs and are not afraid of fast descents you might be able to see the riders on BOTH Madelaine and final climb.
This seems like a risky strategy. Won't the roads be closed already? I'd rather catch the final climb than see the Madelaine and risk missing it.0 -
Just reviving this thread as I've got a bunch of questions about watching the tour, it's my first time, I'm excited, can you tell
So to catch a mountain top finish, how early do you need to get there? How close to the route can you get with your car. I've heard the route will be closed from very early morning to cars, is this the same for bikes? I'm guessing it's pretty cold at the top of a mountain, should I take a woolly jumper
The word I keep hearing from people is "chaos", get there early, how early is early?0 -
PeteMadoc wrote:Just reviving this thread as I've got a bunch of questions about watching the tour, it's my first time, I'm excited, can you tell
So to catch a mountain top finish, how early do you need to get there? How close to the route can you get with your car. I've heard the route will be closed from very early morning to cars, is this the same for bikes? I'm guessing it's pretty cold at the top of a mountain, should I take a woolly jumper
The word I keep hearing from people is "chaos", get there early, how early is early?
So to catch a mountain top finish, how early do you need to get there?
If driving up - the night before. Campervan spots will have been already taken up for a couple of nights, but you might be lucky and get a verge on a steep slope to park your car.
If cycling up - do it before lunchtime. Gendarmes tend to close the road to cyclists 1 hr before caravan is due. Check letour website in June for stage timings.
How close to the route can you get with your car.
Right on it... if you get there early enough.
Best advice though is park 1 town away from route / final climb and cycle up climb on the morning of the stage. The atmosphere of 100k+ cyclists going up a hill is great.
I'm guessing it's pretty cold at the top of a mountain, should I take a woolly jumper
If cycling take a pair of flip flops to walk about in for 3 hrs.
Weather can be super hot or super cold. A couple of thin fleeces and thin rain jacket should suffice if it is looking chilly / wet.
The word I keep hearing from people is "chaos", get there early, how early is early?
We got a great spot on Avoriaz climb 2 nights prior to race.
Couldn't get up Tourmalet 3 nights prior to race. Gendarmes had declared the mountain already full.0 -
No one is going to be able to give you a definate answer on times. I know someone who got to about 3km to the finish line on Alpe d'Huez last year driving onto the climb the night before and parking by the side of the road. But I doubt anyone where would recommend trying it. Your just as likely to get stopped or not find anywhere to park.
I would guess the final climb will be closed to traffic (that's cars, not cycles) sometime early in the morning. If you can drive up the night before, you might be able to park by the side of the road, but that depends on finding a spot. Pretty much all the places to get a car off the road will be taken with camper vans who have been there for several days in advance.
The safest way to see the final climb is to park the car away from the climb and ride up to where you want to watch. This also has the benefit that you will not get stuck in a traffic jam that will happen after the stage has finished. And if your looking to do that, the stage will finsih around 5:00, publicity caravan a few hours before that, as mentioned the Gendarmes might stop you riding a couple of hours before that, so I would aim to be where you want to watch the race around 1:00?
But that is playing is safe. I think Alan A's idea of seeing the race on the Madelaine and then La Toussuire is do-able though. Could depend on how fast the race is moving. And you will only be able to see the race on the lower slopes of the final climb, you're not going to be able to get very far up it.0 -
Actually, does anyone know if route goes though St Jean de Maurienne? I know it comes down the Mollard and then onto La Toussuire, but does it go through the town. Just wondering if it's safe to come off the autoroute there or better to use another junction.0
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I think it does go into the town.
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Is the whole route closed early in the morning or just the final climb?0
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Alan A wrote:I think it does go into the town.
Yeah, looks like it. Nevermind, plenty of other places to get off the autoroute.0 -
PeteMadoc wrote:Is the whole route closed early in the morning or just the final climb?
Yes, the whole route will be closed, but wouldn't like to guess times. They might not close down the Madelaine as early as there will not be as many people trying to get onto the climb as it's so much earlier in the day. But that really is a guess.0 -
If I may be so bold as to post a suggestion as someone who used to live in that area - if you wanna watch the race on the Madeleine and you're staying in Annecy, then an early start around 8ish would be good. I lived in St Bon en Tarentaise when the Tour was in Courchevel last and the roads there were usable til the early afternoon (it was a stage finish).
The route I would choose to cycle would be to take the cycle path from Annecy to Albertville - follow the signs to the col de tamie (a nice gentle climb especially from the Annecy side), down into Albertville, down the valley to Moutiers then up to the Madeleine through the brilliantly named village of Pussy. There's nothing really in terms of bars/restaurants on the way up but there is a lovely restaurant at the top which may take reservations for lunch???
http://www.enroute.centre-est.equipemen ... 512c17.pdf
This link gives you an idea on road closures for the last time the tour went over.0
