Best place to watch TdF

Thigh_burn
Thigh_burn Posts: 489
edited August 2019 in Tour & expedition
In theory, I have the opportunity to watch the Tour de France anywhere this year. Whether on my sofa or in France. I quite fancy the chance of going to watch a stage in all its glory, even if I only see a few seconds of racing.

Given that, does anyone have views on the best stages and locations on those stages to do that. Ideally I'd drive across there and find somewhere to plonk myself for the day. Is that feasible? I'm not all that keen on spending three days camped up a mountain. I know it's fun, but it's not my thing.

Comments

  • cougie
    cougie Posts: 22,512
    Mountain or start of a stage. I'd not bother for anything else.
  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 28,166
    18th, 19th 20th July, you have mountain (Peyresourde, Hourqette d'Anzican), Time Trial in Pau, then mountain (Tourmalet). Take your bike and ride part way up a mountain.
  • homers_double
    homers_double Posts: 8,289
    Having watched the TDF Grand Depart from Yorkshire a few miles from my front door, this years TDY in Skipton a few miles away from where we were staying I'd advise the sofa being the best place if you want to follow the actual racing itself.

    If it's flying through where you happen to be, sure go for it but otherwise you spend an hour or so waiting followed by 30 seconds of cycling and then it's all over.
    Advocate of disc brakes.
  • thegreatdivide
    thegreatdivide Posts: 5,807
    Paris, on the corner of the North side of Avenue des Champs Elysees and Avenue de Marigny. You’ll get multiple laps and the corner is just after the finishing line (and VIP spectator section) so you’ll have all the sprinter soigneurs waiting as well as all the riders who’ve made it to the end of the Tour hugging each other and smashing beers. It’s also just behind the presentation stage and a ten min walk to the Sky team bus which is usually parked in the Rue des Saussaies, Rue to Surrene, Rue d’Aguessseau area. You do need to get up at about 5 AM to secure a spot though.

    I’ve done the mountain stage thing, but IMO the Paris one was the best of them all.
  • cougie
    cougie Posts: 22,512
    Yes done the Paris finish in a weekend thanks to Eurostar. As you say a long day and you need sharp elbows. By the end crowds are 6 deep.

    Much more relaxed up a mountain with your bike.

    If you can get tickets to get into the Village Depart it's worth doing.
  • Thigh_burn
    Thigh_burn Posts: 489
    I was wondering about Paris. I even considered doing it in one day - Eurostar there and back. But the earliest one gets in at 11.45 and I'm assuming getting across Paris is a total nightmare. Might be a good excuse for a weekend there. I'll look into it more. I'll also reconsider going up a mountain. Thanks for the tips
  • Matthewfalle
    Matthewfalle Posts: 17,380
    homers double wrote:
    Having watched the TDF Grand Depart from Yorkshire a few miles from my front door, this years TDY in Skipton a few miles away from where we were staying I'd advise the sofa being the best place if you want to follow the actual racing itself.

    If it's flying through where you happen to be, sure go for it but otherwise you spend an hour or so waiting followed by 30 seconds of cycling and then it's all over.

    this - we were passing through somewhere where the '18 Tour went through, so got a nice lunch, couple of glasses of wine, watched them shoooooom through, stole some Tour signage and moved on.

    You'll be in your viewing place for a couple of hours so please check out who is standing next to - don't make the mistake we made. Sheeeeeesh......

    remember to make the most of everything around the race - food, wine, local atmosphere, etc.

    #holiday
    Postby team47b » Sun Jun 28, 2015 11:53 am

    De Sisti wrote:
    This is one of the silliest threads I've come across. :lol:

    Recognition at last Matthew, well done!, a justified honour :D
    smithy21 wrote:

    He's right you know.
  • poweredbyidris
    poweredbyidris Posts: 848
    My pennies-worth - if going for a mountain stage, pick a stage with multiple climbs and go for the penultimate one. The race should be broken up nicely, but you avoid the issues of being on the final climb (ie. they usually shut the road at about 10am, including cycling up; big crowds; takes ages to get off the mountain afterwards)
  • briantrumpet
    briantrumpet Posts: 20,403
    KingstonGraham wrote:
    Take your bike and ride part way up a mountain.
    If you do that, arrive very early - I think they close all access, including for cyclists, a couple of hours before the race comes through.
    https://www.facebook.com/unanglaisendiois
  • imposter2.0
    imposter2.0 Posts: 12,028
    Thigh_burn wrote:
    In theory, I have the opportunity to watch the Tour de France anywhere this year. Whether on my sofa or in France. I quite fancy the chance of going to watch a stage in all its glory, even if I only see a few seconds of racing.

    Given that, does anyone have views on the best stages and locations on those stages to do that. Ideally I'd drive across there and find somewhere to plonk myself for the day. Is that feasible? I'm not all that keen on spending three days camped up a mountain. I know it's fun, but it's not my thing.

    St1 & 2 both in Brussels - that would be my choice. Easy two-hour drive from Dunkirk. Leuven would probably be a better (cheaper) option for hotels, just drive or cycle in from there..
  • greasedscotsman
    greasedscotsman Posts: 6,962
    Thigh_burn wrote:
    I'm not all that keen on spending three days camped up a mountain.

    You don't need to do that, just cycle up on the day of the stage. Or if you don't cycle, you could go to see the Planche de Belle Filles stage. Been a couple of times and they run a shuttle bus from Plancher Bas to the base of the climb and you can just walk up to where you want from there.
  • mtb-idle
    mtb-idle Posts: 2,179
    IMO a mountain stage is the best. Take your bike, get up early and ride up the mountain. It's like going to watch the footie at Wembley but you get a chance to play on the pitch first!

    Not only that but if its the last mountain on the stage you can see the riders come past you in dribs and drabs, singly, in small groups and of course the sprinters peloton bringing up the rear.

    Instead of them all flying by you in three or four seconds there is often 40 minutes between the first and last rider coming through and they are travelling slow enough for you to recognise and cheer on individual riders.

    Here's an edit of my experience at the top of the Croix de Fer in July 2017 with my youngest son (23 at the time) and two South African riding buddies

    7h du matin

    (best viewed with sound - hope you like it).

    as per above, you don't need to camp there. either ride or drive as near as possible and then ride up in the morning, back down in the afternoon and enjoy the comforts of a hotel shower and bed for the night. Screw camping, i'm too old and earn too much money to sleep in a fekkin tent...
    FCN = 4
  • poweredbyidris
    poweredbyidris Posts: 848
    Great video MTB-Idle - I can't have been more than 0.5km down the hill from you that day!

    This is what prompted my tip above of watching on the penultimate climb of a multi-mountain day - loads of room for everyone and a more relaxed atmosphere. A few lads from my campsite went to watch further down the route on the Galibier, and it took them forever to get home (although this might have had something to do with the Telegraphe being in the way :lol: )
  • mtb-idle
    mtb-idle Posts: 2,179
    PoweredByIdris wrote:
    Great video MTB-Idle - I can't have been more than 0.5km down the hill from you that day!

    Glad you enjoyed it. I've been less than 500 metres from one of my own sons on some mountains and still not spotted them. we are all cool about it but my wife gets very upset.

    'you left Sam/Ben on their own all day?'

    they are 28/26 luv; get over it... :lol:
    FCN = 4
  • poweredbyidris
    poweredbyidris Posts: 848
    Was a great day - up in the mountains, groups all over the place, got to see Contador on the charge, huge amounts of swag from the caravan, and lots of "ou-est Kittel?"
  • Thigh_burn
    Thigh_burn Posts: 489
    Thanks for all the tips so far. I take on board the mountain comments, but logistics / timing make it difficult. However, it does look like I could make it to Toulouse for stages 11 (where it ends) and 12 (where it starts). I appreciate it's not the same as being on the Galibier, but I'm assuming it would still be a pretty fun couple of days? Or would I not get see that much?
  • cougie
    cougie Posts: 22,512
    If you want to see the race watch it on TV.

    The atmosphere of the tour is great. Publicity caravan and the helicopters overhead make it well worth experiencing.
  • Thigh_burn
    Thigh_burn Posts: 489
    Is there any way to wangle entry to the race village - either arrival or depart? I’m now going to Toulouse and getting a bit closer would be exciting. Sports Tours Intl do seem to offer access to depart but appear to be sold out for Toulouse. Any other ways to do it?
  • cougie
    cougie Posts: 22,512
    You need contacts. We wangled some passes in the Lance era but haven't got them now. It is great in the village depart. Looking at the coverage on TV now it seems that every past Tour rider is on the race covering it somehow.
  • mtb-idle
    mtb-idle Posts: 2,179
    Well, I discovered that the best place to watch Le tour live was not Tignes.

    We parked up in Bourges-Saint-Mourice in the morning and rode up to Tignes, stopping on the way for a picture with Didi the Devil.

    Onto Tignes and the KOM point at the top. It was busy but plenty of places to watch the tour from. We picked a spot roadside but then the call of some beer on a hot day and a big screen to watch the race unfold was too much and we headed to the open area next to the lake.

    Just as the race started to heat up we could see the thunder clouds rolling in overhead but fortunately despite the heavy rain we avoided a total soaking as there were plenty of places to shelter.

    it dried up a bit and back out to watch the screen but of course the landslide took effect back down the climb, over the road we had earlier ascended and the stage was neutralised.

    we headed back down and after a brief period of concern that the only road back to Bourg and my car was closed we managed to descend with it starting to rain heavier and heavier once more.

    Finally got back to the car soaked and chilly but fortunately had clean, dry clothes waiting for me although i did have to turn around and drive back up part of the mountain to collect my son who had an issue with his disc brakes overheating leading to brake fade (a nice friendly term used to describe when the hydraulic fluid starts to boil resulting in a total loss of braking power. fortunately he noticed this before the fluid boiled and chose to stop rather than risk it).

    Still at least i can say that was the day that i managed the climb to Tignes and the pro-riders couldn't make it...
    FCN = 4
  • mtb-idle
    mtb-idle Posts: 2,179
    Here are a couple of videos of my week in the alps last month:

    Tour de France - Thursday 25 July 2019 and it's Le Tour Stage 18 from Embrun > Valloire. Starts out sunny and 35 degrees as we climb the Col du Telegrahpe and Galibier but ends up in a massive thunderstorm and we arrive back at the car soaking wet and shivering cold but high on adrenalin.

    Dayvan Cowboy - edited highlights of Tuesday and Wednesday 23rd & 24th and without the tour in town we tackle the much quieter slopes of Val Thorens, Saint Bernard, Cormet de Roselend and Col du Pre (which is a must-ride if you are in the area).

    Best viewed with sound.
    FCN = 4
  • poweredbyidris
    poweredbyidris Posts: 848
    Loved those MTB-Idle. You had a great spot at the top of the Galibier.

    What time did you have to get up there before the road closures?
  • mtb-idle
    mtb-idle Posts: 2,179
    Glad you liked them. I suppose it was about 1pm
    FCN = 4
  • mtb-idle
    mtb-idle Posts: 2,179
    Here's my final video for your viewing pleasure.

    A mash-up of stages 19 and 20 as our climb from Bourg Saint Maurice up to Tignes at 2,089m (in 30 C temps) and the subsequent thunderstorm and flooding (and drop in temp to 15 C) meant that we didn't actually see any pro's that day so I've added the footage in from Stage 20 to add a bit of colour.

    This gives you an idea of the madness of the tour and the weird things you see along the way including Benedictine (?) monks giving out blessings. I also got chatting to a random female rider on the climb who was dressed head to toe in Bora Hansgrohe kit and team bike. She got loads of cheers along the way and it turns out she was the sister of Ralph Denk, founder and owner of Bora (she told me that) although I didn't get any footage of her as I felt that to suddenly start filming her would be a bit weird.

    Clint Eastwood Rides Again

    Enjoy
    FCN = 4

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