Tour De France Spectating

NeedsTraining

Anyone have any tips, tricks or information on spectating at TdF?

Will be on holidays with the family but hoping to nip across to catch the stage on July 9th starting in Pau and going up Tourmalet.

Where to watch, time required etc etc. Any info appreciated.

Cheers,

NT

Carawaystick

I'd probably pick here, so you can see them climbing below and as they pass. I'd say you'ld have to be there early in the morning to get up there though, with food/drink/sunscreen/coats

kilns

Roads usually close from about 8 am that morning. My advice would be to drive to Pierrefitte-Nestales, park the car there and then cycle up the gorge towards Tourmalet, this brings you to Luz St Saveur which is basically the start of the Tourmalet ascent, lovely town should be a good atmosphere. If you continue a further 7km onwards you will reach Bareges, which is the last town before it really opens up. About a km or two outside Bareges is when reach superbareges ski station where it really opens up.

lissard

My experience of spectating at the Tour was on the final stage and the entire tour passed by in about 90 seconds. That is lead cars, then peloton for about 20 seconds and then the race convoy. This was supposed to be a processional stage but slow for a pro cyclist is still pretty damn fast! I would imagine that given the Touramalet is the first climb on stage 8 and relatively early in the stage the peloton should be pretty compact. I can't imagine big time gaps opening up so the entire circus might pass by fairly quickly.

The big thing for my kids was the caravan, it comes an hour before the peloton. They hand out all sort of free tat e.g. Polka-dot hats, food samples, pens etc. For small kids this stuff is 100 times more interesting than watching the racers passing. The TdF website publishes a timetable of exactly when the tour and the caravan pass through the various towns. Follow this and if you have any kids with you they won't be disappointed.

Carawaystick

lissard wrote: »

My experience of spectating at the Tour was on the final stage and the entire tour passed by in about 90 seconds. That is lead cars, then peloton for about 20 seconds and then the race convoy. This was supposed to be a processional stage but slow for a pro cyclist is still pretty damn fast! I would imagine that given the Touramalet is the first climb on stage 8 and relatively early in the stage the peloton should be pretty compact. I can't imagine big time gaps opening up so the entire circus might pass by fairly quickly.

The strava kom is an hour so 19kmh average speed up - peleton may be faster, but not hugely faster. Plus you should be able to see them on approach where I pointed out.

Exiled1

I think it is best to see the cyclists up close at the stage start. You can hang around the area, look at the bikes, watch the caravan take off etc. I was in Carcassonne two years ago and it was much better than any location along the road where you might catch a flash of jersey. Was at the barrier beside the Astana team, skinniest sportsmen I have ever seen. Then I got close to Greipel, dramatic contrast between svelte upper body and tree trunk legs....

Captain Scarlet

NeedsTraining wrote: »

Anyone have any tips, tricks or information on spectating at TdF?

Will be on holidays with the family but hoping to nip across to catch the stage on July 9th starting in Pau and going up Tourmalet.

Where to watch, time required etc etc. Any info appreciated.

Cheers,

NT

Did you go and see the stage? Weather was pretty awful!