Watching the Tour in person...

[benb]

Does anyone have experience visiting France for the Tour?

I have been watching the TdF website and they have filled in some details in the last month or so but it's still a little mysterious to me.

We are going to France next week and are going to be in Paris for a day or two and then stay in Western Germany.

We are hoping to see the finish of Stage 5 in Colmar, I think that's < 1 hour drive from where we are staying.

They have some time estimates of times but they don't even list the addresses of the start/finish/intermediate points.

I can kind of tell from the map I guess where the finish actually is.

For a sprint finish what kind of time window do you need to actually get there and be able to stake out a position to see anything? (We'd actually probably fine not being right at the finish too.)

[dougefresh]

I was at the opening TT in Leige in '12. Honestly it was really hard to see anything; just a single rider zipping by every minute or so. It was a good party though; especially after Fabs won and the boss started popping bottles

Posting up at the finish to catch the sprint may be a good idea as they'll have a jumbo-tron set up to see the race in the lead up to the finish.

I also had the luck to attend the '12 RVV, hanging out at the top of the Kwermont where they also had a jumbo-tron set up to see the whole race.

In my experience watching a bike race on TV is the best place to actually watch the racing. Attending in person is more for the experience than anything in my opinion, YMMV.

[KJMUNC]

Yep, depends on what you want to see:

Start of the stage has the rider sign-in's and all the riders are in one spot so you can see everyone and there tend to be less people there vs. finishes (but there's still a ton of folks). If you can find the team buses before the start that's another great spot to see guys warming up.

If you can post up on a climb somewhere you can experience the Tour caravan rolling through, then watch everyone come by at a relative slower speed. Anywhere else on the course is just a blur.

Feedzone is another good spot if you want to take home some schwag, as riders toss bidons and musettes quickly after they get them....so position yourself a couple hundred meters from where they're grabbing their bags.

Finish line is cool as it's a big party with aforementioned jumbo-trons, music, podium, etc, but there are usually a TON of people, so be prepared. Sometimes there will be pop-up vendors selling TdF stuff there as well, so it's a good spot to see it all.

[m_sasso]

I was just at the Giro D Italia last month, if you want to be up close, see events and the riders go to the start, everything is much more accessible.

For stage intros and sign in, two to three hours before hand would likely get you a front row seat, an hour before and you are in the fifth row back. I spent most of my time near the team busses, just walk right up anytime before the start immediate access.

If you are there to make noise and party go to the finish, if you are truly interested in the results stay home and watch on the tube.

[Bruce K]

The TdF generally publishes time checks for each stage with early, typical, and late arrivals for various checkpoints.

If you are out on the road get there a couple of hours early to be able to park and find a vantage point.

Plus you will be in place to try and score some swag from the sponsor caravan.

BK

[Spaghetti Legs]

I watched the Alpe D’Huez stage (turn 6] in 2011 and the TT in Grenoble. Went with my wife and 2 kids and we had a great time. It’s more about the experience rather than witnessing the actual racing. On the Alpe we followed the race occasionally via a TV in a nearby RV.

We stayed in a village on the other side of the mountain. I rode the climb that morning, paying attention to good spots to watch as I rode. Went back to our apartment, everybody loaded up and we walked over and were at our spot probably by 11 AM. Race came through later afternoon. The waiting time was fun - people watching, drinking beer and wine, the caravan, listening to the helicopters getting closer, then the race.

Grenoble, we saw very little of the actual race. The finish line was jam packed and we only watched Cadel and some of the other top riders finish. Most of the day was spent with my son getting autographs. The buses were all secured inside the local stadium, so that was a huge disappointment but my son accosted riders as they left/returned for warmups or after they finished the race. Chatted with David Millar that way. Also stumbled across Phil and Paul on break and chatted with them. All in all, tons of fun and completely worth the effort.

We did try to drive to the Galibier stage to watch but the road approaching it was closed off well away from the race. If you’re not encumbered with young children, having a bike in the car is handy.

[Elefantino]

Parking and access is always problematic. As Bruce said, get there early because the publicity caravan is a hoot and they throw a lot of mostly worthless but fun things to the crowd.

The finish line will be taken up mostly by hospitality tents and the broadcast/ASO trailers, so don't plan on being close. If you're not there many hours ahead of time and you get to within 100 meters of the finish, that's a good day.

Team bus areas are great but more for the start than finish.

[ibis]

We were in Paris for the final stage a few years back. If you can get a spot on the Champs Elysees I feel like its the best option to see the most action...plus its the last day so the ceremonies are pretty great. Plus, its Paris...so if the wife/GF is coming there is plenty to do all day before and after. That being said...your going to be grabbing your spot pretty early in the day to be up front. Its sort of a pain in the ass but we met some cool people from the UK while standing around for few hours. Get food, water, and relax.

[pdmtong]

While I have never watched the TdF in person, I would think my AToC experience every year since inception would be similar, albeit lesser in magnitude.

The start: plenty of things to see...team buses arrive, sign in, very relaxed. Walk around, lots of stuff to see up close. they arent racing, but yea, this is as close as you can get to the show.

At some point on the road: pick your spot, camp out, wait. whether flat, climb or descent, you are sitting there waiting. then watching for the front and the back to ride through, then join the leaving morass with the hundreds thousands of others.

Art the finish. Unless you are on the rail, you will not see anything. and that means getting your spot and waiting.

if you are waiting on the road or at the finish...just enjoy it with your eyes.

it's a lot of waiting, which is completely boring unless you make friends with people nearby and your partner/spouse/family is into it too.

as mentioned, if you want to see the race, watch it on TV...I purposely picked a spot at 75m from the finish at this years AtoC stage 3 so I could see the monitor and not be bored waiting. maybe more fun at 25m but no monitor...

[echelon_john]

Been several times now. My advice:
- Go for the spectacle and minimize expectations about seeing details of the race, because you won’t. Eat sausages, drink wine, buy souvenirs, get a sunburn.
- Get where you want to be EARLY. Road closing times are unpredictable and it sucks to get stuck, or worse, Miss the race.
- If you’re there around a time trial, try to walk around the busses; areas are roped off but you’ll see lots of guys warming up and general hubbub.
- Seeing the finish on the Champs Elysees itself requires an early arrival and a LOT of waiting. The area around the Westin hotel-Norwegian Corner and the tunnel/left turn are a little more accessible later into the day.
- Be self sufficient in terms of water etc because it won’t always be available

I definitely recommend seeing a mountain stage. The anticipation building as the caravan starts to go by and the helicopters climb up the valley is electric!

[bikinchris]

Trying to watch the Tour can be an exercise in frustration. The starts can be very crowded, the finish can be roped off and access on the road can require many hours of waiting. The exception would be having a room directly on the route. Good luck with that.
Our experience following the Tour was pretty nice. We got on with a company that was an official TdF partner. They placed us in good position to get in and out and see as much as possible. They sell grandstand tickets on the Champs Elysee. But even there, you need to get on site early and once the race gets on the circuit, the crowd inexplicably stands up so no one can see.

[benb]

Thanks for the advice guys.

It is possible we could go to the start of Stage 6 instead, sounds like that might be a little easier to have fun?

I've obviously been in amateur races & watched some pro races on the side of the road here in the US so I know you're not going to see much in the way you see an NFL or MLB game. The issue there is my wife, son, and BIL might not get that and be disappointed.

So maybe it's better to try and hit the start of Stage 6. That might get us a chance to see some of the other stuff mentioned in a way that doesn't disappoint them or make us spend the whole day sitting on the side of the road to see a few minutes of riders whipping by.

Realistically they look the same as any other Pro race I guess, just a little faster with more hoopla.

[ThasFACE]

I did an exchange program as a wee youngin’ in summer ‘96 and the tour happened to finish a stage in the town where I was living (Villeneuve Sur Lot). Sprint finish. We posted up super early in the morning for a spot by the barricade and waited in the super-damned-hot weather for things to happen. Lots of pomp and such preceding the peloton, but when it finally ripped through the town it was just a blur. Whooshwhooshdone. I was disappointed.

That said, I’m curious about checking out a mountain finish at some point.

[Hindmost]

Originally Posted by benb

Thanks for the advice guys.

It is possible we could go to the start of Stage 6 instead, sounds like that might be a little easier to have fun?

I think you're onto something here. The race action itself transpires and what seems like less than a heartbeat. The hoopla is really what what one is there for and it's easy for a non dyed-in-the-wool bike fan to enjoy. Watching the race on television at a cafe or hotel TV room with locals can be a lot of fun. The finish time comes after you might have had a full day of doing this and that.

[pdmtong]

Originally Posted by benb

Realistically they look the same as any other Pro race I guess, just a little faster with more hoopla.

It's pretty much impossible to expect you would be on the exact part of the course to see a move happen. The only time standing on the side of the road was great for me was when I saw the AToC peloton go 15mph up the hardest section of one of my local climbs (Tunitas Creek) - the section where I am going 6mph. That was cool to see them blast past like it nothing.

so, as others have more succinctly mentioned, just go to the start, and enjoy all the pageantry. I was on the barriers as sagan and cavendish rode past on the way to the sign in. guess what, they look exactly they way they look in magazines and TV. but it was still neat to be a few feet away.

Now that we know your family is there, I wouldn't sit on the side of the road unless they were way into it.