Guide to Going to the Tour De France in Person

How to Watch and What to Expect

By Laura Bangerter, published Apr 06, 2006
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Are you going to be visiting Europe, specifically France, during the Tour. Would you like to watch a stage live?  There is some information on the Internet about how to watch a stage, but not a lot. I am by no means expert, but I have done it so I can tell you what my husband and I did and maybe it will help you.

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SEE?
First you will have to decide what kind of stage you want to see. Do you want to dedicate the whole day, or maybe just get a quick glimpse of the peloton? If you want to make a day of it, pick a time trial or mountain stage, otherwise pick a flat stage.

THE TOOLS YOU WILL NEED:
In order to watch the Tour you need to know where the riders will be. The general route is posted on the Tour de France website (http://www.letour.fr) months before the race starts, however they do not announce the exact route until just a couple of weeks before the race. So you will have to do most of your planning at the last minute. When the exact route is announced you can go to the Tour De France website to get the complete details of each stage. The description of each stage is displayed in a table format with the road names and approximate arrival times of the caravan and riders based on their pace. MapQuest (http://www.mapquest.com) has online maps of France so you can use it to see exactly where the roads are.

 
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Doping scandals made the headlines in 2006's Tour de France.

Credit: Kalgis

Copyright: Bigstockphoto

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Takeaways
  • The exact route of the Tour is not posted until just a couple of weeks before the event.
  • Get a copy of the VeloNews Official Tour de France Guide
  • Be ready to just go with the flow
Did You Know?
The team Euskaltel-Euskadi is owned by the fans that live in Spain's Basque country.
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This has been the most helpful info I have found so far. I do have one question though. are the roads open until the caravans come through? I mean will be be able to drive there the day of the stage?

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Posted on 06/18/2007 at 10:06:00 AM

 
we just missed one of the tours a few years back...;(...vive le Lance

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Posted on 06/09/2007 at 8:06:00 PM

 
This is a dream trip for my husband and I, and this was the first research I've done. You make it seem possible to see something which has always just been a faraway wish for us. Thanks.

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Posted on 04/20/2006 at 7:04:00 PM

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