Here's a general outline of the trip (with some photos from last year):
Saturday, July 18 - After flying to Geneva, we'll be picked up and driven to Montreux, where we'll stay for 3 nights. At some point during the afternoon we'll all unpack our bikes and take a warmup ride in the area, but I don't think we see any of the actual Tour today.
Sunday, July 19 - We'll ride from Montreux, hooking up with the Tour course about 30 km away, then we'll ride on the actual course ahead of the peloton, up the Col des Mosses (Cat. 2), stopping at the top to watch the Publicity Caravan and then the race itself, before riding back to Montreux. We ride 60 km of today's actual course, and 110 km altogether.
Monday, July 20 - 2nd rest day for the Tour, but we'll leave the hotel and after riding about 20 km we'll do the last 60 km of yesterday's stage, including the final Cat. 1 climb to Verbier. Afterwards, we'll try to visit with one of the teams or maybe see a little bit of Montreux.
Tuesday, July 21 - We'll be at the starting village of Martigny in the morning, and if it's anything like last year at Embrun we'll have access to the team bus parking area, get to see the bikes and team cars up close, and maybe even meet some of the riders, as well as enjoying all of the other starting village festivities. After the stage begins around noon, we'll cycle about 90 km, crossing into France and passing through Chamonix to our next hotel in Megeve. It looks like there are 3 big climbs; the first is about 15 km long and the final climb into Megeve is about 20 km.
Wednesday, July 22 - Our hotel in Megeve is right on today's Tour route about 90 km from the start in Bourg St. Maurice and according to the
official schedule the race should pass Megeve at about 2:45 p.m.; but we'll leave much earlier in the morning to ride the last 82 km of the actual course, including a Cat. 2 climb (the Cote D'Araches) and two Cat. 1 climbs (Col de Romme and Col de la Colombiere).
This is the day that we'll get to ride across the actual finish line and have our photos taken on the award podium in Le Grand-Bornand, as we did last summer on the Alpe D'Huez. After all that, we should be ready to see the Tour riders arrive at the finish. It should be an incredible day and a great way to celebrate my birthday!
Thursday, July 23 - Time trial around Lac D'Annecy. We'll ride to the course from our hotel, starting with a downhill of 25 km (always fun) and then a climb to a viewing spot on the climb of the Cote de Bluffy. Apparently there will be an additional ride for us in the area, which I'll probably do since watching a time trial isn't terribly exciting - at least judging from the one last summer. We'll spend this night in Grenoble.
Friday, July 24 - The Tour leaves the Alps, and our tour takes a day off of watching it to take a 75 km ride in the Vercors region before going to Gordes, where we'll spend the next two nights.
Saturday, July 25 - The much-anticipated penultimate stage of the Tour. Our ride today is only 61 km, but the final half appears to be all uphill, including the 20 km climb from Bedoin up Mt. Ventoux. This will mirror the ride up Alpe D'Huez last summer, which we also did just a few hours before the peleton arrived, so the roads will be lined with spectators and it should be very exciting. Ventoux is 7 km longer than the Alpe D'Huez climb was, and should present quite a challenge, expecially after all the riding we will have done in the past week. I don't know if we'll get to ride the final km of the actual course (the following video shows my ride last summer across the Alpe D'Huez finish), but in any case we'll be at the top to watch the conclusion.
Sunday, July 26 - We'll take the Bullet Train from Avignon in the morning, arriving in Paris in time to go to our hotel on the Etoile, and then walk to our suite at another hotel overlooking the Champs Elysees to watch the final stage.
Monday, July 27 - A day of sightseeing in Paris and then return to New Orleans on Tuesday. Whew!
Sunday, July 19 - We'll ride from Montreux, hooking up with the Tour course about 30 km away, then we'll ride on the actual course ahead of the peloton, up the Col des Mosses (Cat. 2), stopping at the top to watch the Publicity Caravan and then the race itself, before riding back to Montreux. We ride 60 km of today's actual course, and 110 km altogether.
Monday, July 20 - 2nd rest day for the Tour, but we'll leave the hotel and after riding about 20 km we'll do the last 60 km of yesterday's stage, including the final Cat. 1 climb to Verbier. Afterwards, we'll try to visit with one of the teams or maybe see a little bit of Montreux.
Tuesday, July 21 - We'll be at the starting village of Martigny in the morning, and if it's anything like last year at Embrun we'll have access to the team bus parking area, get to see the bikes and team cars up close, and maybe even meet some of the riders, as well as enjoying all of the other starting village festivities. After the stage begins around noon, we'll cycle about 90 km, crossing into France and passing through Chamonix to our next hotel in Megeve. It looks like there are 3 big climbs; the first is about 15 km long and the final climb into Megeve is about 20 km.
Wednesday, July 22 - Our hotel in Megeve is right on today's Tour route about 90 km from the start in Bourg St. Maurice and according to the official schedule the race should pass Megeve at about 2:45 p.m.; but we'll leave much earlier in the morning to ride the last 82 km of the actual course, including a Cat. 2 climb (the Cote D'Araches) and two Cat. 1 climbs (Col de Romme and Col de la Colombiere).
This is the day that we'll get to ride across the actual finish line and have our photos taken on the award podium in Le Grand-Bornand, as we did last summer on the Alpe D'Huez. After all that, we should be ready to see the Tour riders arrive at the finish. It should be an incredible day and a great way to celebrate my birthday!
Thursday, July 23 - Time trial around Lac D'Annecy. We'll ride to the course from our hotel, starting with a downhill of 25 km (always fun) and then a climb to a viewing spot on the climb of the Cote de Bluffy. Apparently there will be an additional ride for us in the area, which I'll probably do since watching a time trial isn't terribly exciting - at least judging from the one last summer. We'll spend this night in Grenoble.
Friday, July 24 - The Tour leaves the Alps, and our tour takes a day off of watching it to take a 75 km ride in the Vercors region before going to Gordes, where we'll spend the next two nights.
Saturday, July 25 - The much-anticipated penultimate stage of the Tour. Our ride today is only 61 km, but the final half appears to be all uphill, including the 20 km climb from Bedoin up Mt. Ventoux. This will mirror the ride up Alpe D'Huez last summer, which we also did just a few hours before the peleton arrived, so the roads will be lined with spectators and it should be very exciting. Ventoux is 7 km longer than the Alpe D'Huez climb was, and should present quite a challenge, expecially after all the riding we will have done in the past week. I don't know if we'll get to ride the final km of the actual course (the following video shows my ride last summer across the Alpe D'Huez finish), but in any case we'll be at the top to watch the conclusion.
Sunday, July 26 - We'll take the Bullet Train from Avignon in the morning, arriving in Paris in time to go to our hotel on the Etoile, and then walk to our suite at another hotel overlooking the Champs Elysees to watch the final stage.
Monday, July 27 - A day of sightseeing in Paris and then return to New Orleans on Tuesday. Whew!
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