Tour de France

https://www.letour.fr/en/overall-route

I saw the prologue and the first stage last year in the Vendee. The prologue is worth catching if you are nearby. It’s amazing how close you can get to the team buses and riders! There would certainly be more security in the U.K. We rubbed shoulders with Chris Froome and G (who went on to win the race).

The route is well publicised. We studied the route and picked a relatively narrow 90 degree corner in a village where we knew they would have to slow down. There aren’t any mountains in the Vendee, so we could not see a mountain stage.

The roads around the route are closed for hours beforehand, so you need to work out where to park. We parked about a 10 minute walk from the route and we were there about 3 hours before the race. We had folding chairs with us, which were a godsend. The caravan goes through about an hour before the race, throwing away free goodies such as sweets. Many French people went home after the caravan had gone through and didn’t stay to watch the race.

On the mountain stages, they are closed from early morning, so you have to get in position hours in advance and there are no facilities, hence the large number of motor homes on the slopes!

After the stage has flashed by, the roads reopen reasonably promptly.

Thanks for your great advice! It was very helpful! I can't wait to see a stage in person, versus watch it on TV.

Thanks again!

I haven't done it yet but I've thought about it. My thoughts:
- Watch on an uphill leg. The riders are spread out and going by slowly.
- Watch the finish in Paris. There's a lot of atmosphere and they take multiple laps on the Champs Elysee.
- Watch from a town that has both a start and stop. There will be a festive atmosphere and you can watch the end of one day and the start of the next.
- A lot of swag hits the ground in an eating area. Other than that it wouldn't be too interesting.
- Don't pick some random flat area. The peleton will be by you in seconds and that will be that.
- Unless you want to see people peeing while riding their bikes, don't watch from a relief area (if they'll even let you).