Anyone ever been a spectator at the Tour de France?

In My Humble Opinion
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I’m putting this in IMHO because while it is about a sporting event, it’s not about the sport itself. If a mod thinks this is better off in The Game Room feel free to move.

This summer we plan on hiking from Chamonix to Zermatt, and then have a few days at the end of the trip that coincide with the last few mountain stages of the Tour. We’d probably going to spend two or three nights in Val Thorens where the penultimate stage ends. We spent a week in Val Thorens skiing a few years back so we’re fairly familiar with the area.

Anyone ever watched a stage in person? I like the mountain stages because besides being more interesting they get spread out quite a bit making for a longer experience. But I imaging the party atmosphere around the tour is interesting. Not sure what to expect, but would love to hear some stories, tips, or dangers.

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I was in several towns in southern France in 2011. I missed the Tour de France by one day… twice.

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Yes, a few years ago we arrived in Paris the morning of the final stage and decided to find a spot along the route. I’m not sure if every stage is like this but prior to the cyclists coming through, all the sponsor and support vehicles, some decorated quite elaborately, parade through. That was pretty entertaining, as were the cyclists themselves.

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I saw the final day in Paris in the 2003 Tour de France. I think at that point, it was more of a formality than anything.

We had set up on the corner of Place de la Concorde where Rue de Rivoli enters (right in front of the Jeu de Paume, in fact). At first, we thought we were unlucky- we ended up behind a railing which was about 6-7 feet from the ledge, and behind a whole lot of people who were standing in front of the railing, so we couldn’t see much.

Then, the Gendarmerie showed up and ran everyone in front of the railing off for safety reasons- we ended up having prime spots for viewing!

Anyway, they did the customary 8 laps through Paris. They aren’t particularly speedy- we were there for hours. Anyway, what was interesting, is that the peloton was preceded and followed by a bunch of advertising and support vehicles. So we’d be standing there killing time, and then we’d see a bunch of colorful vehicles drive by, a brief pause, and then the peloton, and right on their heels, the team support vehicles. And then we’d kill time for a while again (mostly trying unsuccessfully to chat up European women and drinking beer)

We went more because it promised to be a fun party weekend (we were in the UK on a study abroad summer program) than because of the athletic event itself.

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The last time I was there was 2003, too. I was on Luz Ardiden, the day Lance got his handlebars stuck in the strap of a spectator’s bag and fell, then got up to attack and win the stage decisively. By the time he reached me on the upper slopes he was already out front alone. Iban Mayo was a big thing then, so there were big crowds of noisy Basque fans making for a great atmosphere.

The party atmosphere is a lot of fun, and the final climb of a mountaintop finish is definitely the best place to see it, because (as you say) the race gets spread out so much, and of course the riders are moving more slowly. Well before the race arrives there are many sponsor vehicles that come through in the race caravan, and some of them make a decent effort to entertain the crowd, sometimes throwing out promotional bits and pieces. You know the race is coming because of the noise of the TV helicopters. You’ll often have a break out front, then the GC group, then half an hour more of trying to pick out all your other favorite riders, many of whom are fighting their way up just to make the time cut. If you haven’t seen the pros before, they look really skinny irl.

You just need to be aware that you need to get there very early, and you can’t be in a hurry to leave. If you want to drive up, you probably need to arrive the day before, and plan to leave the day after. You can usually ride a bike up early on the day of the race, but the gendarmes may stop you even riding a bike when the roads start to get packed with people by early afternoon. If you’re equipped for a hiking trip anyway, probably much more enjoyable to park a long way away and hike in and out.

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Part of the appeal of staying in Val Thorens (assuming we can get appropriate lodging) is that it’s literally right on the stage route, near the top of the climb. Depending on where we stay we might be able to see the race from our window but I’m sure it’ll be more fun out with the masses.

But we could move down the hill a ways to spectator friendly spot where we have better sight lines. Since the final stage is in Paris the next day I don’t think anyone associated with the race will stay in town - they all have to get to an airport and fly north. We’d be flying home from Geneva the next day.

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I don’t know that climb, but it’s very cool if you can find a spot with a view of switchbacks below.

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Here’s a pic I took:

Imgur

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I’ve seen it twice, but never in France. I was in Dublin for the 1998 prologue time trial, and in Skipton, Yorkshire for a stage in 2014. In Dublin I met some locals who knew the course and the pubs along the way. We’d get a pint in a pub, go out to watch a few riders go by, then move on to the next pub. In Skipton the town centre was packed so we walked out of town a bit and stood waiting by the road for about an hour before they all whizzed past. Then we went back into town for a pint and watched the rest of the stage on the big screens they’d set up in town.

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It’s getting close, but the past week or so has been pretty tough for the riders. I’m bummed that we won’t be seeing Froome in the Tour.

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The office building I work in overlooks one of the final stretches of the Stage 3 leg in 2014 (finishing on the Mall in central London). I’ve no interest in cycling - don’t think I’ve been on a bike in the last 30 years - but if a major global sporting event runs past the office …

Bunch of us crowded round a window for a look. Not exactly riveting. Nobody was trying for a break at that point, so it was just the peleton flashing past, then a few minutes of stragglers (who got the bigger cheers from the crowd).
As a non-cyclist and avid cynic, I did remark afterwards that it was just about worth seeing if all you had to do was break from work and walk across a corridor to do so.

(My late father did used to follow the TV coverage, but mainly as a way of watching French scenery.)

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Right you are! In fact, the last stage is always a formality (by tradition) with a few notable exceptions, such as in 1989, when it was an individual time trial. It’s generally considered poor form for a general-classification contender to attack on the last stage.

Not quite…2003 marked 100 years since the first Tour, so the riders did ten laps, not the usual eight.

I’m not sure how one gets from “we were there for hours” to “the peloton was slow.” Those ten laps took 80 minutes or so—maybe a little less.[sup]1[/sup]

Those not-particularly-speedy professional bicycle racers completed that day’s 152 kilometers in three hours and 39 minutes. That’s an average of about 41.6 km/h (25.8 mph).

I didn’t find 2003’s average speeds for portion on the Champs Elysees circuit, but an average of about 50 km/h (31 mph) is not unusual. The final sprint is often north of 65 km/h (40 MPH). If that’s not particularly speedy, I’m curious about how fast you usually ride.

If the OP is interested in the cultural context surrounding the Tour, I can’t recommend the following book highly enough: The Tour de France by Christopher S. Thompson - eBook - University of California Press

This cultural history was written by an actual historian, so the book is refreshingly free of the hagiographic tone typical of sports writing. It’s also a delight to read…it’s no dry academic treatise.

I was particularly interested in how early 20th-century political factions tried to appropriate the race to advance opposing dogmas. IIRC, the communists liked the Tour because riders in a breakaway (and in the peloton in general) share the work at the front for the benefit of all. The fascists liked it because the winner, after struggling mightily, demonstrated his superiority and reaped the rewards (or something like that).

The OP asked about dangers involved in watching the Tour in person. In any given Tour, there are always a few spectators who get hit (or nearly hit) by riders because they’re looking through a camera lens and can’t judge how close the peloton is. It’s painful to watch! If you’re going to shoot photos, make sure you’re out of the way.

The crash in this video was caused by a gendarme, not a spectator, but he was looking through a camera when it happened.

[sup]1[/sup] Each lap of the Elysees circuit is about 6 km, so ten laps is about 60 km. At 45 km/h, those ten laps would take about an hour and 20 minutes.

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It will probably increase the likelihood that something interesting will be afoot in the final mountain stages that you are planning to see. Along with Thomas, it brings Bernal into play, super-talented but very young and an unknown force over three weeks. More interesting to see him racing for himself than shutting the race down to protect a Froome lead.

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If you get a chance, GO! So much fun. And it didn’t hurt that Team Ineos was staying at our hotel and we rubbed elbows with the yellow jersey a few times.

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A couple of years ago the Tour De France came through Yorkshire. My house is at the bottom of one of the biggest climbs they did in the UK (Holme Moss).

It was fantastic, a proper party atmosphere. 1000s of spectators, the air filled with helicopters (who used “my” Airfield for fuelling), the procession of support trucks before and after the cyclists come through, a real event.

We could see the Peloton coming through for about 5 seconds.