The Tour de France "Caravan"
France for Dutch visitors:
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France's
biggest sporting event
The Tour de
France is certainly the world's greatest cycling race; if you are
visiting France in July, it is a free spectacle that may well be coming
to a town or a road near you! Each year, hundreds of thousands of locals
and holidaymakers turn up in spots all round France to watch not just
the cyclists, but also the great "caravan" of floats, cars, media and
officals go by.....
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"Le
Tour" 2008 - the Itinerary
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Stage
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Date
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Day’s
route (towns, regions)
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Length in Km.
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1st Stage
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Sat 5 July
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Brest –
Plumelec (Brittany)
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195
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2nd Stage
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Sun 6 July
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Auray - Saint
Brieuc (Brittany)
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165
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3rd Stage
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Mon 7 July
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Saint Malo
– Nantes (Brittany – Pays de la Loire)
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195
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4th Stage
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Tue 8 July
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Cholet
– Cholet (Pays de la Loire)
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29
(time trials)
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5th Stage
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Wed 9 July
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Cholet
– Chateauroux (Pays de la Loire – Centre)
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230
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6th Stage
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Thu 10 July
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Aigurande -
Super-Besse (Centre – Auvergne)
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195
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7th Stage
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Fri 11 July
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Brioude
– Aurillac (Auvergne)
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158
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8th Stage
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Sat 12 July
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Figeac
– Toulouse (Midi-Pyrénées)
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174
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9th Stage
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Sun 13 July
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Toulouse -
Bagnères-de-Bigorre (Midi-Pyrénées)
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222
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10th Stage
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Mon 14 July
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Pau
– Hautacam (Midi-Pyrénées)
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154
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Tue 15 July
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Rest day
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11th Stage
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Wed 16 July
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Lannemezan
– Foix (Midi-Pyrénées)
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166
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12th Stage
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Thu 17 July
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Lavelanet
– Narbonne (Midi-Pyrénées - Languedoc)
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168
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13th Stage
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Fri 18 July
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Narbonne
– Nîmes (Languedoc-Roussillon)
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182
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14th Stage
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Sat 19 July
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Nîmes
- Digne-les-Bains (Languedoc R – PACA)
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182
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15th Stage
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Sun 20 July
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Digne-les-Bains
- Prato Nevoso (PACA - Italy)
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216
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Mon 21 July
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Rest day
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16th Stage
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Tue 22 July
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Cuneo–
Jausiers ((Italy – PACA)
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157
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17th Stage
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Wed 23 July
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Embrun -
L'Alpe d'Huez (PACA – Rhone-Alpes)
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210
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18th Stage
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Thu 24 July
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Le
Bourg-d'Oisans - Saint Etienne (Rhone-Alpes)
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197
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19th Stage
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Fri 25 July
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Roanne
– Montluçon (Rhône-Alpes –
Auvergne)
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163
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20th Stage
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Sat 26 July
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Cérilly
- Saint-Amand-Montrond (Auvergne – Centre)
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53 (time
trials)
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21st Stage
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Sun 27 July
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Étampes
– Paris
(Ile de France)
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143
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 With almost 200 cyclists,
including many of the world's best, the Tour de France - which first took place in 1903 - is certainly a
great sporting event; nonetheless, it is an event that has been marred
- even heavily marred - in recent years by doping scandals, with
cyclists proving positive in anti-doping tests. The 2008 race has not
proved different from others, and at least one competitor has been
withdrawn from the race following a positive doping test.
Yet in spite of the doping scandals, and
the withdrawal in recent years of certain major teams, the "Tour" goes
on, and it is difficult to imagine how it could not. This mega sporting
event is worth millions of Euros in advertising, sponsorship and
worldwide television rights, attracts millions of spectators, and is
one of Europe's great media circus acts.
For the hundreds of thousands who turn up to line
the route, the cycling is actually only a tiny bit of the show: While
the time-trial races may offer a more long-drawn-out cycling experience
for spectators, with competitors taking part one by one, on normal race
days the riders may go past in just a minute, especially in the earlier
part of a day's leg, before the participants have become more spaced
out. But then, the actual race is just a small part of the show.
Starting some two hours before the race, the "Caravan" is a cavalcade
of floats, decorated cars and other vehicles that moves along the
route, throwing out goodies and free samples to the spectators; it is a
massive advertising stunt. The advertising caravan, made up of the
Tour's official sponsors, is followed by a long line of official cars,
technical vehicles, media and motorbikes, lights flashing, horns
sounding, all warming up the spectators for the actual event itself.
Then, at last, the riders come by - and are gone again as quickly as
they appeared, pounding uphill or downhill at speeds that can reach 50
mph or more. A bit of an anti-climax.... And with that, the day's
excitement is over.
Anyone wanting to watch the race in a serious
manner would be well advised to do so on television; but for a day's
outing, with all the fun of the crowds, the waiting, the caravan, and
the atmosphere, watching the Tour go by is as good as many other
events, and what's more it's free.
The Tour can be watched all over France, and each
year the route is different, taking in at least one leg in another
country. The 2008 Tour covers a distance of 3500 km, in 21 stages. The most exciting legs are those that take place in
mountainous regions of France, and for this reason, the mountain
regions - Vosges, Jura, Alps, Massif-Central and Pyrenees - tend to get
visited more frequently than some of the flatter regions of France.
The 2009 Tour de France is due
to start on 4th July 2009 from Monaco. The full route will be announced
later.
Tourist attractions in
France, by region
:
Follow these links for a more detailed list of major tourist
attractions in the following regions::
Paris tourist attractions
Alsace tourist attractions
Auvergne
tourist attractions
Brittany
tourist attractions
Burgundy tourist attractions
Franche-Comté
tourist attractions
Tourist attractions in
Languedoc-Roussillon
Tourist attractions in
Normandy
Tourist attractions in the
Pays de la Loire
Provence
tourist attractions
A brief introduction to the regions of France
More regions coming soon...
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About-France.com 2008
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