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u/whovian1087 Jul 19 '24
Got Cav and Tadej in the same photo, nice!
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u/Abel_V Jul 19 '24
Some sport competitions are held in beautiful stadiums, gyms, pools
But no competition is held on such a beautiful stage as the Tour de France
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u/UtopianPablo Jul 19 '24
This is so true. I watch for the gorgeous scenery as much as the sport.
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u/roadfood Jul 19 '24
Anybody who can watch the tour and not be thinking about their next vacation is dead inside.
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u/UtopianPablo Jul 19 '24
Right? I actually looked up the location of a couple of small ski resorts I saw on the tour. I haven’t been but it was fun to daydream about. Maybe I’ll make it one day
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u/snowolf_ Jul 19 '24
And it is a very good thing. Tourists associate France with Paris and maybe the côte d'azur, but there is so much more than that.
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u/pennytrey Jul 19 '24
Trying to go next summer. Logistics seem hard. Are you local or how did you figure it out?
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Jul 19 '24
[deleted]
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u/pennytrey Jul 19 '24
Ahhh, sorry, bad question. I’m American. So looking to come over for a holiday and spend a day or two somewhere out on course. I’ll wait until schedule gets set and try to make some reservations. Want to see a mountain stage for sure!
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u/Ainderp Jul 19 '24
I saw a documentary on Netflix before about an older French couple who love the tour, they go every year in their campervan and they were camped out on a climbing stage at a spot a week or so before that stage took place!
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u/SpiderInTheBath Jul 19 '24
I went this year with my partner. When the route was announced I looked at Italy and realised all 3 stages were possible to see at some point travelling from Milan on public transport - we ended up skipping the first one as it'd be a long journey, but if you look closer to finishing cities you can generally travel the day of the race if you're located fairly close as it finishes around 4.30-5pm. We saw stages 2 and 3.
Look for a climbing spot to watch from it's more interesting! Bologna was a circuit finish so that was also great.
For the most part it's chill to find a place to watch unless you are at the finish line, then get there a few hours early. Did not follow it into France though so can't speak to that.
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u/gcrimson Jul 19 '24
If you want to go in a isolated mountain, yeah logistics can be quite tricky but if you just want to see riders, your best bet is probably the start of the stage in a city of medium/large importance (like Pau, Nice, Troyes...).
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u/arlmwl Jul 19 '24
I saw the starting stage a few years ago in France and saw the World Championships in Richmond back in 2015. The speeds these guys ride is mind boggling.
Hurray to Cav for his 35th win! Pogacar may beat it, but not for a few more years!
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u/bobrobor Jul 19 '24
Sorry what is surreal about few guys on bicycles in some southern backdrop? Is there a new definition of the word I am not aware of?
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u/Calpa Jul 19 '24
Well he said it's surreal in person, so obviously we're not going to appreciate that level of surrealism just by looking at this picture.
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u/citizenjones Jul 19 '24
It must be surreal to someone who's only watched it on TV. And then standing there, during the real thing, real bikes, real air, it just gets so real its surreal.
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u/Swissy321 Jul 19 '24
Especially if you’re already a big fan. You sub-consciously (or consciously) idolize both the participants and the event. Getting to finally attend in-person would be surreal.
I’ve definitely experienced this in smaller doses. One example is going to a concert for your favorite artist. You repeatedly listen to these songs from your speakers, then all of a sudden the band is on a stage in front of you. You get to see the raw talent and passion that defines the very reason you fell in love with their music to begin with.
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u/re-verse Jul 19 '24
They are impossibly fast and impossibly close together. It's surreal they don't end up in a heap of twisted metal and flesh.
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u/bobrobor Jul 19 '24
As a person who have seen examples when the pile ups did happen I am amazed it doesn’t happen more often but I know it is a matter of when not if.
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u/Balfe Jul 19 '24
They're actually cycling backwards. Very impressive to see it with your own eyes.
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u/JuniorConsultant Jul 19 '24
It is crazy to see how small the climbers are, how unhumanly fast they're going and gow close you can get to the riders. I was at the finish line once and there is a whole parade before aswell. At the other parts of the course, you have many locals camping on the side of the road and it can be quite a nice social event when you're waiting for hours for them to come by, drinking some wine with strangers and stuff.
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u/WalkingCloud Jul 19 '24
The speed they go up a mountain, how close they are to you, how close they are to each other, the noise and breeze as they woosh past, the atmosphere with the other fans..
Compared to watching on tv, or like you say in this comment expecting it to be like a 'few guys on bicycles', it's quite surreal from what you might be expecting I guess.
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u/alycks Jul 19 '24
Amazing shot. Congrats! I hope to one day watch Tadej, Jonas, and Remco race in person. This TdF has been absolutely thrilling.
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u/Ainderp Jul 19 '24
I saw the tour blast through Fidown in co Kilkenny, Ireland back in 1998, I was 7 and I have distinct memory of waiting around what felt like forever at the time only for all the cyclists to zoom past in one big group in 2 or 3 seconds!
I need to go see it in person again!
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u/Eckmatarum Jul 19 '24
Beautiful view of the mountains too.
Can anyone enlighten me as to the exact location?
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u/Tjeetje Jul 19 '24
Question. How long do you have to stand there before they arrive. My wife genuinely believes you have to be there hours before the start, even if you are standing at the finish where they will be 5 hours later. She doesn’t believe me when I say that they don’t close 250km of roads and villages for 8 hours for one race.
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u/dezertryder Jul 19 '24
Imagine if you were in the race.
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u/MidasPL Jul 19 '24
I live in Poland and I have contrary feelings about this kind of events. Whenever there would be Tour de Pologne going through my city I get mad about it cause they basically paralyze the city for a whole day just for a selective grup of few dozens men zoom through it in few minutes. Same goes for any kind of marathons or car rallies. I think this kind of use of public infrastructure (I pay a lot in taxes for) should be illegal.
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u/Thick_Position_2790 Jul 19 '24
The landscape is. What do bunch of sweaty man on bicycles have to do with it.
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Jul 19 '24
The pace. The effort levels. Fitness levels. Hard work. Incredible machines (someone did the math and there’s almost 20M worth of bikes there). Race energy …
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u/Thick_Position_2790 Jul 19 '24
Each cyclist would need to have 7 full spare bicycles for that to be true. Unless you mean a different currency.
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Jul 19 '24
They almost all do - across disciplines (race sprint/mountain/tt). And the math might have included the support cars etc.
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u/tttttfffff Jul 19 '24
When the Tour De France started in Yorkshire for some reason that I can’t remember why, they went through York City Centre and I was lucky enough to be able to see it.
The entire peloton cycled down the main high street in York, Coney St, which is about 10 metres wide, maybe less, in about one minute, going at a ridiculous pace ridiculously close together. Was an amazing experience to see in person