Watching TDF in person

mel.b

I’ll be in the Nice area next year and have realised i’ll be there when the second last stage of the tour starts in Nice. I’d quite like to see it - can anyone who has been give me any advice, like what time would i need to get to somewhere, recommendations on a good town or spot on that stage to watch it from (ideally accessible via public transport) and any other helpful info. I’m happy to travel outside of nice city to watch it go past.

cunavalos

It is primarily a mountain stage and one would hope that the final climb will see fireworks which may help decide the winner of the tour. There are 4 planned climbs and in general the route is pretty rural in nature and public transport will not be available on the mountain roads.

Below is a video of the route ( There may be small changes in the coming months but the major climbs will remain). One option would simply be to soak up the atmosphere of the stage start in Nice beforehand. Personally I would aim for a spot close to the finish of the final climb but I imagine it will be insanely busy.

https://youtu.be/9eJrm_b0NLA

A second option would be to go to first climb Col de Turini which is famous from the Paris Nice race and the Monte Carlo rally and then head back to Nice to see the stage finish on TV , I imagine there may even be a big screen/ fan park set up in Nice in advance of the final stage the following day.

One other option would be the village of valdeblore on the second to last climb which may be accessible by public transport ( but I think it only runs for the ski season)

Baybay

I’ve nothing useful to say in particular about Nice & the TdF, I’m afraid but I have seen various stages of it go past in a few French villages.

Local roads are closed off hours in advance, barricades usually installed & there’s a general festival feel in the area. Signs are usually up days ahead of time advising which roads will be closed & for how long. This may be relevant if you’re hoping to take any transport. They tend to reopen pretty quickly after the tour.

The tour itself passes in a blur, particularly if you’re roadside. An overpass or raised ground gives a better look but it’s still speedy.

The support vehicles, sponsors & media vans etc help create a bit of atmosphere while you’re waiting. They throw various bits of merchandise, t shirts, hats, sweets etc to the waiting crowd as they whizz past.

I think really it’s all about whatever you decide to do yourself that makes the day as everything to do with the race itself passes so quickly.

fat bloke

Having done it myself a few times I have to say, it's one of the worst returns for time invested, when it comes to spectating experiences.

Fair enough if you're kind of in the vicinity anyway as it happens to be passing.

I was chatting to a French lad once about such things and he was saying to go watch ANY other race and you get the same pros and bikes but a tiny fraction of the crowds and security and much more freedom and access to riders and teams around the "pit lane" etc.

lissard

If you want to see the whole circus and the sheer scale of the TDF I would recommend going to either the start or end village. I have watched from the side of the road and even on a slow day the peloton might take max 2 minutes from the lead car to the broom wagon. This stretches out a lot on a big mountain stage but I guess early on the groups are still together so there is a lot of waiting around for something that passes by very fast. This summer I watched the first mountain stage in the Pyrenees and we were at the end line for a few hours, got to see a sprint for the stage, the jersey presentations and the full race convoy up close. I think the sprinters were still coming in 30 minutes after the stage winner and all the presentations had been done.

07Lapierre

The best experience of the Tour I had was when we went to the start of the final stage in Versailles a few years ago. We visited the tour village, saw all the riders and we were at the barrier for the roll out to the start.

we then jumped on the train and we were back at the Arc de triumph for the last few laps. We didn’t stand at the barrier as the crowds were about 10 people deep. Instead we sat in a restaurant that had the tour on TV and as the riders came by the restaurant, we just walked outside to see them and the. Went back into our table once they had passed!

beggars_bush

Interesting, as I'll hopefully have the opportunity next summer to see a stage or two

Paddigol

Mountains time trial for the win.