Question Does anyone have any tips for going to a stage at le Tour de France?

[Tigerback71]

Does anyone have any tips for going to a stage at le Tour de France? We are looking at 2026.

 

[jmdirt]

Don't stand in the middle of the road waving a flag and/or your fists at passing riders!

 

[RedheadDane]

Don't stand in the middle of the road waving a flag and/or your fists at passing riders!

Or signs.
Or puppies.

 

[topcat]

Does anyone have any tips for going to a stage at le Tour de France? We are looking at 2026.

Don't.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Don't.

Yeah, the Giro is where you wanna be.

 

[Eddy Evenepoel]

Bring enough clothes if you’re going to the mountains. I was at Col de la Loze this year and around me people were absolutely freezing

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

Or signs.
Or puppies.

What type of psycho would wave their fists at puppies?

 

[iBanesto]

Don't believe Vingegaard when he says "the Tour is not over".

 

[Tigerback71]

Bring enough clothes if you’re going to the mountains. I was at Col de la Loze this year and around me people were absolutely freezing

Thanks for the useful hint, I appreciate your time. 👍🏻
Did you find it difficult to find a good place on the route to stand? We do fancy a mountain stage next year.
Last year was our first and we were at Nice. We were incredibly lucky as the hotel I booked turned out to be on the route so we stayed in the bar.
This year we were in Toulouse and really struggled to find any information locally. We struggled to find a place calm enough to see the action and it wasn’t easy for me to see as I am short!
Cheers Heidi

 

[RedheadDane]

I know it’s mad behaviour. Not my bag!

Don't wave your bag at riders either.

 

[pman]

Just saw this- I prefer a good urban hill finish. You can usually get a hotel in the finishing town/city, often they're on a train line and they're even spread out. Obviously a time trial is ideal though but they aren't necessarily easy to schedule around an existing trip.

In general I think threads like these should get more attention. Unless you live in Europe, attending the Tour or any race Europe for that matter is a time consuming, costly endeavor. It's not like going to a venue in an arena. These forums could definitely help.

 

[Eddy Evenepoel]

Thanks for the useful hint, I appreciate your time. 👍🏻
Did you find it difficult to find a good place on the route to stand? We do fancy a mountain stage next year.
Last year was our first and we were at Nice. We were incredibly lucky as the hotel I booked turned out to be on the route so we stayed in the bar.
This year we were in Toulouse and really struggled to find any information locally. We struggled to find a place calm enough to see the action and it wasn’t easy for me to see as I am short!

I was cycling up the climb on the day (like thousand of others) and stopped in the ditch like 5 kilometers before the top and stood there. If you arrive late it might be hard to find a place in the front line. People coming with car mostly seemed to arrive the day before or superearly in the morning of the race. I didn’t look for info locally, so can’t help with that.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

If you plan mountains stage(s) then combine it with some mountain stay (hiking/biking). The surroundings are usually beautiful, it's not just about an asphalt strip cyclists ride on. When I was in Oropa last year (Giro stage 2) I combined it with a 30-km hike in Biellese Alps on that day (and lake Como hikes in previous days). It was quite an intense day.

 

[HashRouge]

I went for the first time this year and watched the three Pyrenees mountain stages. I booked accommodation as soon as the route was released, so that I could stay fairly close to the key climbs. I don't cycle myself, so I just walked up Hautacam from where I was staying and stopped about 5km from the top.

Mountain stages are really good to see because there is a lot of road for the fans and you will always find somewhere to stand. It was busy where I was, but not manic, and it was really easy to see the riders as they came past. If I'd been closer to the bottom, or closer to the top, I think it would have been much more packed. It's good to be far enough into the climb that the peloton has strung out a bit - however, I wasn't anticipating Pogi having exploded things in quite the way he did! Riders came by individually or in very small groups, and were going about as slowly as you'll see the pros ride, so it was a really good opportunity to spot individual riders and really observe how they were riding.

The TT was an incredible viewing experience and I would definitely recommend going to see one in person, even if they aren't as good to watch on TV. Again, it was busy, but there was enough road that unless you were at the start, finish or a couple of other pinch points, the crowd was only one person deep. Again, I just walked up from the bottom, and picked a decent looking spot about 1.5km from the top. My best tip is to position yourself on a slight outside bend if you can - then you get a good view of the riders approaching and riding away too.

I switched accommodation between stage 12 and stage 13, so that I was better positioned for the TT and for watching stage 14 (I watched on Peyresourde as it was easy for me to get to). I was worried beforehand about actually getting to the TT as it seemed to me that Loudenvielle was a very small town and there didn't look like there would be much parking - it turned out that lots of fields outside town had been opened up for parking and it was actually really easy. You just have to be patient at the end of the day as there will be big traffic jams!

Top tips: take a lightweight camping chair, an umbrella, a couple of layers and a waterproof jacket, and plenty of food and water. The umbrella was an absolute lifesaver - it gave me shade when I was waiting for hours on Hautacam and before the TT, and protection from the rain on stage 14!

My main takeaway, though, is it's much easier than I thought it was going to be. So long as you don't mind walking or cycling up the climbs, it's really easy to find a good spot to watch on the mountains stages.

If you've got any other questions, feel free to DM me

 

[Davesta]

Top tips: take a lightweight camping chair, an umbrella, a couple of layers and a waterproof jacket, and plenty of food and water. The umbrella was an absolute lifesaver - it gave me shade when I was waiting for hours on Hautacam and before the TT, and protection from the rain on stage 14!

These are very good tips - I'd also add a battery charger (and unlimited data plan) if you want to watch the stage on your phone.

If you're planning to drive or ride to your viewing point, then be very careful with road closures.
Road closures will obviously be announced in advance, and with the times the closures will take place - be advised, these are NOT the times the closures will actually take place!! The actual timing of closures is entirely dependant on how officious the local gendarmes decide to be - sometimes they're very relaxed and practical, and will allow vehicles and especially bicycles to continue on the roads after the official closure times. In other cases, they will be overly officious and stop any vehicles including bikes from passing many hours before even the caravan is due to come through!
So plan ahead, but also have backups plans, and be prepared to change plans depending on the whims of the gendarmes!

 

[HashRouge]

These are very good tips - I'd also add a battery charger (and unlimited data plan) if you want to watch the stage on your phone.

Yes, this is a good one! Although be prepared for poor or non-existent signal on the mountain stages. All we had on Hautacam was a Spanish guy just about managing to follow a live tracker and shouting updates to the rest of us ("HA ATACADO POGACAR A LOS 12 KILÓMETROS DE LA META!").

Another thing I will say, is it's quite nice to get away from the negativity you get online. When I'm on this forum, it often feels like a lot of commenters don't actually like cycling very much, or they don't like a lot of the top riders. Watching live, in contrast, everyone was excited to see Pog, Rog, Jonas, Remco etc - in fact they shouted for any rider they recognised! And everyone was excited when Pogacar attacked early on Hautacam, and when it was clear with 1.5km to go on the TT that Remco was probably going to be caught by Vingegaard, or when it was clear that Roglic was doing an amazing TT.

 

[Tigerback71]

Just saw this- I prefer a good urban hill finish. You can usually get a hotel in the finishing town/city, often they're on a train line and they're even spread out. Obviously a time trial is ideal though but they aren't necessarily easy to schedule around an existing trip.

In general I think threads like these should get more attention. Unless you live in Europe, attending the Tour or any race Europe for that matter is a time consuming, costly endeavor. It's not like going to a venue in an arena. These forums could definitely help.

Thank you so much. That was all really useful and you are absolutely spot on. It's not something that is discussed much. I'm not a cyclist myself so I don't know where to get insider information, what to book where.
We have enjoyed visiting the Tour for the last two years but it was expensive and we don't know what we're doing. We've been lucky so far, but I'd rather be in the know than rely on luck. Of course 2027 will be easier with it being in the UK, but first 2026 awaits.
Cheers
Heidi

 

[Tigerback71]

If you plan mountains stage(s) then combine it with some mountain stay (hiking/biking). The surroundings are usually beautiful, it's not just about an asphalt strip cyclists ride on. When I was in Oropa last year (Giro stage 2) I combined it with a 30-km hike in Biellese Alps on that day (and lake Como hikes in previous days). It was quite an intense day.

Thank you

 

[Tigerback71]

These are very good tips - I'd also add a battery charger (and unlimited data plan) if you want to watch the stage on your phone.

If you're planning to drive or ride to your viewing point, then be very careful with road closures.
Road closures will obviously be announced in advance, and with the times the closures will take place - be advised, these are NOT the times the closures will actually take place!! The actual timing of closures is entirely dependant on how officious the local gendarmes decide to be - sometimes they're very relaxed and practical, and will allow vehicles and especially bicycles to continue on the roads after the official closure times. In other cases, they will be overly officious and stop any vehicles including bikes from passing many hours before even the caravan is due to come through!
So plan ahead, but also have backups plans, and be prepared to change plans depending on the whims of the gendarmes!

Thank you

 

[Tigerback71]

I went for the first time this year and watched the three Pyrenees mountain stages. I booked accommodation as soon as the route was released, so that I could stay fairly close to the key climbs. I don't cycle myself, so I just walked up Hautacam from where I was staying and stopped about 5km from the top.

Mountain stages are really good to see because there is a lot of road for the fans and you will always find somewhere to stand. It was busy where I was, but not manic, and it was really easy to see the riders as they came past. If I'd been closer to the bottom, or closer to the top, I think it would have been much more packed. It's good to be far enough into the climb that the peloton has strung out a bit - however, I wasn't anticipating Pogi having exploded things in quite the way he did! Riders came by individually or in very small groups, and were going about as slowly as you'll see the pros ride, so it was a really good opportunity to spot individual riders and really observe how they were riding.

The TT was an incredible viewing experience and I would definitely recommend going to see one in person, even if they aren't as good to watch on TV. Again, it was busy, but there was enough road that unless you were at the start, finish or a couple of other pinch points, the crowd was only one person deep. Again, I just walked up from the bottom, and picked a decent looking spot about 1.5km from the top. My best tip is to position yourself on a slight outside bend if you can - then you get a good view of the riders approaching and riding away too.

I switched accommodation between stage 12 and stage 13, so that I was better positioned for the TT and for watching stage 14 (I watched on Peyresourde as it was easy for me to get to). I was worried beforehand about actually getting to the TT as it seemed to me that Loudenvielle was a very small town and there didn't look like there would be much parking - it turned out that lots of fields outside town had been opened up for parking and it was actually really easy. You just have to be patient at the end of the day as there will be big traffic jams!

Top tips: take a lightweight camping chair, an umbrella, a couple of layers and a waterproof jacket, and plenty of food and water. The umbrella was an absolute lifesaver - it gave me shade when I was waiting for hours on Hautacam and before the TT, and protection from the rain on stage 14!

My main takeaway, though, is it's much easier than I thought it was going to be. So long as you don't mind walking or cycling up the climbs, it's really easy to find a good spot to watch on the mountains stages.

If you've got any other questions, feel free to DM me

Wow, thank you. This is all brilliant information.
Cheers
Heidi