Watching the 2015 TdF

[philk56]

Hi - not sure if this is the right forum but me and a mate will be cycling in Northern France next week and are fitting in a couple of days Tour watching. Does anyone who has watched the Tour in France before know if there are any problems cycling along the route a couple of hours before they start? We'll be in Abbeville for stage 6 but would like to watch from a few km outside the town and it makes sense to make use of the route to get there! It didn't seem to be a problem in Yorkshire last year but was wondering if things are different on the other side...

 

[Rooster1]

I am looking forward to seeing the educated replies, I'm guessing you'll need to be a good few hours ahead of the race.

 

[Bollo]

I've watched the odd TdF in person (off to Utrecht this weekend ) but I've only ever ridden a bit of the route after the race had passed through. In those cases, they clear up VERY quickly. As long as you're not using the route too close to the finish, I can't see it being a problem.

Enjoy the trip.

 

[cd365]

I've seen people ride the route beforehand but it was quite a few hours before

 

[400bhp]

It's a bit of a grey area. There's no chance of doing serious miles after the caravanne has gone through. You can pick your way along the route if you play "dodge the marshalls". Depends upon where you're watching (the busier the bit of route you're watching on the less chance) but I'd say aim to be at the point you want to watch an hour at the very least before the caravanne arrives.

 

[philk56]

So, just returned from a great week cycling in France. Crossed over to Dieppe on Monday and arrived in Amiens Tuesday evening. Managed to get a place just pas the finish line for stage 5 and watched the preparations, including Greg LeMond doing his bit for Eurosport...



With all of the frantic excitement of the finish couldn't quite see them crossing the line but from the smile on Griepel's face realised that he had won the stage. Apart from the disappointment of not seeing Cav win the only other downside was the lousy weather.

Early start next day and we rode to Gamaches, about 20k along from the start of stage 6. Our intention was to head for the first serious hill just outside the town but we timed it just too late and were stopped from going any further by the local gendarmes as we had arrived shortly before the caravan came through. We did find ourselves in a nice spot, however, and had a good view of Daniel Teklahaimanot leading the breakaway...



and the rest of the peloton some minutes later...



We then cycled into Abbeville following the route the riders had just taken, along beautifully surfaced rolling roads and with accompanying cheers from picnicking spectators en route! Apart from a small group of UK cyclists in Gamaches we were surprised by the lack of other cyclists. Different to our experience in Yorkshire last year.