Hi Everyone,

For those of you planning to watch the TdF next year, now is the time to start planning. I moved to the Pyrenees in France from Australia, having fallen in love with the country on a vacation in 2013 to watch the TdF. Since then I've been able to watch many stages and have put together a list for those of you who are looking to do the same. My top tips on how to watch the race and get the most out of your holiday is here:

https://www.seektravelride.com/watching-the-tour-de-france/

Has anyone organized their accommodation to catch the Pyranees states? Which would be better Lourdes or Bagneres de Luchon? Will I be able to drive over and park somewhere to see these stages? All the information make it sound like most people are riding to the stages but we also have two kids. Any advice would be so helpful.

Hello everyone,

In the summer I would like to travel a week behind the Tour de France with three friends.
We would like to cycle part of the route ourselves in the morning and then wait for the riders along the route from midday onwards.

Our plan is to simply rent a motorhome (approx. €2800) for a week and drive from Germany to France.
We calculate €1000 for refueling. So in the end everyone pays around €1000 plus food.

Since it is our first visit to the tour, I wanted to ask if there were any experienced Tour visitors here.
I would then be happy to receive an assessment of our plan.
Maybe we didn't take something into account when calculating?
Is it as easy as we imagine, just moving from stage to stage and sleeping next to the road?

If this is the wrong place for this message, you can delete or move it.

Greetings Noah

Help me settle a debate, in TDF Unchained, who does the Netflix production team try to make out to be the good guy? (Vingegaard or Pogačar?)

2nd time in Europe, I didn't plan that well for my first time. I'm not sure where to begin planning to be able to catch part of the race.

I'm probably going to be flying into Paris and would like to see a mountain stage, probably Ventoux.

Overall I'm just looking for some advice on how to plan a trip like this. The main things I want to do are:

• explore Paris a few days
• Ventoux or similar mountain stage, rent a bike to climb up
• hike Mont Blanc or similar
• fly back out of Paris

Coming up from Marseille for the day to catch Stage 16 whiz by. Contemplating train to Avignon and then getting up to Chateauneuf de Pape somehow or just driving to Carpentras or Loriol-du-Comtat and walking up to Sarrians to watch things go by.

How easy is it to get to a random road along the route? Not looking to park for the day, but rather get to a field around the time the caravan comes along and then enjoy an hour or so before heading back.

Am I being unreasonable? Can we rely on public transport out of Avignon to get up to another town to watch?

I'm making plans for the Ventoux stage and just like this year on Galibier, you've got two old Americans renting eBikes. If this is your thing too, this gentleman was very helpful in securing two eBikes at km 0 of the climb in Bedoin.

https://preview.redd.it/8phfx3xdj92e1.png?width=2008&format=png&auto=webp&s=bb575a6343935cae1f3338af8ef48c58c632e37e

Hi community; does anybody know how to get the official route book of the tour, which shows detailed maps of each stage, as well as team info and where they are staying. I read that it's produced each year - perhaps it's too early? Thanks.

Are there any mountain stages in 2025 where the riders pass by two times? Something like 2024 Stage 2 (San Luca)?

I grew up on a flat featureless Texas coast. I retired to the flat featureless cornfields of Illinois. We "snowbird" on flat Cozumel. Is there some part of France that is most scenic? I was blow away by the scenery around the Galibier last year.

As fate would have it, we will be hiking the TMB in late July. Our current plan has us staying in Bourge Saint Maurice on the night of July 24. The TDF is scheduled to pass through Les Chapieux and Bourge Saint Maurice on July 25. How can I determine when the TDF will pass through Les Chapieux and Bourge Saint Maurice on July 25? We are trying to determine if we can hang out in Les Chapiuex to see the Peloton pass and then start our hike for the day. We are scheduled to walk about 6 hours that day. If needed I think we can take a bus out of Les Chapieux to the Ville des Glaciers to save us some time that day.

Hi all! My boyfriend and I are going to see stages 18 (finishing in Courchevel) and 19 (La Plagne) and managed to book hotels nearby. Has anyone rented road bikes in this general area before? Are we better off renting bikes in Paris or Lyon on our way in? Or will there be options for road bike rentals?
Any other tips would be much appreciated. Thank you!

I know that he was taking PEDS and EPO. What other drugs was he taking? It's amazing how he was able to survive Cancer. I really think that he's an incredible Athlete. I watched his documentary and I was really impressed with his determination. It seems like the cancer and the PEDS hasn't really affected him at all. I wouldn't be surprised if he lives to be 80 to 100 years old. I know that he was completely wrong with how he ruined other people's lives and how vile and evil he was. But I still think that he's an incredible survivor because he overcame really bad cancer that was all over his body. I don't think too many people could have went through what he did. What is your honest opinion? Am I completely wrong with how I view Lance Armstrong?

My girlfriend and I are looking at following the last week of the Tour around next year. We are thinking of hiring a campervan for the week, but have others got do’s and don’ts to think of ahead of planning.

We would likely pull up the roadside of the non mountain days and watch the race come by. However on the mountain days we were thinking we would try and drive as close as we can or at least to a near town and then cycle up to a suitable vantage point. How easy is this usually and does that sound reasonable?

Any other tips or guidance would be much appreciated!

https://preview.redd.it/nftu1rpe8fzd1.png?width=1323&format=png&auto=webp&s=a9b54c9d0b0821543dd3b537f0380019630d01f9

https://preview.redd.it/u40jtmci8fzd1.png?width=1150&format=png&auto=webp&s=3f5158002ac833c1b526074cf3a1d2cabe75926e

im just curious why dropbar was used in a roadbike setup

Seems my only option at the mo. Any alternatives?

How accurate they are, I can't say. It looks like whoever mapped it used the video walk through of the stages from letour.fr The site seems a bit blighted by popups but once you get to the maps, they are actually very detailed and zoomable. https://www.cyclingstage.com/tour-de-france-2025-route/

My Husband and I are thinking of seeing a stage outside of Paris. Would a day trip to Valence be doable? I understand there is a direct train from Paris. Just wondering how far the finish is from where the train drops you? Anyone have any ideas?

Do you know when those become available ?

Q & A, discussion forum

I have no knowledge of these areas, and since my wife like to see more than cycling...after the Pyrenees stages would Vontoux or Albertville be more desirable? I would think Albertville would have greater infrastructure due to the Olympics in 1992. Which is more scenic? More restaurants and shopping? Which area would you prefer to go experience for a few days?

As the title says really, my partner has finally learned the joy of pro riding thanks to Netflix and has been (probably more than me) glued to the last couple of TDFs, we would like to go and watch the champs stage next year as we’ve never been to Paris before.

I can afford grandstand tickets but it would pretty much blow our budget. Is it worth going if we forgo the tickets, obviously points of the procession would still be visible but is it possible to see any of the laps?

Would you just spring for tickets and sacrifice having coffee or a nice meal in a Parisian restaurant?

Any thoughts appreciated. We’re only in the uk so could get the train another time, would only be in Paris for the day and then getting the train home after the race and festivities are over.

Can someone tell me who this is in the music video for Kraftwerk’s song?

Hi folks, hoping some of you might know the Pyrenees a bit better than me and/ or have some experience of watching the Tour. My sister and I are hoping to go and view a few stages in the Pyrenees. We're planning to rent a car and I think we're sorted for seeing the Hautacam stage (stage 12). We're now looking at the logistics of going to see the TT on stage 13. Looking at maps and accommodation availability, I'm wondering about staying somewhere like Arreau and then driving as close as we can to Loudervielle, then walking on to find somewhere to watch the TT. Stage 14 goes through Arreau, so it seemed like a good spot. However, for the TT I'm worrying a bit about the logistics of finding somewhere to park close enough to a spot from which we can walk. Is this likely to be as big an issue as I've made it in my head? It just seems impossible that finding somewhere to park will actually be doable. To clarify - we're not looking to park on the route, but just to get close enough to a spot from which we can walk to a point on the TT route.

Hi,

I know that registrations for the Etape du Tour will only open next Wednesday 6 November, but does anybody have an idea which stage it will be?

Thx

My husband and I are headed to France for the 2025 tour. We already have a hotel in Paris for the finish, but wanted to see about attending one or two more stages.

Maybe near the finishes for: 16 - Mont Ventoux 17 - Valence 18 - Courchevel

Looking on Expedia currently, but would love suggestions or tips from other fans that may have done this.

Thanks!

Let me begin by saying last year was our first year. We had an amazing time in Le Monetier Les Bains for the Galibier and would like a repeat performance this year, only in the Pyrenees. The wife likes to find a nice room and use that as a base, eliminating the unpacking and repacking each day. So back to my question, is there a picturesque town in the Pyrenees that we could use as a base to see maybe the TT in Toulouse and one or two other finishes in the area?

https://preview.redd.it/nelja46z1qxd1.jpg?width=1283&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bf7568022baf5b71b4b90fcef229e4e1f547a1bb

Edit: I guess I don't know how to make the picture appear on the forum page.

Edit 2: This photo was shown to me as a favor, not purchased, so it’s not mine and anyone else that wants to use it would need to contact the original photographer. Please don’t steal it and get me in trouble. You have been warned.

I am the Hulk in the background. Got up early and biked up to 500m from the top of the Galibier. Spent the rest of the day dancing in the street giving out Hulk Smash fist bumps to everyone else that was riding up. A photographer set up across the road from me trying to get the perfect pic of Pogacar with me in the background, but said that he could only catch Jonas in a good picture. Was nice enough to send this along to me after the Tour was over.

We're really excited that our vacation in the alps is overlapping with the Tour this year! We are considering renting a Campervan and following the tour for a couple of days.

We'd love to be on Ventoux this year. I often see on mountain stages campervans parked at the side of the road. However, I know the final kms of Ventoux are fairly "goat tracky" and might not be accessible by van.

Does anyone have any strategies for someone with a Campervan to watch what will likely be a record-setting ascent of Ventoux?