"The 33"-Road Bike Racing - watching a stage race

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juloe
05-24-03, 09:21 PM
my wife an i are going to be near the dauphine libere next month, and i would love to attend a mountain stage. i have absolutely no idea where to watch (near the end?)- how crowded it gets etc.- and would appreciate any advice about watching a stage.

thanks

cyclezealot
05-24-03, 10:12 PM
Juloe.. Twice I have watched a stage race for the tour de France. Once near the town of Vitre.. Don't know how congested your stage in the Dauphne will be. we choose a village outside of Vitre in a very rural area. The other time at Toulouse.....The town(Vitre) closed down for the stage passage.
We choose a rural area because we hoped less crowd we would be up close. that was the case. Have to be early because within about 30 minutes of the peloton's approach, the main roads are closed down and can only access from side roads.
We had less hassle because we were on a bike tour and did not have to worry about bulky cars. We just had our path coincide with the Tour De France's..
Did some early preparation on the Tour's web site. Then as we got close to where your paths' intersect; start asking local Travel offices about good vantage sites to view the tour.
You will know when the peloton is close. The noise of the helicopters are a warning. From what I saw - encourage viewers not to get too close. I would think crashes would be more common from the viewers behaviour. The kids are really excitted.
It is a thrilling event. during the tour you will see it on local tv for days on end. Go in any pub/restaurant it is viewed non-stop on tv, everywhere for the whole three weeks.