Watching the Tour de France in Person

One of the main goals of this vacation was to watch the Tour de France in person as they rode through nearby St. Malo, Avranches, le Mont St. Michel and Laval. I've been watching the Tour quite a bit the past few years and I wanted to see what it would be like to witness the action up close. Although there's no doubt that the grand tours of bike racing can only be appreciated on TV, huge crowds still line the roads all over France to catch a glimpse of the riders streaming by at 40+ km/hr. It's a unique atmosphere, unlike any other sporting event that I know of.

We started off in the direction of le Mont St. Michel on the day of stage 10, which finished in St. Malo. Although the time trial would finish in Mont St. Michel the next day, we wanted to visit that famous town and judged (correctly) that it would be impossible to get close on the day of the stage. Part of our drive was on the time trial route. Many RVs were already parked on the route, staking out prime locations. Making our way to St. Malo on the main roads was relatively easy. At least in this case, the tour organizers chose roads other than the main thoroughfare for the race route, probably so as not to create a traffic jam for spectators and unwitting visitors and residents. As we approached the town there were signs for TDF parking, which we followed into a large lot. Parking was free, as was a shuttle into town, which dropped us off very near the finish line.  (I ask you if you can name a major world sporting event that offers free parking!)

As we arrived at the finish line about 2 hours before the riders would, the "caravan" was already passing by. Preceding the riders on every tour stage is a promotional parade with music and announcements blaring from cars and spirited promoters throwing out free gifts to the crowd: snacks, hats, foam fingers, etc. On a later stop to see the Tour ride through Laval, it looked as if some families with young kids had come to see the caravan but left before the bike riders. Lots of fans were already staking out positions near the finish line. We weren't that diligent, so we stopped into a cafe in the walled old city of St. Malo for a beer, and watched the stage on TV. 

We made our way towards the finish line when the riders were about an hour from the finish, or about 45km. The riders approached from the North, along the coastal road that leads into St. Malo, flanked on the ocean side by a stone wall and on the shore side by houses and hotels. We walked down on the ocean side until we found a spot with a clear view of the road, about 700m from the finish. The caravan was still coming through, so we tried our luck at catching some free stuff, with modest results. Keeping the crowd involved was an announcer on a PA system, who managed to keep up a stirring commentary for the entire hour. I couldn't pick up much of what he said, but he seemed to be alternating between a play-by-play of what was happening in the bike race, some history of the tour, and other topics that I couldn't make out. There was a lot of scene-setting considering we were already there..."En le cite Corsaire, en Bretagne, dans le soleil, sous le ciel bleu..." After the caravan ran its course there were VIP cars, leading team cars, gendarmes, race officials, etc. The tour may bring along more automobiles than bicycles. I managed to track the progress of the riders with the Cycling News Tour Tracker iPhone app, and by catching a few words from the announcer here and there. As the riders approached the town, more heads appeared in the windows of the houses and hotels across the street.

Finally, after hours of buildup, the "coureurs" appeared, to cheers from the crowd, accompanied by the TV helicopter. And yes, it was all over in a few seconds for the most part. I could make out the jerseys of the lead couple of riders, and the rest of the peloton was a blur. Yellow jersey wearer Chris Froome must have been in there somewhere, but I didn't see him.  A few seconds later the announcer kept repeating the name of German sprinter Andre Greipel, leading me to believe that he had won the stage, but in fact it was fellow countryman Marcel Kittel, as we found out later. After the peloton came through there were team cars, but also some straggling riders that had lost minutes on the stage. One strange sight is to see riders cycling back down the route in reverse, even while other riders were still out on the course. I suppose this was the easiest way for them to get back to their team bus or hotel. 

That was a fairly long day, so we skipped the time trial in Mont St. Michel, opting instead to go for a slightly slower and shorter bike ride of our own. For stage 12 we had an opportunity to see the riders race through the town of Laval, only about 50 minutes from our home base. Not being a stage finish, this was much more relaxed and less crowded, but the streets near the center of Laval were still mostly lined with spectators. The sidewalk cafes along the route were the prime locations--no table for us. There was a small collection of exhibits and sample tables set up by tour sponsor Carrefour in the town square. This time the riders were more spread out than for the sprint finish. The five-rider breakaway came through first, then a seemingly huge time gap (which the peloton would inevitably reel in in due time), then the main field. This time the peloton was at most 2 or 3 riders wide, so it was possible to pick out individuals, if you knew what to look for. One "domestique" was stuffing his jersey full of about 8 water bottles to serve to his teammates. 

In case you want to try to do this, here are a few tips based on my admittedly limited experience.

- A few days before the stage, the official town website may post information about road closings. Probably only in French, of course. It seems as though they stay off of the main highways, so if you can't find that info, I would just use the biggest roads you can to approach. 

- if you have a smartphone, get the Cycling News tour tracker app. (This advice may quickly become obsolete, of course.) This app shows the detailed routes of each stage, and plots the positions of groups of riders in real time. Updating was sometimes unreliable for me, but this might have been the data connection.

- I wouldn't try to take a picture or video of the riders. This experience is only going to last a few seconds, so you don't want to spend it looking at a screen. 

- As with any free spectator sport, the longer you're willing to stake out a spot, the better it will be. Folding chairs and a picnic lunch would be a pretty stylish way to go.

- The prime locations in Laval were on the outside of turns, where the riders would be slowing down, and you might get a good view coming and going.

- if I had it to do again, I might try booking a hotel in the finishing town. It was too daunting to try to get into the old town of St. Malo after the stage, considering the 2 hour drive still ahead.