I’m in Les Gets avec mon voiture at the same time as the Tour goes up Alpe D’Huez. Should I go and watch it?

My route planner says it’s a 3 hour drive and my mum says I’ll struggle to get parked.

Questions:
What time is the race due at the top?
How long will it take me to bike up from the bottom?
Will the frenchies let me bike up?
Where should I abandon the car?
What else do I need to know?

Cheers

You wont get anywhere near it with your car on the day and the road will be shut to bikes as well probably 3 hours before the race comes through. Maybe there is a path you could ride up to avoid some of the madness.

Riding up the road will take about 1.5 hours for an averagely fit cyclist.

Basically get there early! We rode it 4 days before the tour went through and it was already heaving with Dutch people.

So, the Dutch effectively own the Alpe, in spite of the fact that none of them ever seem to put in much of a showing. The take their campers (probably hired from Dirk Hoffman, natch) and live up there for a week.

If you really want to get up there, either arrive very early with all your provisions or, alternatively, do what plenty of others do and camp up there the night before (though you’ll still need to have abandoned your car some way away).

Have fun..!

My advice, having been there twice, is to set off now. In 2001 (Lance vs Fat Jan and “the look”) the cloggies were there 4 days before, there wasn’t a foot of space at the side of the road for the whole climb. Fantastic atmosphere though. One trick is to take the cablecar up from Oz Station and walk down from the top.

Another for an early start. Have taken one of those Decathlon pop up tents as it can provide shade during the wait. Its also fun in the crowd before the race gets there. Take some emulsion paint to do something creative on the road.

I get to Les Gets on Thursday evening, so I can’t really get there any sooner than about 9am on the Friday.

My parents have a camper van and looked at going, but you have to pay for a pitch for an entire week and they would be stuck to just going for walks etc when up they wouldn’t be able to move the van without some ‘clogger’ as you put it stealing the pitch. So that’s why people get there days before hand I guess.

Tell me more about the cable car thing? Can I take my mountain bike up with me, then whizz down to the bottom?

What about parking near Oz and riding up the road from there to Huez? That’s not the route, so should be open.

Cheers

i’m interested in this too….but I’m in Bourg d’Oisans. I thought I’d bivvy up the slope somewhere the night before but this means ‘abandoning’ the family for 24 hours and I’d rather use some of my ‘free’ time getting some mtbing in.

Is it still worth watching from low down the slopes, don’t see how I can easily get the children and gf any distance up the slope without the car and I appreciate the roads could be closed etc?

also, is there an official website with expected times etc?

Think I have found it, for anyone interested…

Alp d’Huez stage itinery

Go there. You won’t regret it. There is a road that comes from the reservoir above Bourg in around hairpin 5 ish. Park up as high as you can and either walk in or cycle. It is an amamzing experience. And get there early for a good spot 😉