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It looks like I may be able to see a little bit of Stages 8 & 9 on July 14/15th, as they are within driving distance of Calais.
We'll be travelling over after work on Friday, staying overnight in the Calais area. Then down to the Amien area for the finish of Stage 8.
Sunday, the start is at Arras, and includes 9 sections of cobbles, one of which would be nice to see.
What time to turn up? We're on a motorbike, so traffic is not so much of a concern as a car driver. I'd think it would probably be better to get a place 2 miles or so from the finish, then we'd get pretty close to the roadside, whereas Amiens itself would be rammed with people, and we'd be lucky to see anything if we didnt turn up 4 hours + before they arrive.
On the Sunday, the cobbled sections, I'd expect all of these to be really busy, so what time do we need to run up to have a chance of seeing something?
Any other hints /tips to help?
Thanks.
Take food, drink, waterproof clothing, umbrella and sunscreen. If you can pack a small camping chair or similar, that's very useful too. Be prepared to wait for several hours.
Great fun though, its an amazing atmosphere. All sorts of nationalities, everyone sharing food and mostly managing to communicate in half a dozen languages!
I'm going to probably go against the general consensus here and say its not something I'd bother doing again.
I saw the penultimate stage into morzine a few years ago. Cycled up the hill from town in glorious weather, only for it to piss down at the top. Waited for 3 hours is sub zero temps and driving rain whilst the cavalcade threw ice creams and other useless trinkets at me, before the riders came past . Which took all of 5 min even on a mountain stage.
The only redeeming memory was that they opened the descent back into morzine not realising that Tony Martin was still not over the summit . I remember trying to catch his wheel as he passed me. Unsuccessfully I may add..
As a follow up, we went over the weekend.
Left home early on Saturday, got to south of Amiens around 12.30. The previous week was spent poring over maos and google streetview to find a place that was both accessible and gives a reasonable sightline.
A village 15km from the finish was chosen - the finish would have been packed, and we'd get to see very little I thought.
Into the local bar, so busy there were no seats left, had a couple of drinks then turfed out as he shuts at 13.00 on a Saturday, and 100 people wanting a drink were not going to keep him open.
Then up the 500 metres or so to the hill to where the Tour was passing, expecting to see 5 people waiting for the caravan, which was due past around 13.20. The place was lined with people for around 1 mile. 70%+ were set up with parasols and tables/chairs making a day of it. This was a tiny village, so I was quite surprised to see so many there. It wasnt packed, everyone had a front row seat.
The caravan started.First van through was Vittel, and I was given a bottle of water from it. Then came Haribo, who were giving out 'Spicy' flavour jellies. They were foul. A jelly sweet with chilli in it. I had one, the rest went into the bin. Numerous other trucks.vans came through, it was a really good thing to see. The OH was scrambling around picking up the trinkets they threw out. I didnt bother. The youngsters (10yo and under) in the crowd absolutely loved it. This goes on for half an hour or so. The best one for me was the final vehicle, which was Vittel again, who were pressure washing the crowd as they went along. OK, it wasnt pressure washing, but a fine film of water, which was really welcome in the 30 degree heat.
It then went really quiet for around 45 minutes. Then random vehicles started to come wizzing past, some TV vans, some Police motorbikes, occasional TdF support vehicles. It went quiet again for 20 minutes, then a lot of Police motorbikes started to pass. You start hearing helicopters, and it's like a Nam film, 5 choppers on the horizon, coming straight at us, so here they were. Buit it wasnt the race, a guy near to us said they cannot all fly over the city, so only 1 or 2 are left for the last 10km or so.
10 minutes later, we then see another chopper, , clearly going slow following something in the distance, yes, this was the race.(we didnt know at the time, it was hovering over a crash) Vehicles started coming past at 70mph, a small gap, then the racers arrived. They went so fast I didnt recognise anyone, didnt even see the yellow or green jerseys. I thought the whole peloton had passed, but in the distance we could see more riders coming, it was the UAE train with Dan Martin, 2nd in the train with blood on his arm, there had been a crash.I did recognise him. It happened 2km before us, but we had no idea what had happened at the time. A few other riders came past, 2 cofidis riders drafting their team cars at 30mph+, then a small guy, looking like he'd been in a fight, with blood coming from his eye came past in last place. I think it was Toms Skujins, but it happened so fast, I didnt even notice the jersey. And that was it.
Onto Sunday for Stage 9. The original plan was to see one of the cobbled sections. Eurotunnel being fully booked between 4 and 6pm put paid to that idea, so we'd go to the start instead. Held in the Citadel in Arras. Basically, an old moated castle on top of a small hill. It opened at 9.30. We were there around 9.45. We went straight from the hotel to the Citadel, expecting to eat/drink there. That was a mistake. There were no food or drinks stalls amongst the many there. OK, there was Senseo giving out small free coffees and Haribo giving out as many sweets as you could eat, but nothing else. The Village is a spectacle on its own.Loads of stalls selling team kit, promoting tourism, promoting the Sponsors etc. The podium stage was always busy with interviews and entertainers. It helps if you can understand French, we couldnt , but it was obvious what most were saying. The caravan started, pretty much the same as on the road the previous day. Loads of pics were taken. Most turned out rubbish! After the Caravan went, the OH had a go on static bikes in the AG2R tent, and got a team shirt for her trouble. Very nice it is too. Then the team buses started to arrive. You get a glimpse of the riders through the windscreen and that it all you see, as the windows are blacked out. We wandered round, the buses were in the centre, fenced off from the general public. Many people were in the fenced off sections, friends/sponsors of the team get access, as well as paid for tours.
We waited for an age at the side of the Bora Hansgrohe and Cofidis buses, along with 100 or so other people. Occasional TdF promotion people would come to us and chat, one asked me if I like Peter Sagan, as I had a Bora hat on, to which the crowd all said we are there for him! A couple fo Cofidis riders came to the fence to do photos and autographs. Thoroughly decent guys, as it would have been really easy to just go straight to the start line. A few Bora riders departed, then a huge cheer, and a mob of people surrounded the bus, Peter had come out, and was totally mobbed. We were 5 metres away, and only got quick glimpses of him, as he was surrounded by folk. You can see why they are fenced off, as without the fences, he would never have been able to make it to the start. As an extra bonus, the guy who asked if I liked Peter Sagan came up, and gave us a postcard, signed by Peter, ok, it's an illegible scrawl, but he says Peter had just signed it. He supports Bees, as part of a charity, this card was promoting the charity.
He then flashed up on the big screen being interviewed, then 30 seconds later, the race started. We just had time to walk the 50 metres from the buses to a bridge overlooking the start. From this point we were looking down at the riders, who were going really slow. All jerseys were spotted! And that was it. Just time to get back to the tunnel in time for the 15.36 departure.
A great weekend, and something I'd like to do again.
We parked on the outskirts of Arras and walked 4 miles to the start village stopping for the caravan to pass us and spray us with water!! It was baking in that Citadel with no shade!
We then drove to Roubaix and got to the 300m to go point with 40 km of the race left which we watched on the big screen! The riders looked ruined as they cross the line!
We managed to get in amongst the team buses/vehicles after the finish and saw quite a few riders giving signatures and having pictures took which is pretty commendable after what they had just done!
We then watched the World Cup final on a big outdoor screen in Roubaix and went into town for food after it had finished, that was a mistake, it can only be described as carnage with fireworks, motorbikes, smoke bombs, flares and horns blaring for well bet 3 hours before we managed to escape!