Tour de France – Everything you wanted to know about the French cycling race

The Tour de France is undoubtedly the most important sporting event inFrance Because it combines not only a fascinating competition with unique rules but also the wonderful landscapes of France. Therefore, even if you are not a racing fan, it is recommended that you watch the race, if only to enjoy the views and start planning your next trip to the magical places featured in the race.

The purpose of this article is to provide you with information about both the history of the race and its rules, so that you can quickly understand what is happening there. Beyond all that, we will also talk about some of the most beautiful stations in the race, so that even “just” pranochophiles who are not interested in sports can enjoy themselves 🙂

So get your (virtual) bikes ready and let's get going!

Tour de France races of recent years

Before we start talking about the history of the race, it's worth saying a word or two about the races of recent years. Nimrod Negev, a Francophile and cyclist, who wrote everything you'll read here, has been commenting on the Tour de France races here on the site since 2019.

So if you came here to watch the commentary of the last race (or previous races), you are welcome to enter the following articles:

• Tour de France 2021
• Tour de France 2020
• Tour de France 2019

Everything you wanted to know about the Tour de France

The history of the Tour de France

A few words about the history and structure of this race:

This institution was first founded in 1903. Since then, every summer, various race routes have been set (except during the world wars). The race lasts about three weeks (23-22 days of net riding and two days of rest), during which the competitors cover about 3400 km and finish in Paris (the distance and place of the finish were determined about two decades ago). Each section is of a different length, usually taking into account its degree of difficulty.

Usually, all the riders jump off at the starting point together, but there are also days or two when the competitors jump off one after the other, when the race for that section is a race against the clock.

The race is both a team and an individual one. 22 teams of 9 riders, start at the beginning of the race. Every day the number of riders decreases, due to riders dropping out, for various reasons. The race starts every day, from different points, not necessarily consecutive.

If you would like to learn a little more about the race, here is a relatively short video that provides an excellent explanation:

Recently, a kind of tradition has been established, in which the course cuts a little, also in the territories of neighboring countries. The teams are professional teams, which are made up of professional riders - something similar to professional football and basketball teams. (The teams represent clubs that represent different firms - this is how they managed to create a race that is between countries, clubs and firms at the same time).

Each team races its “ace” and works for him – protecting him from the wind and paving his way to victory. But it happens more than once, especially in the stages, that a more or less unknown “working” rider wins the stage, thereby emerging from obscurity and gaining the glory of the day.

The different shirts of the competition

Although the greatest and most important glory, the glory of eternal commemoration, is winning the yellow jersey, there are also other prestigious jerseys, such as the polka dot jersey, intended for the winner of the highest cumulative score in the climb. The green jersey, intended for the rider who collects the most points for the sprint/acceleration points. The red jersey, intended for the warrior of the course - the truth is that the color of the jersey really reflects the investment in relation to frustration - in the red jersey, the winner is the one who led the race the longest, but ultimately lost it... There is also the white jersey, which is intended for the outstanding rider, who is under the age of 25.

Those who are entitled to wear shirts that differ from the team colors are those who hold titles such as: world champion and champions of various countries, etc.
So we also get a particularly colorful celebration. Each rider represents both his club and his country. So the race, mainly personal, is also between countries.

Want to learn more about the Tour de France jerseys? Watch the following video:

Every town where the tour passes gains great prestige, but of course even greater prestige is gained by the town where the route begins or ends, and there is great competition between the towns to win this prestige. Long before the race, all the towns where the route passes get ready, as do the farmers whose fields border the route.

Along the entire route, many fans gather in advance, and many even follow the race from point to point, day after day.
The truth is that there are sections that truly resemble a cheerful and colorful carnival of fans and the curious, from all over the world.
The route is covered both from the air and by motorcyclists who accompany the riders. The escorts also have a large fleet of service vehicles, but these are not

Mixing with the riders, except for special service needs, such as medical treatment while riding, repairing bicycles while riding, changing bicycles when necessary, pushing the supply of food and fluids, etc. Three weeks of sensory intoxication - of landscapes, colors, peoples and power! Picnics along the way and excitement ahead of the arrival of the competitors.

The earlier you organize yourself for this celebration, the more effective ways you will be able to experience and participate in it.
The depth of enjoyment of the experience is the depth of understanding of the event. Something similar to enjoyment of art. The more layers of understanding you have of the art, the environment of creation, and the artist's background, the more and more possibilities you have to deepen your enjoyment of the work. It is exactly the same with this cultural sporting experience.

How to accompany the tour as a tourist?

There are several answers to this question, depending on the level of involvement you want and the resources you have available.

The spontaneous method

There is, of course, the most superficial and spontaneous method - choose a riding section, arrive at the area, at least a day or two before the race arrives at the section. This is if you don't want to get tangled in traffic and access to certain roads designated for the race (the roads are closed a few hours in advance) and especially if you want to grab a good and comfortable viewing spot.

Of course, accommodations (from hotels to camping) and/or caravans need to be booked well in advance.

Someone who emerges from a hiking trail can certainly be more spontaneous.

Basically, I recommend booking a place to stay nearby a few days before the race and taking “star walks” around the area until the race reaches your chosen section. While hiking, locate the observation point you like best and then, if you feel like it, skip to another section, where you will do the same thing.

Meanwhile, while you wait, you can soak up the colorful international atmosphere, which is getting organized and intensifying along the route and maybe even participate in painting slogans of encouragement on the road or help the farmers, who decorate their fields for aerial photographs from the helicopters that accompany the race. Maybe you too will be carried away with joy, to the point of dressing up in the spirit of the race. For the service of those who choose this option, I am attaching here אתר, which provides all the services required for the companions of the tour route, divided into sections. From accommodations, excursions, routes of arrival, etc.

Enjoy the Tour de France in comfort

For those who want to blend in with the Tour atmosphere a little more comfortably, I recommend taking advantage of the Tour's rest days – there are two such days. -Nime and Albi, which were probably not chosen by chance… two cities full of interest and a rich historical past.

Those rest days, not only can be used to tour these wonderful cities, but you can also meet the riders themselves and all this huge, complex, well-oiled “machine” that rotates and moves the column. To feel direct contact with the tremendous power surrounding the column. A power that is simply surprising and amazing. Hundreds of motorcycles, many dozens of various escort cars for the general teams and groups, with poles connected to their roofs, five or six pairs of bicycles on each such vehicle – a forest of bicycles against a sky backdrop.

TV crews from all over the world, the riders’ “caravans” (a word I made up to describe those huge caravans that serve as living quarters for riders and teams). Mobile gyms for riders, broadcast studios with enthusiastic announcers and commentators. Mobile bike garages for each team, countless journalists and photographers running around everywhere.

In short, an entire industry that is extremely rich and vibrant. A rare spectacle and an extremely powerful experience. With a little more luck, you may share a hotel with groups of riders and/or their teams.

These rest days are utilized by the riders and their teams not only for rest and recovery, but also for training and organization, which is clearly observed in and around these rest stops.

Experience the Tour de France like the pros

At the other end of the Tour's fan base, there are those who prefer to experience it, or at least a portion of it, like the professionals who participate in it. Quite physically. About 15,000 (fifteen thousand!) sign up for this experience.

They prepared an amateur section for them. Yes, yes, amateur cyclists who do a parallel/identical route on bicycles.

How do you sign up for such a ride and how do you prepare for it?

Registration for amateur riders, for the special section of Albertville Val-Thorens (a section we discussed inSpecial post In the current series on the Tour) began at the end of October. The total cost of registration is approximately 115 euros:

The referral HERE.

Registration itself on the website: timeto.com

Successfully!

Second stage of registration. On-site registration for the selected section:

After formally registering for the section and making the professional preparations you made for the ride, you must report, approximately two days before the professionals pass, to the station in the center of the settlement at the beginning of the section, for which you registered.

There you can store your personal equipment in a secure place and you will be personally welcomed - you will receive the equipment for the race - such as a participant number and a special riding "pouch" for collecting the trash that you produce while riding, instead of throwing it on the side of the road.

The amateur rider is entitled to the same rights as his professional counterpart - immediate medical assistance (ambulances and helicopters), road monitoring, and even winning jerseys accordingly.

At the end of the race, the finishing rider will receive a certificate, medal, and scarf.

The end of the Tour, as traditionally determined, is in Paris, where the riders perform a circular route through the city's main streets several times. ParisSo you can see them passing by you again and again and again.

HERE Reference to Ten Tips, How to Ensure Watching the Tour at the End of the Tour in Paris and Its Impressive Closing Ceremony:

The finale in Paris is a real carnival.

Enjoy the tour like a VIP

Another way to experience the tour at a VIP level is to join an organized group, one of several that exist for this purpose. Depending on the price, the depth of involvement in the tour. This is of course the most convenient, most direct way, but also the most expensive.

Here is a link to watch the entire 2019 Tour de France route, filmed in flight:

https://www.velo-club.net/post/tour-de-france-2019-le-parcours-en-video

Interesting sections in the Tour de France

The July 24 segment

The July 24th segment, in my opinion, is a special opportunity to combine a fun trip to a very, very special area with watching the race.

Pont du Gard

This section begins at one of the most spectacular historical sites of French tourism – Pont du Gard – which is a section of an ancient Roman aqueduct in Provence. An aqueduct that crosses the Gardon River in a three-story arch bridge structure. This aqueduct bridge is considered one of the most outstanding examples of Roman architecture, designated a World Heritage Site.

From there the route crosses a very, very special region of land, the forest attributed to “the man who planted trees.” Whether true or fiction, this story is wonderful and deserves special attention, both for its narrative style. A book of this name has been published, a travel book for children that adults can read. Something on the level and integrity of The Little Prince is involved in the poem “You and I Will Change the World” – here is a link to the wonderful video, in its English translation from French:

https://youtu.be/KTvYh8ar3tc

The town of GAP

Until he reaches the town of Gap, which is located right at the foot of the Alps, the difficult and decisive section of the race, which will begin the next day. Gap is crossed by the N85 road. The N85 is “Napoleon Road"The famous " (marked with Napoleon's imperial eagle). This is the route by which Napoleon returned in 1815 from his imprisonment on the island of Elba and reassembled his army, enthusiastic about his return to his homeland.

Presumably, the competitors in the Tour will host spectators who are no less enthusiastic, but much less militant, but both of them are thirsty for national pride.

From here on, the critical phase of the Tour begins: the climb into the Alps on the spectacular serpentine roads it features.

Anyone who has had enough of this glimpse of the column can retire to continue their wonderful trip inThe Lost Villages"of the region."

Anyone who really wants a true glimpse of the Tour in all its glory and power is invited to continue climbing with the Tour to the peaks of the Alps.

On the climbs, the champions will pass you by, one by one, straining and breathing hard, demonstrating their full strength. One by one and slowly (relatively), unlike on the flat sections where the peloton passes you by, dense and fast.

On the most difficult climbs, where the points accumulation goals for competitors for the green jersey - "the champion of climbers" - are at their peak, there is also the peak of the hustle and bustle.

The road in these areas is usually, due to the nature of the difficult topography, narrow and the crowd is large, which brings the riders within inches of each other.

This very noisy and colorful crowd takes advantage of this opportunity, not only to shout encouragement, but also to take pictures, and especially to pose in various costumes as their imaginations allow, and not always in connection with the tour itself. There are colorful characters there who have become an integral part of the tour photos year after year.

You are invited to join this international festival.

Tarbes-Tourmalet

Stage 14 of the Tour de France 2019 – Saturday, July 20: The stage starts in Tarbes – a small and modest town on the edge of the High Pyrenees and ends in Toumalet. A total of 117 km of road. One of the shortest stages in the Tour, but what a heartbreaking ending it has!

The ascent of the Col Du Tourmalet (Tourmalet mountain pass) is one of the most famous sections of the Tour de France. Its publicity has been bought with many rights.
This climb is one of the most deadly climbs in the Tour. So much so that some believe that its name is derived from MALE = bad in French. “Bad Tour”… The truth is that its name comes from the Gascon language (Gascon is the region where this climb is located), a dialect close to the Basque language and means “distance” – a distant mountain.

However, the peak of the climb is at an altitude of 2115 m (snowy). Its average angle of ascent is about 9%, with sections that go up to 13 to 15%! And it continues, mercilessly, for about 17 km!!! A real nightmare for riders. A real pleasure for spectators… when the riders disperse in a long, long line, one after the other and sometimes, even completely isolated, in their struggle to climb it. They slowly pass by the spectators, who can look at the riders with the white in their eyes and notice the tremendous efforts invested in racing up this hill.

It is easy to recognize the familiar riders and cheer them on up close. It is no wonder that many spectators from all over the world gather at this height, waving their flags and wearing their colorful costumes – whether they are wearing the colors of their favorite teams or the shirts of various champions, or just as an opportunity to dress up and stand out in the photographs and television broadcasts that are broadcast all over the world (including Israel) – a real carnival.

Some take advantage of this tiring climb to run parallel, for some distance, with the passing rider and shout cheers in his ear (this is not recommended, but unfortunately, it is not an uncommon occurrence). The Tour has passed it about 84 times since it was inaugurated. More than any other stage in the entire history of the Tour.

This climb was first climbed in the Tour in 1910, when the Tour first reached the Pyrenees. At the top of the climb there is a monument to Jacques Gaudet (the legendary director of the Tour from 36 to 87) and the famous statue of Octave Lapis, a French professional cyclist, who, as he passed the summit of this climb in 1910, exclaimed, “You are murderers! Yes, murderers!” And so he is immortalized in this statue, crying out his cry of suffering.

This time the Tourmalet is not “just” a station that you pass through and earn climbing points. This time it is the end of the day’s route! After such an ascent, it is difficult to expect sprinters to break through to the end of the route. Only the strongest climbers reach the top here – real supermen. The list of names that adorn the winners of this section, over the years, is conclusive proof of what I said.

With such data, it's no wonder that winning this stage has become so prestigious and so well-covered. And with such prestige and coverage, it's no wonder that this stage has become the biggest attraction throughout the Tour, perhaps except for the finish in Paris.

A minute and a half video that perfectly conveys the atmosphere and experience of the rider, who arrives at the finish line so exhausted, at the peak of his ability, that he does not have the strength to free himself with a slight movement of his foot from the “clutches” that connect the rider to his bike. A connection that is between the sole of the rider’s shoe and the pedal, in order to be able to immediately lower a freed foot to the ground, to gain stability and standing. The exhausted rider is forced to be supported for this by his waiting team and the interviewers who are staring at him, are forced to wait long seconds until he is able to speak again…

The area is full of wild nature, forests, snowy peaks, wonderful views, and hiking trails with great attractions.

I myself, while crossing the Pyrenees on foot with a backpack on my back, slept inThe cabins called Refuge (free) and/or jets, scattered along the marked routes. Along the way, we met, here and there, hikers who were doing circular routes, lasting a day or two.

If you want to travel through this charming section, you are welcome to read the article about Hiking in the Turmela section.