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Keeping the dream alive- 2026 Tour de France planning starts now! But next year... can it be done? With the TdF make it difficult to see several stages in a row? Will we get back to the Pyrenees (my favorite part of France) again? The Pyrenees appear to be out. Once again, they've shortened the epic Pyrenees stages to just two days, near the start of the 'Tour. Just like last year. So we're back to the Alps again, but can we get back to the basics, the option where we stay entirely in one city (typically either Lourdes for the Pyrenees or Grenoble for the Alps) and then pack up on the last evening and head to Paris by train the next morning for the finale? Survey says... yes! It appears possible to do the impossible... see all 7 of the final stages. Don't think we've ever done more than six in the past. Normally we'd skip the usually included flat stage the 'Tour tosses into the final week, a gift for the sprinters, but this year, if we stay in Grenoble, we'll be close enough to that boring flat stage it will be worth the ride to see it, maybe viewing it from a feed stop, or perhaps scouting things out well enough to get that ultimate and still-elusive shot of the riders with sunflowers in the background. The basics- Leave Thursday July 16th and, depending upon pricing, fly into either Paris (CDG) and take the train to Grenoble, or Lyon (LYS) and take a shorter train to Grenoble. Arrive Grenoble July 17th probably around 4pm, hopefully stay at our favorite apartment just two blocks from the train station, build the bikes, find dinner, set up shop for 9 days (Friday 17th night through Sunday 26th), then Sunday morning train to Paris for one night, see the finale, and leave next day (Monday 27th). Saturday (the 18th) will be a day for a local ride, maybe into the Vercors. Sunday (19th) will be a challenging day, seeing the finish at Plateau de Solaison. This will test the limits of following the TdF without a rental car! This will be a new climb for us; details can be found here. Getting there... not so easy from Grenoble. 7:32-9:15am from Grenoble to Annecy, and then a 50 kilometer (32 mile) ride with about 7000ft of climbing to the summit finish. There's a choice of either going up the backside of the climb, watching it from the top, and then returning the way the riders came up, or a different route that would take us up the race route and then back down the same way. Details here. But getting back...unfortunately, about 2500ft of climbing on the return, either way. Looking into staying overnight "on the road" and returning the next day. Not a huge deal since that's a rest day for the 'Tour, but don't want to make it an impossibly-tough day for us! More to come. Close to 1am so got to shut things down and restart tomorrow (or, later today!). |
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Post date: 2025-10-25 01:01:41 Post date GMT: 2025-10-25 08:01:41 Post modified date: 2025-10-25 01:01:42 Post modified date GMT: 2025-10-25 08:01:42 |
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