L'Etape du Tour

I'm guessing that anyone reading this blog probably has some notion of what the Etape du Tour is all about, but I thought it might be worthwhile to give a brief description of the event.

Each year, the public is invited to ride a mountain stage of that year's Tour de France. The event draws about 8,000 riders from around the world, and takes place a few days before the actual Tour de France stage. Spots are available only through authorized tour agencies, and are typically sold as part of an organized bike tour that includes hotels, transportation, private rest stops, training rides and other amenities. There are also a limited number of entry-only spots available for purchase for people who want to organize their own trip. The Etape website has links to authorized agents.

Since I had already had our French holiday planned, and since riding the Etape was a rather last-minute idea, I purchased one of these entry-only spots through a US travel agency. It was a multipart process that actually required a doctor's statement verifying that I am healthy enough to participate.

Going it alone, and so late in the process has led to t

he first logistical issue: hotels near the start have been sold out for months. People plan far ahead for this event. My house in Provence is about 1.5 hours from the start, so my options are to drive up the morning of VERY early in the morning to make the 7am departure, or try to find a hotel room on the night before the ride. My search for a room continues...so far no luck.

The ride itself is 172 km in length (about 106 miles), and includes about 10,000 feet of elevation gain (or climbing), more than half of which happens in the final 22 km ascent of Mont Ventoux. Here is the profile:

The UK based company CycleFilm (www.cyclefilm.com) puts out a yearly recon DVD of the Etape. It takes you through the entire route and examines the road conditions, areas to use caution, best places to conserve energy, etc. It is a great resource and the next best thing to taking an advance trip to France to ride the route. They have some preview clips on their site for anyone who wants to get a sneak peak at the countryside we will pass through.

The Etape is officially considered a "race" and each rider carries a transponder that records their finish time. Riders must finish within a certain time (10 hours, I think). If you are overtaken by the "End of Race" vehicles you must leave the race.

So, that is Etape du Tour 101. If you want to join me, I think there are still a few entry-only spots available. Maybe we can share a room.

Ken