I will be in southern France on July 18, near the 14th leg of the Tour de France, (from Revel to Ax 3 Domaines.) I'd love to watch some of it. Does anyone have knowledge of this area or leg of the race? We're trying to figure out where to park ourselves. Should we try to go into a town, like Castelnaudary or just pull over by the side of the road?

Last time I saw a stage in that area, I just pulled off the road on a slow uphill climb. There were already several dozen other cars and campers there to validate my choice. About 30 minutes later, the road was closed, but it took another 2 hours for the cyclists to come through (got a number of free keychains from the advertising caravan that passes beforehand). A lot of people have their radio on loud so that you can hear about the progress of the peleton and such as it approaches. We were mostly very happy to have a full ice chest of beverages, because it was a very hot day. The buzz of excitement in the crowd from every country in Europe and beyond was very interesting also.

The road re-opened in the downhill direction about 15 minutes after the <i>voiture balai</i> came through to signal the end of the event.

Thanks Kirouac. I'm going to have to spend some time studying the maps. We arrive late the day before so we won't have any time for reconnaissance. I'm torn between finding a spot like you describe and watching from a town, where there's something to do and see before and after they all roll through.

Anyone else have suggestions?

Thanks,

Patti

My husband and I followed the tour around France from 2001-2006, then again last year. We saw on average 10 staqes each year and we loved it.

Your best friend will be the sporting newspaper L'equipe. Each day L'equipe will have the following days route and the estimated time that the racers will be passing each kilometer, as well as the time that the roads will be closed, this is an invaluable guide. You'll need this to help you maneuver around closed roads. You can find L'equipe in any Tabac (newsstand) in even the smallest village. The info is in French of course, but the charts, timetables, racer placeings and listings are easily understood.

Castelnaudary is in the beginning of the stage 14 so the racers will be pretty much together and at 16K into the stage it's probably too early for a breakaway. So all you will see are the riders all together in one field speeding past.

If you are closest to this area, I would suggest heading to the start village to see all the hoopla that takes place the morning of a depart. It's fun to hang around and watch the team buses and riders warm up, one year in Lavalanet my husband was riding the outskirts of the start area only to be surrounded by the Kelme team as they rode around to warm up, since he had a Kelme bike at the time he was wearing the team kit and was shocked to look up to see Oscar Seville waving and shouting to him.

At the start village there are so many opportunities to see the riders up close up as they sign in, do their bike checks with the mechanics next to their buses or warm up riding around the town or on trainers by the buses, possibly even collect autographs of your favorite racers. We have been in a start village several times and it's always a lot of fun.

The best place to watch the race however, is on an uphill and preferably one in the later part of the stage. The ideal on this stage would be to park anywhere before the final climb of the stage and hike up as far as you can. That will be the most crowded and might be difficult to manage if you don't plan to get there the day before and either camp or sleep in the car.

The second best viewing spot would be anywhere after Bessède-de-Sault, which is the beginning of the largest climb of the stage, and hike up as far as you can toward the finish line. If this is too far for you anywhere along an uphill is better than a flat or downhill.

This has been discussed several times in the past and you might find some usefull info here.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ce-in-july.cfm

Good luck, have a great time, there is nothing like the tour for a wonderful fun experience. I will miss seeing the tour live this year, it's just not the same on TV after having been on the mountain side.

Thanks Celticharper, for the additional information and the link to the previous thread. The party atmosphere you describe sounds like a blast! I'll try to get my hands on a copy of L'equipe when we get to France.

Thanks,

Patti

You're certainly welcome, I'm glad to help, watching the Tour from the streets of France is an incredible experience. L'equipe is easy to find, even the smallest village has a tabac that carries it, but often it sells out by 3 o'clock, so just pick it up in the morning when you go out for morning coffee and croissants. That way you can plan your next days adventure early.

I'll definitely be missing it this year, but possibly the Daulphiné next year for a change.

Have a great time.