Tour Type
Tour de France Experience
Riding Level
Leisure
Location
French Alps & Paris
Duration
8 Days | 7 Nights
Length
18 - 100 km daily
Climb
600 - 1,800 + m daily
Tour de France Week 3 is synonymous with the French Alps and where you find drama, heartbreak, triumph, team spirit and vindication. For you - five big climbs to experience a little of the "pros pain" and achievements. Starting with the world famous Provencal Mont Ventoux; then into the alps to climb Glandon and Madeleine the day before Stage 18 enabling you to ride Col de la Loze; and finally finishing on La Pagne. BUT that’s not all - be in Paris to experience all the fanfare and splendour that is Stage 21 in Paris.
This tour is designed to offer you the ultimate Grand Tour experience. We will witness the pros fight for the Maillot Jaune, enjoy some of the best riding in France and enjoy the craziness of fans cheering! There will be multiple opportunities to immerse yourself in the race at the Official VIP areas at the start and finishes; but also to fall in love with France – its mountainous landscapes and the ancient towns, to practise your French with locals and understand their culture, to devour the local cuisine and wines …to get a little closer to real France. The Tour de France is the Everest of the three Grand Tours and Week 3 Experience is the pinnacle.
Our tour is designed for those who wish to have a more relaxed ride of 60-110 km per day, and for non-riding partners.
Join us for a cycling holiday of a lifetime and what the pros consider as the pinnacle of cycle racing – ‘the most beautiful and spectacular race in the world’.
“This experience of riding part of the same course as the pros, and just a few hours ahead of them, and then cheering on them as they pass by flying the cols is unique in the sporting world. The atmosphere is simply incredible.”
Keith Tuffley, Founder – Grand Tours Project.
Make it private
The GTP Team will meet you at Avignon train station, and transport you to our lovely hotel near Mont Ventoux, where you will stay for 2 nights. Our team will help you reassemble your bike or finesse the fitting of your rental bike before setting out on a Welcome Ride to stretch the legs and test the bikes. Back at the hotel the team will discuss the plan and logistics for the next few days over an apero, followed by your Provencal dinner.
Mont Ventoux is a destination climb… when it is included on the TDF, it becomes a magnet. This climb will be one never to forget – hordes of animated, fervent and ardent fans lining the road; the enthusiasm alone will carry you up to the lunar landscape of the bald windy mountain. At the summit, cross the official Arrivée, mount the winners’ podium and then enter the TDF Hospitality Lounge. Enjoy the French hor d’oeuvres, sip the Champagne and watch the race on the big screen before the pros arrive over the finish. If you wish, you can ride down to Malaucène and onto the hotel nearby, or wait until the road is clear and take the transfer. Longer options for riding available.
Yes, you read correctly, we are skipping Stage 17 so you can ride the Stage 18 iconic climbs Glandon and / or Madeleine. There is a long transfer to Allemonde and from here you will climb 26.5 km and 1,355 m to Col du Glandon (1,924 m). The reward is a 21 km long descent to La Chambre. Fired up from an exhilarating descent, there is the ’beautiful but heartbreaking’ Col de la Madeleine (2,000 m) – shorter but steeper. Just under 20 km with an average gradient of 8% you will be ascending 1,522 m! As always, there is a rewarding 26 km and 1,588 m descent to the valley floor, followed by a transfer to your hotel nearby.
Another exciting day surrounded by TDF fans – The Queen Stage ! From either directly from the hotel or from La Praz, you will climb through the glamorous Courchevel, one of the 3 resorts of Les Trois Vallées, to Col de la Loze. We will wait at the summit in the TDF VIP Hospitality Lounge to watch the pros arrive exhausted after also climbing both Glandon and Madeleine (171 km | 5,500 m). The last ascent of La Loze in the TDF was in 2023, from Meribel – exceptionally steep but luckily your descent route back to Brides-les-Bains.
The TDF route designers have not eased off in the French Alps! Another massive day for the teams and leaders – 4,600 m over 130 km. For you, only the last climb to La Plagne 2000. It is challenging enough and if the race is close, this stage may decide the winner of the Tour. Once at La Plagne, the team will have bagged a private GTP Hospitality area for you to get ready for the arrival action! An optional escape route is to ride down BUT detour to Notre-Dame-du-Pre (Col du Tra) and enjoy the ride down the 26 hairpins to Les Plaines. Then a transfer to a hotel near Annecy.
An early departure to Nantua to access the TDF Depart Village and wander in the team Paddock to observe teh specialist team buses and the hive of activity as the riders get ready…possibly get a photo with one or more of the pros! Get ready for the team sign-in ceremony and feel the increasing excitement as the commentator makes the announcements, interviews riders and the music blasts over the speakers. Then they are off and so are you, but heading west to Bourg-en-Bresse. A rolling route without delays to ensure you can shower and change before taking the TGV fast train to Paris Gare de Lyon and your hotel.
In order to avoid the road closures of central Paris, we suggest an early ride before returning to the hotel for breakfast. Enjoy the morning relaxing and/or exploring Paris before the team escorts you to the TDF VIP Hospitality Lounge where you can watch the race on the screens, enjoy the food and sip champagne. Then find yourself close to the action to watch the sprinters thunder across the Arrivee to gain those final points and a sprinters stage win… the TDF winner having already been determined. The final dinner will be held to celebrate the TDF winners, the teams as well as your achievements.
We recommend that you book an afternoon flight to allow you a sleep in, a leisurely Parisian continental breakfast and perhaps last minute shopping. The Team will assist you in checking out, packing up and then transfer you to the Paris Charle de Gaulle Airport for your onward journey.
If the Grand Tours Project Tour de France Week 3 Experience ticks your boxes – up to 5 mountain climbs, riding on portions of the official race route with fans cheering you on, access to TDF VIP hospitality areas at the stage starts and finishes, immersed with crowds to feel the passion, dining and quaffing French cuisine, wines and beers, enjoying the camaraderie of friends family or new friends – then contact us here.
What’s Not Included?
