La Grande Boucle

Early afternoon , Bastille Day, 1989.

I have been standing on the roundabout next to my house for nearly 3 hours. The moment I have been waiting for weeks is finally arriving. Le Tour de France, also known as La Grande Boucle, is passing my hometown, and on its way to Marseille, the finish of today’s stage. I am so excited to see the Champions, even though they will cycling past me in the blink of an eye. I would actually have the chance to clearly see Laurent Fignon and Greg Lemond, the 2 stars of the year, as they were well detached from the peloton. That 1989 edition was really entertaining and ended up in the history book, Fignon finishing only 8 seconds behind Lemond after a 3 week and over 2000 mile race. The shortest margin ever.

I think my interest in cycling, and more specifically in the Tour de France, really took root that day. To my parents’ joy, I spent most of my free time in the library reading books about the event (internet did not exist at the time), learnt the ‘rules’ (it is quite a strategic team sport), and immersed myself in Tour de France ‘history’. Tour trivia is an endless bounty and this is possibly one of the many reasons why the Tour de France is so famous worldwide. It could also explain why it gathers so many people of all ages (and not necessarily cyclists) in front of their TV or out on the roadside.

Experiencing a stage of the Tour de France from the side of the road is truly special, quite intense and guaranteed to deliver a memorable day. Make sure to arrive long before the cyclists, as the show starts with the caravane du tour, a publicity parade which as been part of the Tour de France since 1930. It precedes the pack of cyclists, to the delight of the fans, especially kids. For nearly an hour, the TDF partners put on a real show with funny cars, characters in costume with loud speakers, hurling swag from their wagons such as T=shirts, flags, caps, sweets, etc. It’s a good laugh.

Those moments are a perfect opportunity to meet all sorts of people, from different nationalities, and ranging from the true cycling fanatic (often wearing weird fancy-dressed clothes) to the random family on holiday in France unprepared and who find themselves stuck on the side of the road while the race goes past. It’s a priceless experience, by which I mean there’s no cost – it’s free. I always find that there is a genuine communion among strangers, who usually end up sharing stories around a glass (often more than one) of wine pulled out of the trunk of their car. It seems that standing on the side of the road under the sun for hours forges bonds.

I am always keen to offer such an experience to our clients visiting France in July. If you’re game for some uncertainty and an inevitable degree of controlled chaos, it’s really a day to be enjoyed and you’ll head home with plenty of stories to tell.

Later this year, I will have the pleasure of leading a 3-generation family to Saint Paul 3 Chateaux in the Drôme region for stage 17 of the Tour. Let’s hope that their excitement will be as high as mine was… 35 years ago.