"Yellow Jersey" Trip

July 21st to July 28th

The Tour de France will tackle the Alps as the last mountain range in 2008. After a few stages in the Massif Central and Pyrenees, the grueling last 2 stages in the Alps and final time-trial will determine the winner.

This trip includes the stage up Alpe d'huez and as an official Tour Operator for the Tour de France, we are in a position to offer you behind the scenes VIP access you never thought possible.

You will be able to see the Tour from the inside. When we mean VIP access, we mean visit of the Press rooms, Technical Zones, visits guided by a representative of the Tour de France organization, visit of the Riders Zone, meeting personalities that have marked the Tour (former Tour winners, personalities, etc...).

You will have VIP access to a stage start and a stage finish and will be able to experience the craziness of Alpe d'huez from our Private Viewing Chalet!

Please read below for day by day description of the trip.

This trip is open to cyclist as well as those who prefer not to ride and restricted to 20 people.

- July 21st -

Tour Stage: Rest Day

We will be picking-up in Nice airport at 1:30PM. From Nice, we will travel North to get to our first hotel located in Valberg.

Our first hotel is located in the heart of the Southern Alps in Valberg. It is one of our favorite hotels in the region. Quite typical of the area, with great owners.

Upon arriving, we will check in and those riding will assemble bikes, our mechanic will be on hand to assist those who need a bit of help. Time allowing, we will take a short ride to make sure everything is in proper working condition.

It will then be time to get together over a welcome toast, do proper introductions and go over the next few day's fun and action... of course a nice dinner will follow!

Given the excellent location of our hotel, those who wish to ride the most, will be able to leave the hotel on bike and catch up with today's stage itinerary. The total ride distance would be approximately 105km and include the highest climb of this year's Tour; the col de la Bonnette!

Our viewing options will be partially based on weather conditions. Of course, if it is "on the cooler side" at high altitude, we may not want to wait for the race to come by and would ride to the arrival. Conversely, if it is warm, the cooler weather on the mountain top might be quite welcome!

Once the stage is over, we will want to be on our way relatively rapidly as we have a bit of a transfer to get to our next hotel. It will be well worth it however as the hotel is in.... Alpe d'Huez itself!

Col de la Bonette

Today's stage will finish with the climb to Alpe d'Huez, which is most likely the world's most famous cycling climb. A win on Alpe d'Huez is every cyclist's dream. in addition this is the final "high mountain" stage of the 2008 Tour and two other monuments of cycling - col du Galibier and col de la Croix de Fer - are also featured today. Of course we'll be in Alpe d'Huez to witness history in the making.

This is an exciting day and we have planned exciting things... An early morning ride will be available for those who wish. Wrapping around the base of the mountain our way back will take us up the climb to Alpe d'Huez!

 We will then have time to change into civilian outfit and make our way to our Chalet located on switchback #2 (second to last switchback). The views from this location are second to none anywhere on the climb to Alpe d'Huez. We will be able to see from the Village of Huez up to our location.  We will also have lunch at the Chalet.

Once the stage is over, we will be able to return to our hotel on foot. All of the Pro teams stay at Alpe d'Huez and it is quite possible that we would share the hotel with CSC and Bobby Julich

Schleck & Cunego on AdH - 2006

Beloki, Armstrong, Mayo, Hamilton (2003)

Alpe d'Huez profile

- July 24th -

We will be treated to the "start Village" in Bourg d'Oisans. This village should open around 10:00am or so, and Bourg d'Oisans is located at the base of the climb, so it will be easy get to it. Our cycling will be scheduled for after the stage departure.

In Bourg d'Oisans, we will be greeted by a person from ASO who will show us around the area and explain how things work. Thanks to our passes, we will access the rider's area, meet some of the racers, see them warm-up, meet Directeurs Sportif, personalities, possible visit of team bus, etc.

Tour starts are often a favorite part of our trips as the interaction with the riders/teams is unparalleled.

Once the peloton is off, we will transfer to Roanne, where those who wish to ride the most will be able to ride tomorrow's stage between Roanne and Montlucon; The distance of 163km (a century in miles) makes it perfect to attempt as it is one of the shortest stages of the 2008 Tour. Of course, everyone may not wish to ride quite this much, so we will a couple of other ride distances.

Our 4* hotel for the next couple of nights couldn't be more convenient as it is located in Montlucon itself and is a Relais Chateaux property. The Castle's chapel is a roman edifice dating back to 1118 AD and doubles as the gastronomical restaurant, which is where we will be having dinner tonight and tomorrow night.

- July 25th -

Hotel location: Vichy

Tour Stage 19  /   Roanne  -  Montlucon  /  163km (101 miles)

For once; the Tour comes to us rather than the opposite. Indeed the Peloton will be riding over the same course as that which we cycled yesterday.

We will be in Montlucon to see who crosses the line first as we will have passes to access the exclusive VIP Izoard hospitality area overlooking the finish line.
Here hostesses will serve drinks and snacks while watching the live broadcast on Big Screen and TV. After seeing the stage finish from this exclusive viewing area champagne will be served to celebrate the stage winner.
The Izoard bus is among the more exclusive areas at stage finishes and you should expect to see/meet plenty of Tour celebrities.
 

Of course, we have rides planned and we'll offer a couple of loop rides in the morning and have a bit of time to enjoy the hotel's pool or a bit of R&R before going from our hotel to the arrival of the stage!

In the evening we will break down bikes so that they can travel up to Paris tomorrow!

- July 26th -

Tour Stage 20  /  Cerilly  - Saint Amand Montrond  /  53km (34 miles)

The 2008 location of the Time Trial is very remote and while our hotel is ideally located to get access to the stage, heading to Paris in the evening will require a late drive ; in order to enjoy all the time trial action, we will reach Paris by bus tonight.

- July 27th -

Hotel location: Paris

Tour Stage 21  /   Etampes  - Paris Champs-Elysees   /  143km (89 miles)

This is what every professional cyclist aspires to; the arrival of the Tour de France on the Champs-Elysees!

Who will be wearing yellow on the Champs Elysees tonight? We will find out today as we watch the arrival from the Grand Stands setup alongside the Champs-Elysees by the Tour organizers. A large screen is setup to follow the race as it enters Paris.

Once the Tour festivities are over, we will get ready for a great dining experience. This year again we will be renting an entire boat for our dinner-cruise along the Seine river. Great food and unbelievable sight-seeing of Paris by night will end our “sensory overloaded day”!!!

Our 4 Star hotel is located within walking distance of the Champs Elysees, the Grand stands and the dinner cruise.

- July 28th -

Tour...  not until next year!

Goodbyes and transfer to Paris CDG airport or....... Option to Visit Paris for a few days (read about this option below)