Polka Dot Pyrenees

Welcome to France! We will be meeting mid-afternoon in the lobby of our hotel, ideally located in the beautiful town of Lourdes in the Pyrenees mountains.

One plus of this trip is that we will stay in one hotel, which is centrally located for the upcoming race days. Upon meeting your group and guides, the cyclists in the group will get fitted on your rental bikes before the cyclists take a short ride to shake off the dust from traveling. The spectators will have the opportunity to stroll and explore Lourdes.

Tonight we’ll enjoy a welcome dinner in the hotel restaurant. In addition to meeting our fellow travel guests at dinner, we’ll go over the itinerary for our trip. Each guest will receive a gift from Custom Getaways and from the Tour de France. The cyclists will also receive a cycling jersey and water bottle. All guests will also receive a discount card for official le Tour merchandise.

Good morning and let’s get moving!

The cyclists will have two ride distances this morning. The longer ride will be approximately 65km and the shorter ride will be about 45km. This is a rolling day with several hundred meters of elevation gain. We’ll experience riding on the course for part of our ride as we head towards the Relais Etape VIP venue.

The spectators will depart this morning for the VIP venue. Along the way, we’ll sightsee as we will be close to Pau, France. Pau is a city in southwestern France, set along the Pyrenees mountains’ northern edge approximately 85 km from the Spanish border.

Our VIP venue today is located along the course and serves an excellent 4-course meal for lunch. It also offers snacks, beer, wine, soft drinks, coffee and water. Once the race finishes, champagne will be served to toast the stage winner. Another nice feature of this venue is that it has TV’s to watch the race until the racers pass right in front of us. The caravan parade will also pass in front of our venue prior to the racers passing. The caravan pumps up the crowds with colorful floats and the tossing of small prizes. Each Relais Etape guest will receive a gift from le Tour.

We will keep an eye on the racers as they approach the hilly terrain near the finish….the Blachon and Simacourbe climbs could pose a problem for those sprinters who don’t feel comfortable in the hills.

Dinner is not included tonight, so it’s a perfect opportunity to explore the town and find a cool place for local cuisine.

This morning the spectators will tour the world famous Grotto under the Basilica of Lourdes. The Basilica and Grotto are located a short walk from our hotel. Meanwhile, the cyclists will ride on the official course and across the finish line. Today’s ride will be longer with 65 kilometers for the longer ride and 45 for the shorter ride.  Elevation gain will be about 1,400 meters.

The spectators and cyclists will have the opportunity to tour the podium area and get pictures. After the podium, the group will enter the Izoard VIP venue, located near the finish area. This venue offers snacks, ice cream, beer, wine, soft drinks, coffee and water. Champagne will be served to toast the stage winner. A few other nice features of this venue include TV’s to watch the race until the racers pass and also private restrooms.

Today will be a festival of climbing for the racers, featuring the Col du Tourmalet, the Hourquette d’Ancizan and the climb to Pla d’Adet.

Lourdes offers many restaurant options within walking distance from the hotel. You will be on your own for dinner tonight.

Happy Bastille Day! This morning we start with a race viewing before we cycle or sightsee. You will have VIP access to the Start Village with coffee, snacks, tour officials and merchandise tents. Another great feature of the start village is that you will have access to the team bus paddock. You can walk around the team busses and cars before the race begins. However, you need to be careful as the racers will ride around you to get to the sign-in stage and to the starting line…a really cool experience!

According to Christian Prudhomme, “The third Sunday of the Tour could prove crucial. Whatever happened on the previous days in the mountains, the terrain on this stage is ripe for revenge or confirmation, with 4,850 meters of vertical gain on the menu over almost 200 kilometres of racing”.

After we see the racers depart, we will grab a light lunch and after a quick change, the cyclists will make the climb up the famous Col du Tourmalet. This will be a shorter ride of around 40 kilometers due to the elevation gain of 1,800 meters. For the non-cycling guests, you will eat lunch in Loudenville, then head back to Lourdes for some free time. The hotel offers a spa and wellness center for anyone wishing to self-book a treatment. Another option is to visit the Château Fort de Lourdes. This thousand-year-old fortress, which has never been conquered, is a listed historical monument and a museum of France.

Everyone will meet back at the hotel for our farewell dinner. It’s a perfect opportunity to review our trip with some new friends.

This morning, your guides will drop you at the Lourdes train station.

Au revoir!