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The longest diagonal that can be drawn on the map of France was covered since a year. From Brest to Monaco, riders, followers, spectators and TV viewers will have a taste of a different climate; will discover other places and other lifestyles. It is exactly the reflection of the Tour’s vocation: to nourish from the richness and diversity of territories. The short stay that we will enjoy on the Riviera with our neighbours from Monaco that we feel so close to, will be a dive in the universe that we expect to see every year. With the same desire, the same expectations of an intense show and an unchanged fascination for a sport with an unequalled romantic side. Indeed the Tour de France, through its areas, regions and countries, mainly transports the passion for cycling.
For the nomads that we are, the atmosphere of the Grand Départ, the solemnity of the team presentation, the inaugural first kilometres of cycling against the clock when the yellow jersey is captured by a leader with an uncertain future, are always a moving prelude to mouth-watering episodes during three weeks. In Monaco, the majesty of the site will give an extra dimension to the preparations. Each and everyone will find in the pages that follow an explanation guide of their stay in the Principality.
Access to Monaco© A.S.O.
Access to Monaco
By A8 Highway, exit n°56.
Nice Côte d’Azur International Airport, 25 km away.
Liaisons Nice-Monaco by bus (40 minutes), train (25 minutes), helicopter (less than ten minutes).
Many daily flights from Paris (Orly or Roissy Charles de Gaulle) and from the main European cities.
Nice station.
Liaisons Nice-Monaco (station 15 minutes away by foot from the Grimaldi Forum).
10, avenue Princesse Grace (on the water front).
Open from Wednesday the 1st of July at 2:00 PM
Marked access from the n°56 exit of the A 8 highway.
Parking lots reserved for the Tour de France:
It is recommended as much as possible to use public transports until the start of stage 2 on Sunday the 5th of July.
As of Wednesday the 1st of July at 12:00 AM, terrestrial and water shuttles will be available.
Thursday the 2nd of July (team presentation) and Saturday the 4th of July (first stage), train liaisons going to Monaco will be intensified.
| Day | Hours | Description |
|---|---|---|
Wednesday the 1st of July |
2:00 - 8:00 PM | Opening hours of the Welcome center at the Grimaldi Forum. |
| 2:00 - 10:00PM | Opening hours of the Welcome and Press center at the Grimaldi Forum. | |
Thursday the 2nd of July |
9:00 AM - 8:00 PM | Opening hours of the Welcome center. |
| 9:00 AM - 10:00 PM | Opening hours of the Press center. | |
| 11:00 AM | Coordination meeting with the law enforcement authorities. | |
| 3:00 PM | Road security meeting with the users allowed to be on the Tour de France itinerary. | |
| 5:00 PM | General Briefing of the teams (Sporting Directors and riders) at the Auditorium Rainier III (closed to public). | |
| 5:00 PM | Parade of the advertising caravan on the course of the team presentation. | |
| 6:00 - 7:30 PM | Presentation of the 2009 Tour de France teams at the North harbour of the Port Hercule. | |
Friday the 3rd of July |
9:00 AM - 8:00 PM | Opening hours of the Welcome center. |
| 9:00 AM - 10:00 PM | Opening hours of the Press center. | |
| 10:30 AM | Meeting for the Sporting Directors / Tour de France / Race marshals. | |
| 11:00 AM | Meeting for the start and finish animation zones (partners, commissariat général). | |
| 11:45 AM | Meeting for the Sporting Directors and France Télévisions. | |
| 2:00 PM | Meeting for road security. | |
| 3:00 PM | Meeting for the advertising caravan chiefs. | |
| 4:30 PM | Meeting for the advertising caravan. | |
Saturday the 4th of July |
9:00 AM - 11:00 PM | Opening hours of the Welcome and Press center. |
| 9:30 AM | Meeting for the drivers and bikers of the organisation in the presence of the Race marshals. | |
| 11:00 AM | Meeting for the media bikers (bikers, photographers, cameramen, radios,…) in the presence of the Race marshals. | |
| 0:30 PM | Course of stage 1 is totally closed. | |
| 1:30-2:h00 PM | Passage of the advertising caravan on the start line. | |
| 3:00 PM | Stage 1 Course Reconnaissance for the riders. | |
| 3:00 PM | Opening of the Tour de France village. | |
| 4:00 PM | Start of stage 1. |
© A.S.O.
On Thursday the 2nd of July, the official team presentation of the twenty teams taking part in the 2009 Tour de France will take place at the North harbour of the Port Hercule.
It will be preceded at 5:00 PM by the parade of around 50 vehicles of the advertising caravan.
Then, at 6:00 PM, the riders will be presented to the public on a podium surrounded by two giant screens and facing a stand with 6,500 places.
At their descent from the podium, the teams by groups of four will take off for a parade of around one kilometre on the Quai Albert Ier and the Boulevard Albert Ier, each accompanied by a young rider of the Union Cycliste de Monaco, the club of the Principality.
Singer Akram will perform in between each presentation.
