On your bike for the Fête du Tour!

It all boils down to one thing: get on your bike!

The Fête du Tour is joining forces with the 18th edition of the Fête du Vélo this time round. The hard work of all cycling stakeholders and the support of the French Cyclotourism Association have put the Tour de France at the heart of this great cycling weekend, using it to promote, develop and unabashedly encourage people to practise this sport in all its shapes and colours.

Cycling lovers of all sorts and types will get to test their legs on more than 50 courses set up in the towns and cities, with a combined length of almost 2,000 kilometres. Daring amateurs will ride entire stages to check the roads for the champions, including the time trial from Bergerac to Périgueux and the 17th stage of the Tour from Saint-Gaudens to Saint-Lary-Soulan. Former stars (such as Patrice Halgand in Tallard and Bernard Thévenet in Oyonnax) will join cycling aficionados as they reconnoitre some of the roads on which titans will clash in July. Shorter stages (5 to 50 kilometres) and rides open to all will be the perfect opportunity for children and grown-ups alike to hop onto the saddle to discover the local landscapes and heritage.

Something for everyone

From the unwavering faithful to Sunday warriors, from those who love riding their bikes to loafers who just want to discover new horizons, there will be something for everyone around the activities set up right in the heart of the Tour stage cities, something to prick the curiosity of riders of all ages. The Fête du Tour is a unique opportunity to bridge the gap between the elite peloton and the John and Jane Does of cycling.

The programme features: free-style BMX, a road safety awareness campaign, exhibitions of Tour pictures, bicycle repairs and customisation, introductions to trial MTB, disabled cycling, electric bikes, introductions to aquabiking, cycle ball, mountainboarding, roll'herbe and trottin'herbe, exhibitions of vintage bicycles and much more!

With the original initiative by the Média Pitchounes organisation, commemorating the centenary of World War I in Toulouse with a "1914 Tour de France", the myriad activities in Gérardmer, rides alongside the vineyards near Épernay, in Champagne, and the climb up Hautacam on electric bikes, there is no excuse to not go on a Tour this weekend.

All the events, all the towns