Fête du Tour: Everyone on your bike!

LA FÊTE DU TOUR: 43 COMMUNITIES ENGAGED

As you'd expect, Bernard Hinault has taken the lead. The Fête du Tour began on 18 May in Saint-Malo, where the Tour peloton will gather on 11 July for a stage heading to Mûr-de-Bretagne. The five-time Tour winner launched the festivities and came as a neighbour to participate in a ride on the roads of Brittany. Like Saint-Malo, many towns are being decked out in the Tour colours thanks to a decoration kit already getting fans in the mood for July. A total of 30 Tour de France stage towns are organising special events, and 13 sites are on the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift map.

SPORT OR ENTERTAINMENT, SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE

The weekend will be full of sporting events for everyone who wants to be on the Tour route, with formats accessible to all levels. The shorter rides, which are just a few kilometres long, are designed for cyclists with small children, but it is also possible to try your luck on the stages that the champions will be racing on in July. In addition to the rides, educational activities around cycling will be organized in some dedicated areas, with repair, maintenance and safety workshops. There will also be entertainment, with several local communities hosting exhibitions and/or conferences on the theme of the Tour and even a flash mob in Ennezat. In an unusual move for cycling, the action will also take to the skies in Vannes, where track cyclist Coralie Demay and para-cyclist Heïdi Gaugain, a three-time silver medallist at the Paris Olympic Games, will deliver the Tour flag by parachute!

FOCUS ON THREE STAGE TOWNS

Having hosted the event 27 times, Toulouse clearly understands that the Tour de France is no stranger to derision. And to prepare for a loop stage that will see the champions in action over 154 km, a soapbox (2, 3 or 4 wheels) race will be held in the city, with vehicles decorated in the spirit of the Tour's caravan. The slowest, most absurd and most original vehicles will be awarded prizes.

The town of Guéret, the finish for stage four of the women's race, looks forward to its rendezvous with the champions on 30 July. Three separate rides (5.5 km, 37 km and 68 km) are on the programme for 24-25 May. A bike-themed 'escape game' has also been organised.

You'll have to wait a little longer to set off on stage 6, as the Fête du Tour continues until 22 June with the Virées Normandes, which expects to attract large numbers of cyclists. There will be six rides, with the longest covering the entire route (203 km) of the stage between Bayeux and Vire with 3,500 m of elevation gain in the hills of Normandy while the shortest ride (60 km) will pass through the Côte de Saint-Michel-de-Montjoie, offering a breathtaking view of Mont-Saint-Michel.

THE FÊTE DU TOUR CALENDAR

Tour de France

Dunkerque – 24 May
Rouen – 24 May
Caen – 24 May
Chinon – 24 May
Châteauroux – 24 May 
Muret – 24 May
Carcassonne – 24 May
Albertville – 24 May
Nantua – 24 May
Pontarlier – 24 May
Mantes-la-Ville – 24 May
Toulouse – 24 et 25 May
Pau – 24 et 25 May
Le Mont-Dore – 24 and 25 May
Auch – 24 and 25 May
Hautacam – 24 and 25 May
Luchon-Superbagnères – 24 and 25 May
Valence – 24 and 25 May
Lauwin-Planque – 25 May
Ennezat – 25 May

 

Tour de France avec Zwift

Vannes – 24 May
Guéret – 24 May
Praz-sur-Arly – 24 May
Châtel – 24 May
Plumelec – 24 and 25 May
Clermont-Ferrand – 24 and 25 May
Poitiers – 24 et 25 May
Brest – 25 May

Quimper – 25 May
Saumur – 25 May
Ambert – 25 May
Chambéry – 25 May

 

La Fête du Tour continues…

Vif – 23 May
Lille – 31 May 
Laval – 1 June
Vire – 22 June
Amiens – 23 to 27 June
Valenciennes – 25 to 27 June
Angers – 27 July

 

Places where La Fête du Tour has already been organized this year
Bollène – 17 May
Saint-Malo – 18 May
Avignon – 21 May