Tour de France Motorhome Route

I was in the Southern French Alps yesterday the 20th July 2011. This was Stage 17 of the 2011 Tour de France which was from Gap to Pinerolo in Italy. This was a gruelling day for the riders to say the least as it involved the Col d’Izoard and the Col de Montgenevre. The tour passed through the town of Briancon during the afternoon which is near where I was. I made a video to show just how many people follow the Tour de France by motorhome, I really don’t think I have seen so many moorhomes on the move together ever!

Today’s Stage 18 of the Tour de France is currently (as I write) going from Pinerolo over the Col d’Agnel and then through Briancon again and then onto the finish at the Col du Galibier. This is quite a historic finish

Jean Francois Pescheux writes (on the official ‘Le Tour’ web site),

“We return to France and there are three very big cols on the menu. The Agnel will be tackled for the first time ever from this side, then there’s the Izoard and its legendary Casse Déserte, followed by the Galibier.

This will be our chance to celebrate the centenary of this mythic climb’s first appearance on the race route back in the 1911 Tour de France. In addition, the finish, located at an altitude of 2,645 metres, will be the highest in the race’s history. It will remove from the history books the place held since 1986 by the 2,413m Col du Granon. This stage will certainly see a match-up between all those riders who are in contention for the overall title, as will the stage the following day. Whoever is leading the race runs the risk of succumbing to such physical demands.”

Today’s stage is monsterous and so far the weather is holding out well.  If you are into your cycling then maybe next year you should thing about planning a Tour de France Motorhome Route, there’s always somewhere to park up and get a superb view of the race.