After all the excitement of the Paris route release, we’ve got our noses to the grindstone, building Loops, finalising hotels and getting everything live onto the website. And there is plenty to be excited about in the 2019 Tour de France Route!
The Highlights:
- extra steep new tarmac on the Planche des Belle Filles at the end of stage 6
- mountain top finish on the iconic Tourmalet on stage 14
- the highest paved road in the French Alps at 2,770m over the Col de l’Iseran, stage 19
But we’re also really excited about:
- the Vosges and Massif Central stages for quiet roads and sheer cycling beauty (stages 7 to 10).
- stage 16: a day of cycling in Provence and 2 nights in the same hotel (bliss!).
- the Pyrenean Hourquette d’Ancizan: one of our very favourite climbs (stage 12). If you want to know just how beautiful it is, you’ll just have to join us!
So what happens now?
The full description of each stage will be published very soon onto our Route page.
By Monday we’ll have published all our Loop options (for now, you can see the sort of thing available on our Loop Examples page. Of particular note (new this year) will be our Mountains Lite options in both the Pyrenees and Alps, where you can ride the main climbs, but there will be an optionto cut things short so that you still have time for a post-ride celebratory beer. So if you fancy riding the mountains, but fear that a full stage might just be a step too far, then this is for you.
If you’ve bought a ‘Guaranteed Loop’ place in the first wave of sales, then you have until Thursday to email Sarah with your chosen Loop.
If you’ve yet to sign up, then our 2nd Phase of sales will open at 9am on Friday 2nd November – so get in there sharp to make sure you don’t miss out on the Tour de France adventure of your dreams.
Vive Le Tour!!