2 days cycling. 206km.
A full stage and a historically scenic time trial – a great Tour de France snapshot!
We made this Loop because these two beautiful stages merit more cycling visitors! They take you through countryside, villages and towns that scream France and, more importantly, the Tour de France. They also give you perfect tarmac and quiet rural roads that most of us aren’t lucky enough to have at home.
The feel of cycling in France is always a treat but when you see decorated villages, road-closed signs for the following week and hotels getting ready to host teams and dignitaries, you’ll get swept up in the fun and glamour of it all – it’s a very special way to ride.
Your challenge is to tackle a full, over 100 mile stage; a huge feat by any standard and one made even more impressive because you have to get up and go again the next day (the Caen Time Trial stage really is a beauty).
Don’t be fooled into judging this Loop against the others; we all have the right level of challenge and anything with “Tour de France” attached to it is a massive achievement. Come and join us, share our journey and breathe a little bit of the Tour!
Itinerary
Mon 30th June – Travel under own arrangements to Dunkirk hotel by 7pm. Meet the team, meet your fellow cyclists, arrival briefing and dinner
Tues 1st – Wed 2nd July – Cycle stages 4-5
Thurs 3rd July – Depart after breakfast, under own arrangements from Bayeux hotel.
Stage 4 – Amiens to Rouen – 173km – Tues 1st July
Total Climb: 2,000m
Imagine the sort of ride you’d plan as a Sunday treat if you lived in France, had a whole day to spare and wanted a relaxed but long day out with your mates – this is that day! It’s very French, full of variety, tough but not too tough and overall just a really great ride.
We start with big skies and wide-open farmland but come late morning we descend into the gorge of the river Seine at Les Andalys, where we spend a kilometre or two riding in the shelter of Val Saint-Martin’s magnificent chalk cliffs. This is far from a flat stage and it’s here that the climbing begins in earnest, starting with the precipitous Côte de Thuit, where we climb out of the river valley.
We then make our way across the countryside to Romilly-sur-Andelle, where we encounter the Côte Jacques Anquetil (named after France’s colourful 5 times Tour winner). It’s a climb of just under 4km, which starts steeply, levels out, and then ramps up again just when your legs are starting to tire! This is Tour riding and you can spare a thought for the pros who follow you one week later.
The final kilometres of the route skirt Rouen, treating us to the short-but-punchy Côte de Bonsecours, Côte de Grand’Mare and Côte Saint-Hilaire (much of which is 15%, ouch), before finally allowing us to descend into the city.
This stage will feel punchy but manageable, with a lot of French feel and atmosphere. Highly recommended!
Tour logistics
Start: Transfer from Dunkirk to Amiens
Finish: Rouen hotel
Stage 5 – Caen to Caen – 33km – Wednesday 2nd July
Total Climb: not yet published
For the Tour de France racers this will be a monumental effort, but for us a 33km stage offers the opportunity for a more restful ride.
The route is pan-flat and transports us swiftly from Caen to a cycling paradise of perfect tarmac, lined with golden fields of rippling wheat. Caen is known to many Brits solely as an arrival town for ferry trips to France – but the town and surrounding countryside have much to offer; Caen itself has a beautiful historic centre and its significance during the 2nd world war is presented proudly.
Soon after leaving town we visit the small village of Colomby-Anguerny, which contains several monuments to the Canadian regiment who liberated this area in 1945. Then for historical contrast we pass through the quiet settlements of Thaon and Cairon with their ancient stone cottages.
Returning along fast, flat roads, we finish our brief outing at the Hippodrome de Caen – the city’s famous horse racecourse.
For those who’d like to ride a bit further, or those riding the Tour de France Adventure Loop, it’s a scenic 35km ride to our Bayeux hotel if you’d prefer not to get back on the bus!
Tour logistics
Start: Transfer from Rouen
Finish: Ride or transfer to Bayeux hotel
| Total Cost |
Deposit | Second Payment Due end Jan |
Final Payment Due end Mar |
Fundraising Target | 80% Fundraising due end April |
| £630
|
£250 | £130 | £250 | £1,000 | £800 |
- Accommodation (Mostly twin share. Single supplements are available to buy by January)
- All food (3 meals and the best feedstops you’ve ever seen)
- Fully signed route, the stuff of legend
- Mechanical, medical and moral support
- Luggage Transfers
- Coach transfers to the next stage start when the stages aren’t contiguous
- Travel to and from France (but we’ll give you advice on the best travel routes)
- Bike Transport (£40 each way if you want us to drive your bike there and back)
- Evening massage (£10 or €10 per massage if you’d like one – highly recommended)
- Beer/wine/drinks at dinner