What is Le Loop?
How it works
We follow the exact route of each year's Tour de France, one week ahead of the professionals.
We divide the Tour route into Loops. There are options of varying lengths and cyclists come and go throughout the 3 weeks of the Tour
Choose the Loop that suits you best – the flat(er) stages, the mountains, the sunshine stages, the first or second half or the entire Tour de France ("Grand Loop" - 21 stages)
The event is extremely friendly and inclusive (it’s a challenge; not a race) so as long as you’re ready for 180 – 200km days and have chosen the right Loop for you, you’ll be welcome.
The event is run at cost price to raise money for the William Wates Memorial Trust. All cyclists commit to fundraising and we make sure you see how that money is spent.
Le Loop is open to anyone who undertakes adequate training, meets their minimum fundraising target, satisfies our medical checks and agrees to our Terms and Conditions.
Cycling
All cyclists, irrespective of Loop option, are part of the same group. The route is fully arrowed and you cycle at your own speed.
We usually start cycling at 8am. The first 40km is cycled at group pace, creating a great team spirit and letting you cycle with different people for a short time. Nobody leaves the first feedstop until everyone has arrived.
After the first stop, you are free to cycle the rest of the day at your own pace, with rolling stops.
Le Loop is not a race but a friendly event which hopes to cater to all levels of amateur cyclist who have completed adequate training. We encourage stronger cyclists to support rather than compete and hope that everyone feels included and valued.
If in doubt about your ability, please read this note on speed.
Costs
| Stages Ridden | Nights | Cost to Cyclist | Min Sponsorship |
| 3 | 4 | £840 | £1200 |
| 7 | 8 | £1680 | £1200 |
10 (+ 1 rest day) | 12 | £2520 | £1500 |
21 (+ 2 rest + Paris supp) | 25 | £5350 | £3000 |
Video: how we support you
What’s included:
- Accommodation (Mostly twin share. Single supplements are available to buy in 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
What’s not included:
- 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
How to book
The route for each year's Tour isn't announced until the October before. Until October, the Grand Depart location will be known but nothing else.
GRAND LOOP SIGN UP opens in late July for the following year and places are allocated on a first come, first served basis requiring a £500 deposit. Once these places are sold, we run a waiting list which you can join by emailing sarah@rideleloop.org.
GUARANTEED LOOP SIGN UP happens in July alongside the Grand Loop launch. By paying a deposit at this stage, we guarantee availability on the Loop of your choice once the route and Loop specifics are known.
Once the route is announced, and our Loops are published 5 days later, you'll have a week to convert your Guaranteed Loop place to the Loop of your choice with availability guaranteed.
* This option is best for those who know they'd like to cycle, or are cycling with one or more others (and want to be sure they all get places for the same thing).
2nd WAVE LOOP SIGN UP is in early November when we release all Loop places that haven't been taken by those with Guaranteed Loop deposits.
We cannot guarantee availability on all Loops at this stage as some may already have reached capacity.
* This option is best for those who prefer to know the route before they commit and are flexible enough to adapt plans if their first choice Loop has sold out.
Payments
Cyclists pay their own tour costs to Le Loop and agree to raise a minimum sponsorship for the William Wates Memorial Trust (paid directly to the Trust either directly or via your online fundraising account).
The basic cost for a Loop is £210 per night which covers food, accommodation, transport on tour, all logistics and support and a small admin fee. You will stay on Tour 1 night more than you cycle, eg. 3 days cycling will be 4 nights = £840 and 7 days cycling will be 8 nights = £1,680.
Specific logistics can mean small supplements which will always be listed in the booking notes (eg. TGV transfers or particularly nice hotels).
All Loops are paid for in 3 instalments;
- Deposits (non-refundable) of £250 (£500 for the Grand Loop) are paid to secure your place
- Second payments (60% of tour cost minus deposit) are due by the end of January
- Final payments (40% of tour cost) are due by the end of March
All payments except the deposit are fully refundable until the end of March, after which our cancellation policy applies (see Terms and Conditions).
All Loops carry a minimum fundraising target and the charity aspect of Le Loop is integral to the event. Fundraising targets are linked to length of Loop and range from £1000 to £3000. For more information on fundraising, see the charity pages of the website and we hope you'll be inspired and impressed by the work that Le Loop funds.
Support
Whilst we allow cyclists to ride at their own pace, we provide comprehensive support; you will never feel alone.
We have amazing feedstops every 40km where you'll find mechanics and physios (and your day bags). The feedstops are a highlight of the event with chat, food, time to have your bike checked if necessary and an opportunity to re-group with fellow cyclists and find a gang to spend the next 40km with.
There are also plenty of support staff along the route including doctors and our lead cyclist who cycle with you.
We have a signing car which drives the route before we start cycling and a sweeper van which removes arrows at the back following the last cyclist. The sweeper van and feedstop vans carry spare bikes, should you have a mechanical which needs more than a quick fix.
There is a separate team of physios and mechanics who organise the hotel arrival hub, looking after bikes and bodies as cyclists arrive at each hotel.
You don't need to worry about any of the logistics - we take care of it all.
Alongside the support you receive on Tour is the support you'll receive from us throughout the year. Whether relating to logistics, fundraising, practicalities or on any other subject, we pride ourselves on being helpful and personal and getting to know all of our cyclists. We know taking part in Le Loop is a big deal and we'll reassure and encourage you at every step.
A typical day
We expect there to be between 70 and 100 cyclists on any given stage.
Main luggage is taken straight to the next hotel and you can put a day bag in each of two feedstop vehicles which you access every 40km.
We almost always sleep at the finish point of a stage. If the next stage starts somewhere else, we'll take you by coach transfer and your bikes will be transferred in our vans.
Breakfast and dinner are provided in the hotels each morning and evening. We can cater to most dietary requirements.
There are 4 feedstops per day, all with water and cordial;
1st Feedstop - bananas, cake, dried fruit, nuts
2nd Feedstop - coffee, sandwiches, biscuits, fruit
3rd Feedstop - pasta, rice or noodle salads with nuts, cheese, tofu etc. Cakes or tarts and melon
4th Feedstop - chocolate, sweets, crisps, treats, cold drinks
* We provide everything you need in terms of food and hydration and focus on real food (energy gels and re-hydration tablets are available to buy)
On arrival at the evening's hotel, your bike is stored, rooms are allocated and dinner times are posted. Bikes that need mechanical attention are handed to our team of mechanics and you can get a sports massage from our team of physios (€10 extra).
The group eats dinner together each evening and there will be short briefings on logistics and route for the next day.
