Before you read on, let me be clear that this post is modest in its objectives and it cannot offer you
1. Advice on watching a mountain stage or a TT stage
2. Advice on travelling around France in a campervan to access different stages
There are many other blogs and websites out there with excellent words of wisdom for this type of endeavour.
But what it can offer you is our first-hand experience of getting the most from the start and finish line of a Tour de France stage.
June 2022, and we were in full planning mode; spreadsheets, slide decks, research notes, official guides and strategy meetings. To an outsider it could have heralded the launch of a multi-million pound initiative or an international campaign strategy, such was the effort and time being invested.
Nothing quite so lofty was afoot. Arguably.
Stage 4 of the 2022 Tour de France would come within spitting distance of England and a Winter Warrior overnighter to soak up the spectacle of the route from Dunkirk to Calais was too good an opportunity to pass up. But how to do it right? We wanted more than a blink-and-you-miss-it whoosh of the peloton on the open road. Here is the benefit of all the planning and the lessons learned from the experience to help you make the most of your trip too.
1. Do spend time on preparation
Before setting off find out (from the official guide or local websites)
what time the peloton rolls out and from where
what the route looks like and the expected times the riders will pass through key points
where the publicity caravan and the team buses will park up before the start
A PPT slide from our planning meeting showing all the key start locations as well as the cycle route from the ferry to the youth hostel
2. Do not expect a carnival atmosphere the night before at the start
We arrived off the Dover-Dunkirk ferry on our bikes the night before the event expecting the town to be buzzing with the build-up. It was not. At this point Dunkirk was definitely disinterested in the impending event – perhaps even worn down by it, having already been on the Tour route on 18 previous occasions. A few signs, a bit of construction work in the Zone Technique and that was most emphatically our lot.
The only Tour action on the day before. Photos courtesy of Frederiek Peek
3. Do not expect a carnival atmosphere the morning of the start
Our brilliant Youth Hostel was less than a 10-minute walk from the start. I leapt out of bed at 7am and dashed down before breakfast to the team bus parking lot expecting a sprinkle of night-time magic would have transformed the tarmac into a hub for bustling mechanics worrying over the fine-tuning of the bikes. Not so. Everybody but me and one AG2R minibus had sensibly opted for a lie-in.
The only bit of action before breakfast time on the morning of the stage depart
4. Do hunt down the holding area for the publicity caravan
The mechanics and riders might not be up bright and early but the publicity caravan will be gearing up for early action. The outlandish vehicles passed under our bedroom window at 8.30am and made their way to a parking lot 200 yards from the start.
We headed down and found we could move freely amongst the parked vehicles and were able to blag our swag from the waiting animateurs. This approach had three advantages.
It passed the time from breakfast until the sleepy Tour was ready to spring into action.
It saved us from later having to compete with hoards of deranged spectators on the route willing to fight to the death for a packet of cup-a-soup. Instead we used the time to secure a much better vantage point (more on this later).
We were the first in town to blag the famous yellow LCL cap and wore it with pride.
The first spectators in Dunkirk to sport the iconic yellow cap. Photos courtesy of Frederiek Peek
In the car park we were free to play with the publicity caravan. Photos courtesy of Frederiek Peek
5. Do indulge in a bit of silliness with the publicity side stalls
Spin the bikes wheels on the carousel as fast as you can. Every pedal rotation raises an extra penny or two for charity and at the end of the one-minute effort you are cheered by the crowd and presented with your KOM t-shirt and cap. It’s a win-win example of the fun to be had with the side-stalls.
Pedalling for spots and for charity. Photos courtesy of Frederiek Peek
6. Do avoid the crowds to get a good viewing spot
Now this is the really clever bit. An hour or 90 minutes before the start, when the throng is eagerly lining the route in anticipation of the publicity caravan, head instead to the parking lot where the team buses congregate.
You already have your swag because you made good use of the post-breakfast lull in proceedings to scoop up your wares from the parked publicity vehicles. You are done with the caravan now except to take advantage of the distraction it creates.
The parking lot for the team buses is where the action is really at. Find a space at the front of the railings and wait for the buses to roll in – hopefully one will park right next to you. We were lucky and Team Bike Exchange chose our spot to pull up next to. The privacy curtain soon went up over the front windscreen but there was still time for a topless Dylan Groenewegen, winner of the previous stage, to wave to us from the font seat with one hand whilst applying sunscreen with the other. THIS was the type of off-the-record action we were after!
If you peer into the window you will see Dylan Groenewegen readying himself with sunscreen
Remember the buses open on the right-hand side. Mechanics will pull out the awning from the right side of the bus, unload the bikes and line them up on supporting blocks in the shade. You get to lust after the bikes and play ‘match the bike number to the rider’ whilst the team briefing is going on inside the bus.
Then the riders start to appear. No warm-up for them on this lumpy stage. Instead they spent the 45 minutes before departure chatting to pals from other teams and mooching around on their wheels, looking as cool as it is possible to look when donned head to toe in lycra. We were captivated by the action from our front row spots.
In this time:
Wout van Aert in his leader's yellow skinsuit came over to chat to a youngster at the railings a few metres along from us
Tadej Pogacar came to shoot the breeze with the Bike Exchange Team next to us
Mattieu van de Poel did a little showy bunny hop in front of us as he went to register
Reinardt Janse van Rensburg came over for a chat
The riders from Team Jumbo Visma, Bike Exchange, Bahrain Victorious spun slowly up and down
The Netflix documentary team had a chat about the stress of getting the access to the teams
We soaked it up, beside ourselves with excitement.
Mooching around by the team buses
Team Bike Exchange readying themselves
Reinardt Janse van Rensburg shooting the breeze
Wout van Aert just hanging out
7. Look at your route. Are you lucky enough to get double action?
Stage 4, Dunkirk to Calais was a horseshoe-shaped route. Not all that common in Tour de France route-planning, this excellent set up meant that whilst the pros were hurtling around the 178km route, we recreational cyclist could bimble along the direct 50km route and set up a new camp in time for the first riders to fly passed at the finish.
The ride to Calais had a carnival atmosphere as the hundreds of British cyclists, who had hopped over the channel for the day, shared their experiences of the Tour so far, created impromptu chain gangs to manage the head wind, and generally had a merry old time.
At Calais we went to our pre-planned vantage point – a sharp right-hand corner just after the flame rouge. We figured that although the race would be at the pointy end, the corner might force the riders to slow slightly from the sprint finish they were expected to be gearing up to.
Because we had bicycles we were allowed through the barricades the local gendarme were manning to keep out the cars. We leant the bikes on a nearby railing where we could keep a close eye and found ourselves a perfect front-row spot. It was 30 minutes before the riders were due to pass.
Following the live blog, we heard Team Jumbo Visma had set up Wout van Aert to launch himself off a category 4 climb 15km out from our spot and he was alone on the road sprinting towards us for victory in yellow. What a sight that would be if he could pull it off.
The thwack of the helicopters and the swelling roar of the crowd heralded his arrival. In one breath-taking second a yellow blur powered itself round the corner (without any discernible drop in speed) and vanished up the road to certain glory. Twenty second later, like a pack of wolves hunting its prey, the peloton bore down. Impossible to make out an individual rider, it was a beast with a life of its own.
8. Follow in your hero’s footsteps and ride the route
And then it was over. The broom wagon passed and we turned back to seek out some post-finish action. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration! We backtracked and climbed the barrier to the now defunct course and rode to the finish line following almost in the slipstream of the peloton. Hands on the drops, we picked up speed and began to race, imagining that the crowds, not yet dispersed, were there for us as the tarmac blurred below. Improbably, a tractor rounded the last corner and lumbered towards us forcing a squeal of brakes as we re-engaged with reality. We spun on, more slowly now, passing the 450m to go sign before finally being waved off the course by race officials. Our Tour de France debut was done.
450m to go at the finish of Stage 4 of the TdF. Photos courtesy of Frederiek Peek
9. Rider action after the finish
I am sure there are lots of hints and tips for getting close to the action at the finish. One small group of riders told us they had climbed on the roof of a van by the finish line just 20 minutes before Wout van Aert flew in, and had a bird’s eye view of the finish. But these aren’t our stories to tell. We were at the end of our stay in France so cycled back to the dock to catch the ferry back to England with around 400 other riders; all of us, to a man and woman, brim full of memories from a most adventurous day.
Homeward bound. Boarding the ferry