TDF: Nantes Time Trial Viewing

We will be in France & will have time to watch the Nantes Time Trial. I had a few questions for
those of you who have been there.

1. We don't necessarily want to watch the finish; however, we do want to get towards the end of the
course. Also, with a wife and a couple younger kids in tow who don't get excited by watching
bikes go by one-at-a-time for six hours, it makes sense to me to be in an accessible town. I am
thinking settling somewhere in Nantes, or one of the towns down the road. Is the finishing town
crazy? (I'll have to go back and look at the WCP tapes.)

2. How early before the caravan do you usually need to settle in somewhere? I am thinking in the
country there may be a half kilometer walk from the route to where we can park. Or can you go
through the route early and just pull the car off the side of the road?

3. Is there any race radio that is broadcast in part in english? I have a french interpreter along,
but I don't think he would handle an "excited", running commentary of sports reporters.

Thank you very much!

Tom I. Saint Paul, MN

 

> We will be in France & will have time to watch the Nantes Time Trial. I
had
> a few questions for those of you who have been there.
>
> 1. We don't necessarily want to watch the finish; however, we do want to get towards the end of
> the course. Also, with a wife and a couple younger kids in tow who don't get excited by
> watching bikes go by one-at-a-time
for
> six hours, it makes sense to me to be in an accessible town. I am
thinking
> settling somewhere in Nantes, or one of the towns down the road. Is the finishing town crazy?
> (I'll have to go back and look at the WCP tapes.)

Anything near the final 2km is to be avoided, unless you really enjoy a massive crunch of people. A
massive crunch of people that insists on further crunching at every opportunity! I tried to view the
finish of a road stage at last year's TDF, and had to wrap myself around a light pole and still saw
nothing more than a few helmets poking out above the heads of the crowd.

I would suggest checking out the map carefully and find a tight corner somewhere along the middle of
the course. You're not going to have any idea about who finished when, but it will still be quite
exciting as you note the gaps between riders and wait for the next mini-motorcade to fly through.
With a couple of younger kids, make sure you bring stuff for them to do, and lots of cold stuff to
drink. In France it can be *very* hot in July.

Last year, it turns out I missed a great opportunity at the final time trial to see Lance near the
start. We had positioned ourselves at the finishing town (Macon) and were concerned about getting
back to the train station in time for the train to Paris, so we missed Lance (and the other GC
contenders) going by towards the end. Gee, talk about dumb... the course took a road no more than
200 meters from the TGV station!!!

>
> 2. How early before the caravan do you usually need to settle in
somewhere?
> I am thinking in the country there may be a half kilometer walk from the route to where we can
> park. Or can you go through the route early and
just
> pull the car off the side of the road?

The Caravan comes through about two hours prior to the first rider. It's definitely a big deal for
the kids, so it's not something to be missed. If you settle in towards the middle of the course (or
any other less-dense area), I doubt you'll have to walk very far. BUT... if you choose a spot with
very few people, the Caravan is going to cruise through at very high speed and not toss out any
goodies for your kids.

>
> 3. Is there any race radio that is broadcast in part in english? I have a french interpreter
> along, but I don't think he would handle an "excited", running commentary of sports reporters.

For a time trial, an "interpreter" will do just fine. There will only be a few official time checks
on the course and a lot of background banter. You'll also find you're quite popular if you have
either a radio or, better yet, battery-operated TV. French TV signals seem to reach very nicely into
the countryside, even into the more mountainous regions, in a way we don't seem to in the US.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles http://www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

"Tom I" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> We will be in France & will have time to watch the Nantes Time Trial. I
had
> a few questions for those of you who have been there.
>
> 1. We don't necessarily want to watch the finish; however, we do want to get towards the end of
> the course. Also, with a wife and a couple younger kids in tow who don't get excited by
> watching bikes go by one-at-a-time
for
> six hours, it makes sense to me to be in an accessible town. I am
thinking
> settling somewhere in Nantes, or one of the towns down the road. Is the finishing town crazy?
> (I'll have to go back and look at the WCP tapes.)
>
> 2. How early before the caravan do you usually need to settle in
somewhere?
> I am thinking in the country there may be a half kilometer walk from the route to where we can
> park. Or can you go through the route early and
just
> pull the car off the side of the road?
>
> 3. Is there any race radio that is broadcast in part in english? I have a french interpreter
> along, but I don't think he would handle an "excited", running commentary of sports reporters.
>
> Thank you very much!
>
> Tom I. Saint Paul, MN

 

Tom: Some new info-

http://www.letour.fr/2003/presentationus/parcours_iti_19.html

That page gives you the times for the caravan and the riders to come through various points at
the course. Since it describes 21 different points along the way, you can also use it to map the
route itself.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles http://www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

 

On Tue, 17 Jun 2003 06:49:12 GMT, "Mike Jacoubowsky" <[email protected]> wrote:

>> We will be in France & will have time to watch the Nantes Time Trial. I
>had
>> a few questions for those of you who have been there.
>>
>> 1. We don't necessarily want to watch the finish; however, we do want to get towards the end of
>> the course. Also, with a wife and a couple younger kids in tow who don't get excited by
>> watching bikes go by one-at-a-time
>for
>> six hours, it makes sense to me to be in an accessible town. I am
>thinking
>> settling somewhere in Nantes, or one of the towns down the road. Is the finishing town crazy?
>> (I'll have to go back and look at the WCP tapes.)
>
>Anything near the final 2km is to be avoided, unless you really enjoy a massive crunch of people. A
>massive crunch of people that insists on further crunching at every opportunity! I tried to view
>the finish of a road stage at last year's TDF, and had to wrap myself around a light pole and still
>saw nothing more than a few helmets poking out above the heads of the crowd.
>
>I would suggest checking out the map carefully and find a tight corner somewhere along the middle
>of the course. You're not going to have any idea about who finished when, but it will still be
>quite exciting as you note the gaps between riders and wait for the next mini-motorcade to fly
>through. With a couple of younger kids, make sure you bring stuff for them to do, and lots of cold
>stuff to drink. In France it can be *very* hot in July.
>
>Last year, it turns out I missed a great opportunity at the final time trial to see Lance near the
>start. We had positioned ourselves at the finishing town (Macon) and were concerned about getting
>back to the train station in time for the train to Paris, so we missed Lance (and the other GC
>contenders) going by towards the end. Gee, talk about dumb... the course took a road no more than
>200 meters from the TGV station!!!
>
>>
>> 2. How early before the caravan do you usually need to settle in
>somewhere?
>> I am thinking in the country there may be a half kilometer walk from the route to where we can
>> park. Or can you go through the route early and
>just
>> pull the car off the side of the road?
>
>The Caravan comes through about two hours prior to the first rider. It's definitely a big deal for
>the kids, so it's not something to be missed. If you settle in towards the middle of the course (or
>any other less-dense area), I doubt you'll have to walk very far. BUT... if you choose a spot with
>very few people, the Caravan is going to cruise through at very high speed and not toss out any
>goodies for your kids.
>
>>
>> 3. Is there any race radio that is broadcast in part in english? I have a french interpreter
>> along, but I don't think he would handle an "excited", running commentary of sports reporters.
>
>For a time trial, an "interpreter" will do just fine. There will only be a few official time checks
>on the course and a lot of background banter. You'll also find you're quite popular if you have
>either a radio or, better yet, battery-operated TV. French TV signals seem to reach very nicely
>into the countryside, even into the more mountainous regions, in a way we don't seem to in the US.
>
>--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles http://www.ChainReactionBicycles.com
>
Mike - you have posted an interesting, helpful, infomative reply to an r.b.r. newbie - you don't get
it, do you?

Regards! Stephen

 

My kid was 6 when we saw the Tour. I think you will find it easier than you expect to involve
your kids.

I'd find a small town along the route to park in, one with a playground along the main drag. This
shouldn't be too hard. That gives the kids a place to run around if they feel the need, and there
will be other kids there. The value of having other kids around depends on a lot of things but I was
very much surprised at how easily my kid overcame language barriers. She can count in Dutch as a
result of out trip to the Tour and a game of Crazy 8s with a Dutch girl she met.

The other thing that does is provide easy access to food provided you pay attention to when things
are open, always an issue in France. But my wife picked up on French bakeries very quick on that
trip and yours will too. You can settle in someplace and if things get slow you can turn to your
wife and say "Hon, why don't you make a run for..." and you won't even have to finish the sentence.
She'll know what you mean and she'll already be moving. Americans eat like pigs. The French don't.

The caravan is not to be missed. Kids groove on the caravan. Pick up as many key rings as you can
because they throw out billions and they are cool to give to your friends when you get back.
Although most of the swag they throw out is junk.

If you buy a newspaper you have the start order. This is important for keeping the rest of your
family involved because you can pick out favorite riders, LANCE, Postal guys, LUDO, etc and know
they are coming.

Bob Schwartz [email protected]

 

> Mike - you have posted an interesting, helpful, infomative reply to an r.b.r. newbie - you don't
> get it, do you?

What was I thinking??? No doubt I'm in everyone's killfile now!

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles http://www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

 

Tom,

This is a wonderfully helpful message. My wife and I are making our first trip to the tour this year, and are pretty naive about the reality of race day. So I like your suggestion of a tight corner for viewing. I've searched for a map showing the route, but without success. Anyone out there have a link?

Best regards,
John Nicholls
[email protected]

 

tebo13 <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
>
> This is a wonderfully helpful message. My wife and I are making our first trip to the tour this
> year, and are pretty naive about the reality of race day. So I like your suggestion of a tight
> corner for viewing. I've searched for a map showing the route, but without success. Anyone out
> there have a link?

The stage will go through the following towns and villages:

km 12 Arthon-on-Retz km 15 Chemere km 27 Port-Saint-Pere km 29 Saint-Leger-les-Vignes km 33 Bouaye
km 40 Bouguenais km 44 Reze km 47 Nantes (border) km 49 Nantes (finish)

(I left out the french accents in the names, but you should find them anyway on a map of the
Nantes region.)

 

[email protected] (Martin Recker) posted:

> tebo13 <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:<[email protected]>...
>>
>> This is a wonderfully helpful message. My wife and I are making our first trip to the tour this
>> year, and are pretty naive about the reality of race day. So I like your suggestion of a tight
>> corner for viewing. I've searched for a map showing the route, but without success. Anyone out
>> there have a link?
>
> The stage will go through the following towns and villages:
>
> km 12 Arthon-on-Retz km 15 Chemere km 27 Port-Saint-Pere km 29 Saint-Leger-les-Vignes km 33 Bouaye
> km 40 Bouguenais km 44 Reze km 47 Nantes (border) km 49 Nantes (finish)
>
> (I left out the french accents in the names, but you should find them anyway on a map of the
> Nantes region.)

The route is spelled out in great detail on the LeTour web site. The route | the stages | scroll
down to Pornic-Nantes. You will need a Michelin or IGN map to understand it.
- Max

--
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