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I see that the Tour comes to the Limousin on July 13th/14th and wondered if anyone has any experiences on how best to see it? Do you have to go to official viewpoints or can you just park up somewhere near the route and wait for the riders to come through? Do security or the police control access?

Sorry if these seem basic questions but have never managed to be in France near a tour stage before.
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You can view the Tour anywhere along the route but you need to be there early as the roads get crowded especially on the hilly sections which are the best to watch, on the flat stages the whole of the race can be past in a matter of seconds. Assuming that you are in Haute Vienne, it would seem that the stage from Limoges to St. Flour will be the most interesting in our Department. If you are hoping to see the end of a stage you will probably need to be in the town where it finishes by lunchtime because the roads are closed to traffic well before the race is due.

I hope this helps, we will probably try to see some of both Stages 9 & 10, we leave for France in the morning YIPEEEE.
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The route is closed to all vehicles for the publicity 'caravan' to pass through a couple of hours before the riders arrive.
If you have never seen the race before, make sure you arrive in time to see this advertising cavalcade pass through and to soak up the atmosphere.

When the first riders are due to arrive, the TV helicopters will appear and the police motor bikes will be in front (usually riding in the gutters!) to keep people back.

If you watch near the start of a stage or on a flat section, the riders will usually pass in a big group and that will be that. However, on the stage from Limoges to St Flour, there are several climbs, including a big Cat 1 'mountain', and this is where you will see the race at its best.

Have a look at the organiser's web site as it gives the route and timings: www.letour.fr

Above all, have a good day and I'm sure you will be hooked and keep coming back year after year like I do!

RW
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If can ask a question on this thread , i hope to view the tour at Bujaleuf , does any body know any restrictions getting to Bujaleuf (on the D14) . I know the D14 will be shut all day but are the access roads going to be open ? I know when the tour was in England we had to shut some access roads as well .




Doug H
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Unfortunately we are not able to be in the area on the 13th July to see the Tour in our department - we will have to make do with David D on Eurosport. However we were lucky enough to be in Paris on the last day a couple of years ago. It was an amazing experience to be on the Champs Elysee - fantastic atmosphere. We saw Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwin doing their bit for Channel 4 and had an excellent view of the race itself. The advantage of a stage like this one is that the riders go past several times, we were also across the road from a Star screen and so got an even better impression because we could watch it all on the "tele" as well.
If you have the opportunity to go up to Paris for the final day of the tour as well as to watch it locally we can fully recommend it.
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  • 1 month later...
Thanks for all the replies to my question - took your advice and went along - had a great time and also managed to snaffle a few goodies althouigh competition was fierce ! Amazing how little old french ladies move when the freebies come flying thru the air..

Really good day and great memories.
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