France 2013 Plans Firm

The initial plans for France 2013 have now been made.

• Depart Houston on Monday, June 24 and arrive Paris on Tuesday, June 25 at 8:30 AM.
• June 25-July 4.  Alps???
• July 4-13.  Staying at Les Deux Velos in the Ariege Pyrenees.
• July 13-16.  Staying in Provence near Mont Ventoux.
• July 16-July 25.  Alps???
• July 25-August 4.  Staying at the Lanterne Rouge in the Haut Pyrenees.
• August 4-6.  Paris.
• Depart Paris on Tuesday, August 6 and arrive Houston on Wednesday, August 7.

The best sources that I have found for the latest information about the Tour de France are http://www.velopeloton.com/2013_tour_de_france_route.html and http://www.velowire.com/article/657/en/tour-de-france-2013--rumours-on-the-race-course-and-stage-cities-.html.  In any case, I plan to be in the Pyrenees for the Tour, at Mont Ventoux, and possibly at Alpe d'Huez (Thursday, July 18) to see everyone suffer up the climb twice.  Descending Col de Sarenne.

Since I am using frequent flyer miles for this trip, I made an effort to get my ticket early.  I fly direct to Paris on Air France business class.  The return trip is not going to be as much fun---Paris to Cincinnati to Atlanta (spend the night) to Houston.  Oh well, it's almost a free ticket.

Tour de France---The 100th Edition

I am planning a trip to France next summer with the goal of doing lots of riding and to watch several stages of the 100th edition of the Tour de France.  The 2013 Tour de France will begin in Corsica on Saturday, June 29 and end in Paris three weeks later on Sunday, July 21.  The first five stages have already been confirmed.

• Stage 1: Saturday, June 29.  This will be a road stage on the island of Corsica.
• Stage 2: Sunday, June 30.  Corsica is not known for being flat.  This stage will have some climbing.
• Stage 3: Monday, July 1.  Another day in the mountains of Corsica.
• Stage 4: Tuesday, July 2.  Team time trial in Nice.
• Stage 5: Wednesday, July 3.  Cagnes-sur-Mer to Marseille.

It also looks like Mont Ventoux is on the agenda for the first week (Friday, July 7?).  From there, the race should go to the Pyrenees (July 10-11?) and then Alps (July 17-19?).  It's a safe bet that one stage will finish on Alpe d'Huez.

For more information and the latest updates and rumors, go to http://www.velopeloton.com/2013-tour-de-france-route/ or http://www.cyclismehebdo.com/tour-de-france-2013-tdf-rumeurs-parcours.html.  This last website is in French, so either brush up on your language skills or run it through Google Translate.  The official announcement will be on October 24.

I am now starting to plan France 2013.  If you are interested in spending a week or a month in France next summer, please get in touch.