"Green Jersey Bastille Day" Trip

July 14th to July 16th

This trip is ideal for people who do not have much time but want to have a great Tour de France experience.

This is also a perfect preparatory trip for the Etape du Tour with a long ride 5 days out and tapering from there.

It includes restricted access to 3 Tour stages (#10, #11 and #12) all with preferred treatment:

- Exclusive VIP hospitality access to stage finish in Issoudun (stage #10)

- Ride stage Vatan to Saint Fargeau in its entirety (stage #11) w/ option to reduce the ride length

- Crossing of finish line in Saint Fargeau (stage #11)

- Photo on the official Tour de France Podium (stage #11)

- Exclusive VIP access to Start Village and riders area in Tonnerre (stage #12)

As an official Tour Operator for the Tour de France, we are in a position to offer you behind the scenes access you never thought possible.

This trip will allow you to see the Tour from the inside. When we mean VIP access, we mean visit of the Press rooms, Technical Zones, visits guided by a representative of the Tour de France organization, visit of the Riders Zone, meeting personalities that have marked the Tour (former Tour winners, personalities, etc...). In addition to having VIP access to a stage start and finish, you will also be able to ride all (or parts) of stage #11 on July 15th, just a few short hours before the Yellow Jersey and the peloton. This experience will include a sag-wagon by Custom Getaways, on-course accredited vans, being escorted by an official Tour de France vehicle over the final few kms, crossing of the actual finish line and pictures of yourself on the official Tour de France Podium. Can you stand not to be part of it?

Please read below for day by day description of the trip.

This trip is open to cyclist as well as those who prefer not to ride and restricted to 20 people to preserve its exclusive character.

- July 14th -

We will be picking-up in Saint Pierre de Corps (Tours) TGV train station at 12:00pm. There are frequent trains from Paris - 2 arrive at 11:30am and 11:45am

From there we will go to Issoudun for today's stage arrival.

This is the French National holiday and not only an important stage to win for the French, but also a holiday which makes the stage even more festive.

We will be there to see who crosses the finish line first as we will have passes to access the exclusive VIP Izoard hospitality area overlooking the finish line.

Here hostesses will serve drinks and snacks while watching the live broadcast on Big Screen TV. After seeing the stage finish from this exclusive viewing area champagne will be served to celebrate the stage winner.
The Izoard bus is among the more exclusive areas at stage finishes and you should expect to see/meet plenty of Tour celebrities.

Once the stage is over, we will make the short drive to Bourges and those who wish will be able to go for a short ride to loosen up before tomorrow's big day!
 

Ever dreamed of riding a Tour de France stage along roads filled with spectators and raise your arms to the sky as you cross the finish-line? Today is the day it comes true!

Those who wish to ride on this trip will be able to ride the entire stage. Of course this means we'll need to get an early start, but it is so worth it!

Of course, we will be dropping off a bit further down the way those who wish to keep the ride distance lower. Custom Getaways vehicle(s) with on-course accreditation will be accompanying you and providing an extra lift if necessary, and an official Tour de France vehicle will escort us over the final few kms of the course and you will cross the finish line on closed roads.

You will then climb the official Tour podium to have your picture taken.

Those not riding will be driven over the final kms, will enjoy the excitement of the climb, climb the podium, etc.

For the peloton's arrival, we will be directly overlooking the finish line to see how the pros stack up as we will have special access to the "Bulle Mangeas". Daniel Mangeas is the French commentator for the Tour de France ("La voix du Tour").

Once the stage is over we will make our way back to Auxerre for our final evening!

For our final Tour stage experience, we will gain access to the start village of today's stage.

This village should open around 10:30am or so, so those who wish will be able to go for an early morning ride.

In Tonnerre, we will be greeted by a person from ASO who will show us around the area and explain how things work. Thanks to our passes, we will access the rider's area, meet some of the racers, see them warm-up, meet Directeurs Sportif, personalities, possible visit of team bus, etc.

Tour starts are often a favorite part of our trips as the interaction with the riders/teams is unparalleled.

Once the peloton is off, we will be dropping off at Auxerre train station (around 2:00pm or so)... unless you decide to extend your trip with us.