"Green Jersey Provence"

July 5th to July 9th, 2009

You will be able to experience the Tour from the inside!

 This shorter trip includes the Provence region, riding Mont Ventoux, the return of the Team Time Trial and VIP access to the Tour de France and the opportunity to ride an entire stage of the Tour de France, cross the finish line under Tour escort and climb the podium for commemorative pictures.

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 22 people to preserve its exclusive character.

ITINERARY   -   What is included?   -   Options

- July 5th -

Hotel location: Provence

Our hotel is very conveniently located to tackle the "Geant de Provence" tomorrow. Upon arriving, we will check in and those riding, will assemble their bikes. Our mechanic will be there to lend a hand if needed. We will then take a short ride in the area to make sure everything is in proper working condition and enjoy a group dinner at the hotel's nice restaurant.

- July 6th -

Hotel location: Montpellier

Tour Stage 3  /  Marseille  - La Grande Motte   /  196km

We will start the trip in grand fashion this morning, with a ride up the (in)famous Mont Ventoux!

Then, in the afternoon we will drive to la Grande Motte on the coast, and gain access to the exclusive VIP Izoard hospitality area located very close to the finish line. Here hostesses will serve drinks and snacks while watching the live broadcast on Big Screen and 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.

We will then head to our hotel in Montpellier which will be "home" for the final 3 evenings of this trip!

- July 7th -

Tour Stage 4  /  Montpellier   -   Montpellier  /  Team Time Trial  /  38km

The last time the Tour de France saw a Team Time Trial was in 2005 when it rallied the Loire valley town of Tour to Blois.

After a 4 year hiatus, the spectacular exercise is back. We drove the course in mid October and while a good team effort and proper technique will be paramount, the profile of the stage will contain a few climbs.

We will setup our preferred viewing area in  a climb and will have TV feed to follow the race progress as well. We'll also enjoy a nice lunch roadside from our viewing location. We will ride the better portion of the course in the morning, skipping only the more "car-dense" areas. We'll be able to simply ride back to our hotel after the stage is over..

If you've ever had the dream 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.!

We have picked this stage for several reasons; 1) it is relatively flat and while riding the entire 197km will be a true challenge, it is still manageable. 2) It comes after a few days of riding during the trip, so your "riding legs" will ready for the challenge. 3) The stage will more or less follow the outline of a major highway making the logistics easier and avoid the need to change hotel rooms.

Of course those who wish to ride less than the entire 197km will be able to do so.

Custom Getaways vehicles 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. You will cross the finish line on closed roads just a couple of hours or so before the Peloton.

Once this ride of a lifetime is complete, you will be invited to climb the official podium where we will take souvenir pictures. Those not riding will be driven over the final kms, will enjoy the excitement of the climb, climb the podium, etc.

We'll 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").

This stage is also a tribute to Salvador Dali, who enjoyed the Tour de France a lot and had proclaimed the train station of Perpignan as "Center of the Universe".

We'll enjoy a celebratory dinner together this evening.

- July 9th -

Departure