2023 Final Week – Tour de France

Our 2023 Tour de France cycling trip for the Final Week starts in Lyon Saint-Exupery airport at 10 am, where staff will greet you and assist you to our first hotel. We have a short transfer to our hotel in the French Alps, at the base of Europe’s highest peak, Mont Blanc. On our way to the hotel, we will catch our first sight of the Tour de France. We’ll see the race on one of the earlier climbs before completing our journey to our hotel

Upon arriving at our hotel, our staff will assist you with preparing your bike for a warm-up ride around the area. We’ll go for a short ride after the conclusion of today’s stage to Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc.

After our ride, we will freshen up and head to a local restaurant for our official welcome dinner, where you will have the opportunity to meet your fellow travelers and importantly have your questions answered by your trip guides.

It is the final rest day of the 2023 Tour de France. Riders will be enjoying some extra rest, but still head out on a ride today of about 90 or 100km, as their engines will need to be firing tomorrow for the individual time trial.

We’ll take the opportunity to play tourist. We have two options from which you can choose today. For the pedestrian-paced itinerary, start early to ride the gondola to Aiguille du Midi, which is situated just below the peak of Mont Blanc. There is no better view of Mont Blanc than at Aiguille du Midi. No better view of the French Alps for that matter. If vertical heights don’t petrify you, stand in the glass room at the summit, and you are suspended high above the Alps for an unparalleled view.

Time trials are one of our favourite stages at the Tour de France. Today it is the Pro’s turn on the mountain time trial for Stage 16 of the 2023 Tour de France. The course offers gains for the strong trim trialist, but it also offers terrain for the mountain climbers to challenge — Who wins today? It will be difficult to choose. Irrespective of the winner, the exciting race situation for the final week will be established on today’s stage.

We will ride down to the time trial this morning and take a short ride over some of the nearby climbs, or something flatter for an easier option. Then we will freshen up and watch the race. With riders setting off at 1-minute intervals, and later 2-minute intervals for those within striking distance of the race leader.

We will travel to the stage start today, giving you lots of time to enjoy the start village in St Gervais-Mont Blanc. Riders are embarking on the toughest stages in the Alps today before they start their journey north toward Paris tomorrow. It will be one of the slowest stages today with 4 categorised climbs. There will be some nervous energy at the start village.

Once the race heads out, we will follow them out and ride a couple of climbs to our accommodation on the shores of Lake Annecy. Annecy is also one of our favourite destinations in France. The pristine waters are classified as Europe’s cleanest lake, and Annecy itself is often referred to as the “French Venice”. Waters from the lake flow into the Rhone River, and the old town takes advantage of the cool waters on hot summer days. Whereas the waters were once used solely for industrial purposes.

This afternoon you will be able to watch the conclusion of this challenging stage on television and explore the wonderful old town. We have left this evening available for you to choose your own local restaurant in the Old Town.

Today is our biggest transfer of the trip, as we head north to get ahead of the race. Our destination is the region of Alsace. We love this region of France. One of the reasons we love this area is that it is unique and often you’ll find German as the primary language. After all, we are on the border with Germany and the famous Black Forest is not far away. This also means that we are in an area that is famous for its cool-climate wines. Riesling and Gewurztraminer are the popular wine varieties – and on a warm summer’s day, there is nothing more refreshing. We will enjoy the wines and food of the region with dinner each evening at our wellness hotel in Alsace.

On our way to our spa hotel, we will stop off and catch the 2023 Tour de France on the flat stage. There are a couple of undulations to navigate, but mostly it is downhill for the riders as they leave the French Alps behind.

We will watch the race from the feed zone. Soigneurs hand a Musette (feedbag) to riders containing their ‘lunch’, and some additional gels, bars, and hydrating fluids. Riders share among their team, take what they need and discard their bags in a designated drop or rubbish zone. It is one of the more interesting locations to see a stage of the 2023 Tour de France.

We will take a break from the race today, and enjoy the area where we are staying. We will ride some of tomorrow’s final mountain stage in the Vosges Mountains and visit some of the interesting local villages.

Helicopters will be scoping many sections of tomorrow’s course, as the scenic locations are throughout the stage. From sun-drenched slopes with vineyards to fascinating villages. We will have the opportunity to see them ourselves as we ride through the area. Eguisheim is one of the most photographed villages in all of France.

Our accommodation is a spa resort with many amenities for relaxation and reconnection. So, we will take time for you to enjoy the facilities this afternoon. Again, we will have dinner at our hotel together.

Today is most likely the final stage that riders can challenge for the leader’s jersey, barring any major mishap on the final day in Paris. With six categorised climbs on the agenda, teams must hold their nerve and demonstrate controlled aggression to influence any time gaps. But there will be teams that have come up short for stage victories, and some riders will also be battling out for the polka-dot jersey — today has the potential for many scenarios.

We will watch the race from the top of the final climb, and ride there ourselves. After the race has finished, we will travel back to our hotel for a 3-course farewell dinner, including wine ahead of our transfer to Paris tomorrow.

This morning after breakfast we will catch a TGV to Paris. Our transport with transfer your heavy luggage and bicycles for you so that it is a hassle-free transfer to Paris. Upon arrival in Paris, our staff will assist you to your final hotel.

Later this afternoon we will take you into the Champs-Elysees ahead of the arrival of the peloton for the final stage. The earlier parts of the final stage recognise the jersey winners and the team that holds the yellow jersey will do some photography during the stage, as well as have a glass of champagne on route. But as the riders arrive on the Champs Elysees, normally the team with the yellow jersey leads out the peloton before the intensity lifts and all teams work for their sprinters. This is because a victory on the Champs-Elysees for any rider is one of the highest achievements in the sport.

Sadly, our trip to the 2023 Tour de France Final Week has come to an end this morning. Our staff will bid you farewell from our hotel this morning. You may like to stay on at our hotel for a few days exploring the city of lights. Furthermore, some of our guests transfer to an apartment of another hotel today. If you are departing today, the hotel concierge will be able to assist you with transfers to the airport to connect with your flight.