Carcassonne (France) | Bienvenue à Le Tour de France - Day 39

Welcome to the Le Tour de France. I am a big fan and LOVE Le Tour. Seeing Le Tour in person was what I built my entire trip around. Every year since 1989, I've been following Le Tour. I love watching the event as much as I enjoy seeing the French countryside, especially the southern part of France. This part of France has a rich medieval history.

Le Tour de France is the premier cycling event in the world. This 21-day event takes riders and fans on a spectacular journey across France. The route changes annually, except for the last stage. The race always ends on Les Champs-Élisées in Paris. It is very prestigious for a town to get selected to be part of Le Tour. This year is the 109th Tour de France. It is only the 12th time that Carcassonne has been picked for a stage finale. I couldn't resist including a photo of myself in front of Le Tour banner with my Jumbo-Visma team skull cap.

What makes Le Tour such a great event, apart from all the rich history and beautiful sites? For me, it is the simplicity and complexity of race. On the surface, it is simple, cycle through the 21 stages throughout France and the rider with the best time wins. The race is approximately 3,500 km (2,200 mi). The entire race is a multi-layered cake of complexity. You don't have to understand it to enjoy the race. It, however, does help. Each stage is a mini event within the bigger race. Flat stages are fast and benefit sprinters. Others are comprised of very steep mountains favoring climbers. Some are time trials. Thee are shorter events where individual riders race against the clock. A rider's cumulative time across all stages contributes to his General Classification (GC). The rider with the best GC wins Le Tour. 

Le Tour is akin to watching a giant chess match unfold over 150-200 km (93-125 mi). Typically there are around 200 riders in the Peleton (the main pack). There are 23 teams comprised of up to 9 riders each riding bicycles that cost $13,000-$15,000. Usually, a team has 1-3 top riders, while others support these riders and have specific team roles. Team strategy plays an indispensable part in Le Tour. Some teams or riders have simple goals like winning a single stage. It is very prestigious to win any stage of Le Tour. Others have goals of winning the GC or one of the many awards given out daily and at the end of the race. The rider with the best overall GC at the end of each stage receives the Maillot Jaune (Yellow Jersey). The rider with the most points, often sprinters, receives a Green Jersey. The best young rider receives a White Jersey. The King of the Mountains is awarded a Red Polka-dot jersey (a fan favorite). The King of the Mountains is the rider who collects the most points during the mountain stages. You can read about Le Tour Jerseys and see examples in this dated article. The owners of the jerseys wear them the following day and attempt to defend their jerseys for the day. This continues until the eventual end of the race in Paris. Daily awards for individual performances (i.e. stage winners) are also awarded, but no defense is made the following day.

I begin the morning by reviewing the route to orient myself with Carcassonne before heading out. Perfect, my Airbnb is only 400 m (1,200 ft) from the end of the race. Good planning on my part or simply good luck? When I reach the course along Boulevard de Varsovie, I am only 150 m from the finish line. It is a few minutes past noon. Already people are lining up to get a spot along the barriers. The riders have not yet left Rodez, France. They are not expected to arrive in Carcassonne until a quarter to 6 pm. Temperatures are well over 91 F (32 C) and are expected to hit 101 F (38 C) by the time the riders arrive.

The finish line for today's stage is 200 km (125 mi). The roads are narrow in Carcassonne, so I decide to position myself further down, where I believe most of the action will take place today. 

The podium where jerseys are awarded. Unfortunately, today there is limited space for spectators, so I won't be coming back here after the race.

I post up in the shade about 100 m (110 yds) from the finish line. Given the layout of today's course, I estimate that teams will be making the final lead-out for the sprinters in this vicinity. The road is narrow today. About 150 m (165 yds) from here is a left-hand bend before it straightens out for the finish. My view today. Notice how the road bends to the right in the back of the photo.

It is now 230 pm. I am roasting like a rotisserie chicken in the heat! Across from where I am are Le Tour Club seating. People stay inside these air-conditioned trailers and watch the race on Ipads and TVs until the racers are near arriving, then they line up against the barriers of their private section for the event. A perk is that I can watch the entire race on the giant TVs broadcasting the race outside of the trailers. Notice the TVs just left of the club trailers in the picture.

Le Tour is quite an event for fans. Over the next 2 1/2 hours, I watch a steady stream of sponsors hand out Tour Tat (a.k.a Schwag). The gentleman in the hat is handing out LCL yellow sunglasses and bags to fans. Skoda green tote bags, LCL yellow skull cap (I got mine). Notice the guy in the yellow and blue shirt below. Century 21 key chains, Krys blue bucket hats, E Leclerc crackers, Skoda T-shirts, and Continental Tires orange safety vest are some items I see being handed out today. For fans, collecting Tour Tat is a big part of the fun. In the background of the photo, notice the black CRS? French Companie Republicaines de Sécurité (CRS - Reserve Police Squad). I also see Municipal Police and Sentinels (French Army) with automatic rifles present during the event. Security is high at the event.

Tourtel Twist, a Carlsberg product, is some kind of non-alcoholic beer. Other than the LCL skull cap, I am not interested in collecting a bunch of Tour Tat, though I enjoy watching the fan frenzy for free handouts. People will grab anything if it is free. Most will likely throw away their Tour Tat once they get home and realize they have no use for it. However, most will keep it without specific intent, like all the other useless crap that serves no purpose in our lives.

We have over an hour before the riders arrive when the main parade starts. First up are the team buses, like Ineos-Grenadier. Ineos-Grenadier is a high-budget team that competes annually in the GC. Their top rider Geraint Thomas is 3rd overall.

And Jumbo-Visma, a Dutch-based team who is currently defending both the Green Jersey and Maillot Jaune. It is very uncommon for a team to hold more than one jersey because the defense of each jersey is very technical and requires a lot of team strategy. Jumbo-Visma is turning heads this year with their new tour kits (uniforms). 

For Le Tour, they drew inspiration from three Dutch master artists, Rembrandt, Vermeer, and Van Gogh. Their 2022 kits have been dubbed The Masterpiece. You can read more about its creation at the link. The Masterpiece can be seen on the side of their bus below. The new kits are stunning compared to their plain traditional black and yellow. 

During the next 40 minutes, a steady stream of tour sponsors drives up the finish line. Many incite the crowd to make noise. Notice the gathered crowd in the club section across from me. Most are wearing their Tour Tat, blue Krys bucket hats. LCL sponsors the Maillot Jaune and awards a stuffed lion at the end of each day to the rider with the best GC.

It is like watching a mini parade before the riders arrive. All sorts of vehicles are used. Most have a person who is strapped in encouraging the crowd. Le Gaulois is the official poultry brand of products for Le Tour.

Even Asterix, Obelix, and Getafix make an appearance. Obelix sits atop the red car with the iconic standing stone that he frequently carries on his back.

Getafix is the village druid. He also rides on top of a red car advertising Parc Asterix (Park Asterix), an amusement park north of Paris.

I've been standing in this spot now for 3 hours, the people next to me have been there for over 6 hours. About 30 minutes after the end of the parade, you can hear the volume of the crowd increase. Someone shouts, "Ils sont ici!!" (They are here!!). The sound of the crowd continues to intensify, and people are banging on the barriers to encourage the riders. We are all shouting, "Allez!! Allez!!" (Come on! Come on!). 

Just as I was hoping, the lead-out trains have faded back. Game on! It is a three-man race to the finish with 100 m (100+ yds) left to go. Wearing a Green Jersey is Wout Van Aert (left of photo). The Jumbo-Visma rider finished 2nd today, Stage 15. He now holds a substantial 200-point lead for the Green Jersey with 5 stages remaining. Mads Pederson, Trek-Segafredo, is leading when he passes us by (center photo red bicycle), finishes 3rd today. Jasper Philipsen, Alpicin-Deceuninck (white bike), wins the day with a photo finish. Alpicin-Deceuninck is a small-budget Belgium team. This is a big day for them!

The Peleton wooshes by in a steady stream of strung-out riders. They will all get the same time today for finishing in the Peleton. I was fortunate to catch this photo of the Maillot Jaune, Jonas Vingegaard. He successfully defended his Maillot Jaune today and holds a 2'22" lead over Todej Pogacar from the UAE Emirates team. If Vingegaard and Jumbo-Visma can successfully defend the next few days over the remaining mountain stages, they could win the GC. This will be difficult. Today JumboVisma lost two of its key supporting riders in two crashes. You can view the second crash for Jumbo-Visma, the mayhem that ensues afterward, and how teams play an important part in the tour. 

Riders that are "off the back" and have lost contact with the Peleton continue to stream in. I can tell the riders are worn out from the heat today. We support them all and make noise for each one like they were the first across the line. Then the team support cars arrive. Team support cars follow the peloton with replacement bikes, wheels, water bottles, and food. Support riders drop "off the back" of the Peleton frequently to fill up on supplies for their teammates. It is an underappreciated job to be a support rider. It is difficult to catch back up to the Peleton and navigate up to your teammates. Below is one of the Movistar team cars. 

Bora-Hansgrohe support car. Team cars are also where the team race directors coordinate the team's strategy for the day.

The Shimano car is one of several in Le Tour. Shimano is a neutral sponsor and provides bicycles to riders when their team cars cannot reach them. This can happen on narrow roads. Most riders avoid neutral bicycles at all costs as the bikes are not tuned for them. Whereas bicycles on team cars are backup bikes. Backups are tuned specifically to each rider. Poorly tuned bike results in pedaling inefficiencies as well as injuries to riders, so they are only used in emergencies and for short distances.

Finally, is the event medical staff. Several doctors follow along daily. They are there to assist fallen riders. There is a convertible where medical staff can bandage the road rash from a fallen rider while he hangs onto the side of the car on his bike.

Within 2 hours, the entire spectacle is disassembled. There is no evidence the tour was even here. As I leave my Airbnb to grab dinner, the last of the trucks carrying the barriers, awnings, etc. leaves town. Le Tour is an efficient machine. They move overnight to the next stage. They make each city feel special. 

It felt great to be here to experience my first stage of Le Tour de France. There were a few surprises, which I enjoyed, such as the parade of sponsors and watching the handout of Tour Tat. I have seen many tours but had no idea how much Tour Tat gets distributed daily. The parade that precedes the tour is an experience of its own. This has never been shown on TV in the years I've watched the tour. The sheer volume of sponsor cars, floats, jeeps, and trucks was amazing. The incredible part is this craziness happens every day of the tour, for 21 stages. I am ecstatic that I chose to experience Le Tour de France finally.