Two Days at the Tour de France — A Dispatch from Alp d'Huez
Many of you will know AllTrails bike mechanic Doug — he's been wrenching bikes on AllTrails tours for years, and Louise has kept riders loose as a massage therapist for us on the Great Vic Bike Ride. The two of them have been in France following the Tour de France, and Louise has sent back a couple of daily dispatches. We thought this one — covering Stages 19 and 20, both finishing on Alp d'Huez — was too good not to share.
— The AllTrails Team
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Day One: Stage 19 — Gap to Alp d'Huez
We rode our bikes to the bottom of the mountain at midday with the intention of riding back down after the race. As soon as we arrived, they closed the road to cyclists — walkers only. So we locked the bikes and started walking.
We took it slow. The last few weeks of everyday walking turned out to be great preparation. We made it 3.5 kilometres up to the first drinks area in two hours. It's steep, it was hot in the sun, and it was completely worth it.
The walk up was its own entertainment. Thousands of people were already lining the road — all ages, all abilities, all walks of life. Some bends were quiet. Others had music blaring and crowds in full party mode. Hairpin bend 19 had a DJ and a very enthusiastic drinking crowd. I stayed for a dance. Alp d'Huez has 21 famous hairpin bends, each named after a Tour de France legend. Lance Armstrong has his name on two of them.
We settled between hairpins 17 and 16 on a corner looking straight up into a long straight stretch of road. We rested under a tree for an hour and waited.
The official caravan came through first at around 3.30pm, throwing out hats, keyrings, bum bags — all promotional, but perfect as keepsakes. The atmosphere was building with every passing minute.
When the riders finally came, there was no way through. The road was packed from edge to edge as far as you could see. The crowd formed a tunnel, arms stretching out, and as the cyclists came through, people peeled back just enough to let them pass. I was at the front. The riders were literally inches from me. Doug was just behind. No one got hit. No one came off. It just worked.
I cannot begin to describe how extraordinary it was. Estimated 500,000 people were on that mountain with us. Words genuinely fall short.
Day Two: Stage 20 — Le Bourg-d'Oisans to Alp d'Huez
We set our alarms for 7am. We got up at 8am. The legs were not happy.
Only a short ride into Le Bourg-d'Oisans — the town we've been camped in — we found a spot right in front of the team buses at the start line and watched the riders do warm-up laps in front of us.
We were standing in front of UAE Team Emirates. Tadej Pogacar — race leader by nearly four minutes — got on his bike not five metres from where we stood and rolled over to the start line.
Two days. Two finishes on Alp d'Huez. Sore legs, big smiles, and a couple of memories that won't fade in a hurry.
— Louise
