L'Etape du Tour - Act 1
Edito
Time to get serious!
You only have a few months to get ready for the 2012 Etapes du Tour. Spring is the perfect time to take long rides often. It will be worth the trouble. Be enthusiastic and creative in your training. On July 8 and 14, the Alps and the Pyrenees will be yours, and it will then be too late to regret being unprepared!
For those that hesitate to take part in the adventure by registering for one or both sections, we remind you that nothing can replace the emotion felt by living the Tour de France on the inside.
Yes, Act 1 is difficult. Yes, Act 2 is maybe even more difficult, but the Tour is like that. It’s part of the July magic. In 2011, 318 of you triumphed in the Madone Challenge which consists in finishing the 2 acts. This year, we are convinced that there will be more of you. Better prepared and aware of your capabilities, you can achieve two remarkable athletic challenges in less than one week. Are you up to it?
So that you can focus your preparation on the most detailed logistical points, we have recently published precise course maps as well as information on the different refreshment areas. All details are now available on the website:
Act 1
Act 2
If you haven’t already reserved your lodging, we suggest that you contact the tourist offices of the “start” and “finish” cities. A number of different choices and formulas for accommodation are available.
Less than a hundred days left, it’s time to get serious. Participating in the Etapes du Tour is accepting to make some sacrifices, to put oneself on the line, to escape from routine, and to live the apotheosis of a biker’s life. July 8 and 14, the mountain passes of the Alps and the Pyrenees are yours, just for you. Go for it!
During July, don’t lounge around by the pool when you can attack some mountain passes on a bike! Not little hills, but real steep mountains with high altitude summit offering mysterious emotion at the heat of effort.
This year for the first time, the “Etapes du Tour” will visit two of France’s mountain chains.
Act 1 takes place on July 8 in the Alps between Albertville and La Toussuire.
Act 2 takes place July 14 in the Pyrenees between Pau and Bagnères-de-Luchon.
The choice of villages and start zones has received particular attention. We have chosen Albertville, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary of the Olympic Games, to launch the race, at the same spot where the Olympic flame lit up the city in 1992. The bikers will ride for three kilometers in the center of Albertville before taking the direction of the Madeleine pass.
Each ascent will be timed allowing participants to appreciate their efforts.
Six days later in Pau, the Village will be installed in the Parc des Expositions, in the heart of this bubbling city. The start for this race in the Pyrenees will be unusual because all of the participants will be reunited at the Place de Verdun, using the 2008 format which created a convivial and relaxed ambiance.
The novelty of the Etapes du Tour 2012 is situated at altitude where a Climbing Challenge will be inaugurated. The four mountain pass climbs from bottom to top will be timed over Act 1 and Act 2, allowing each participant to compare his time with those of the pros, and certainly with those of friends present at the race.
For those who have the ambition to test themselves on the difficulties of the Alps and the Pyrenees, the next few months of training will be for the mountains. It’s the price of the exploit. In July, all French cyclists dream of the Tour. Frankly, would you exchange a place on your bicycle for a nap by the pool?
More information
Mountain passes have memories and can tell epic stories of the heros that have climbed them. The Alps and the Pyrenees: this year the two Tour de France trials that we offer cyclists visit these two large French mountain ranges, two occasions to live the myth of the Tour from the inside and to test one's capacity to achieve these important endeavors during the same week.
Act 1 (July 8) will take place in its entirety on Savoie roads with a start in Albertville, 20 years after the olympic games. This alps trial promises to be very difficult (there are no real flat portions) with long stretches of ascent (26km for the Madeleine pass) and a finish by the selective climb to La Toussuire.
Act 2 (July 14) will be an equally magnificent challenge with 5 climbing passes between Pau and Bagnères-de-Luchon. Aubisque, Soulor, Tourmalet, Aspin, and Peyresourde: a real voyage in the heart of the most legendary difficulties of the Pyrenees which will welcome cyclists on Bastille Day.
For the competitors who participate in our three 2012 events (the two Etapes du Tour as well as the Paris-Roubaix Challenge) we will offer a waterproof jacket to salute their courage and encourage their desire to push themselves as far as possible on some of the most difficult French roads.
Thousands are already registered for the Etapes du Tour 2012. Those who attempt this double challenge will climb many of the of the most prestigious mountain passes of the Tour over a six day period. The gage is immense. To reach it, one must work hard training throughout the whole first semester, the price to pay to reach so closely the legend of the Tour de France.
More information on Act 1 : Albertville > La Toussuire
More information on Act 2 : Pau > Bagnères-de-Luchon
