Etape du Tour 2012 Information

Well look no further because VeloNomad has the basic Etape du Tour 2012 information right here.

Etape 2012 Survival Guide

First up, my famous Etape survival guide from 2011 has been reprised, rehashed and updated for 2012. It's free and available as an immediate PDF download. Get it here, now.

Etape du Tour 2012 Dates

The dates for Etape du Tour 2012 will be Sunday 8 July 2012 and Saturday 14 July 2012.

Etape du Tour 2012 Routes

The Routes will follow the 2012 Tour de Frances Stage 11 and Stage 16.

Acte 1, or Etape Alpes, will be 140km and cover the alpes in the Maurienne valley. It is going to be a tough ride with the Madeleine and Croix de Fer finishing at Les Sybelles ski resort. I've ridden a lot around this area. Prepare for a great ride!

Acte 2, or Etape Pyrenees, will be 197km. This is going to be EPIC. Aubisque, Tourmalet, Peyresourde, Aspin – WTF?! This is my favourite part of France and this is going to be amazing. This would be my pick.

How to Enter Etape du Tour 2012

Etape 2012 entry will be along the lines of the Etape 2011 entry – you'll be able to enter online, or via an accredited tour operator.

Entries will open on November 17th, probably at 12.00PM Central European Time (Paris).

More information is located on the ASO site: click here.

Entries will sell out quickly, so make sure you get in early.

Entries will probably start at 75 Euro for the first 3000 entries in each Etape, then go to 95 Euros for the next 3000 entries. The next 4000 entries (for a total of 10,000 entries) per Etape will probably be reserved for accredited tour operators, where entry packages will be at least 200 Euro.

Etape du Tour 2012 Registration

Registration times and locations for Etapes 2012 have not been released yet, but if they are similar to the Etapes previous, the Etape 2012 registration will be something like:

Etape 2012 Acte 1 Registration
Dates: July 6, 7
Where: Albertville, location to be advised

Etape 2012 Acte 2 Registration
Dates: July 12, 13
Where: Pau probably at the Pau Hippodrome, as it was for Etape 2010.

Read more Etape registration information and how-to information.

Etape du Tour 2012 Training

Training for Etape 2012 will be absolutely critical. VeloNomad has a guide specifically design for Etape participants. The popular Guide to Training for Etape helps you train for Etape du Tour 2012.

Summary of Etape 2012

What: Etape du Tour 2012 Acte 1, “L'Etape Alpes”
Where: Albertville La Toussuire – Les Sybelles
When: Sunday 8 July 2012
How Long: 140km

What: Etape du Tour 2011 Acte 2, “L'Etape Pyrenees”
Where: Pau – Bagnères-de-Luchon
When: Saturday 14 July 2012
How Long: 197km

Road Closures

Road closures will occur 1 hour before the lead riders come through. Given the French gendarmerie's tendency to take things too seriously and be completely inflexible and unreasonable, I'd say to anyone who has team support (wife, husband, friend etc) travelling over the route, leave more than an hour before the lead riders come through. Or, take an alternate route – more information on alternate routes as more information is released by the ASO. There is more information at VeloNomad (do a search on “Road Closures”.

If you want a complete guide full of information about 2012 Etape du Tour, make sure you sign up to the VeloNomad mailing list to ensure you get notified of any new information or the Guide to Etape 2012.

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More Reading

You can start planning your trip now with the Guide to Cycling Through France.

The Guide to Tackling L'Etape has loads of useful information for planning your Etape attack.

For those fairly accomplished with travelling to France, the Guide to Training for Etape helps you train for Etape du Tour 2012.