Tour de France planning case study: me 2010

I thought it would be an interesting case study to look at how we have planned our 2010 trip to Le Tour and L'Etape. I basically have followed the same planning methodology described in the Cycling Through France Guide and in the other posts on this topic (here and here so far).

In order, this is how we planned this.

1. We are doing L'Etape which in 2010 is/was in the Pyrenees. We therefore would like to fly in to Paris, Nice, Toulouse or Barcelona.
2. We only want to stay for 10 days, therefore our ability to drive around like in 2009 is limited. Therefore we will stay in one place for 10 days.
3. We want to see mountain stages of Le Tour, which means we can fly in before L'Etape and see most of the Pyrenean mountain stages as well as the north of Spain.

Once these decisions had been made, the list of fly-in airports was narrowed down to 3 – Barcelona, Toulouse and Nice.

It also meant that the car hire and accommodation decisions had been made: we can just hire a car to get from the airport to where we want to stay, and, we can stay at one place for 10 days.

This then narrowed our airlines down to:

• Malaysian into Paris plus internal Air France (AF) flight to Toulouse (TLS)
• Singapore into Barcelona plus internal AF flight to TLS
• Emirates into Nice or Paris plus internal AF flight to TLS

The baggage limits as always when flying ex Australia to the EU (or, anywhere to the EU except the USA which is on a piece system) are 1 x 20kg or 1 x 23kg.

This is a big problem, because a bike packed in its bike bag is about 15kg.

Our agent in 2009 was able to secure an extra 15kg on Malaysian thanks to a special arrangement but this was not an option.

Luckily, our mate Andrew mentioned he was flying on an ATW fare via the USA and therefore could get 2 x 23kg all the way.

An Around The World Airfare Tim? WHAT THE?

Yep, an Around the World.

Why? Yes, this is an extra 5 hours flying over Australia-EU direct, but we get an extra 1 x 23kg of luggage for a total of 2 x 23kg, which is more than adequate for a packed bike+bike bag (15kg) and luggage (20kg). This is on Star Alliance so is on United, Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines.

I checked out One World flights which would be something like:
Qantas – American Airlines and/or Air France – Qantas, via MEL, LAX, Frankfurt or Paris Charles de Gaulle, Toulouse, Frankfurt or Paris, Hong Kong, Melbourne. Fares were around 3k + taxes.

I also checked the Virgin/Emirates/Malaysian alliance, but fares were around AUD$3,000 ex tax, rather than the $2300 including taxes on the Star Alliance fare.

I'd have preferred One World as I have enough Qantas Frequent Flyer points to get me on an ATW, but it would have left my travel partner high and dry. Even paying for it would have been ok as I could have booked the points to my Qantas account.

Similarly a V Australia – Virgin Atlantic – Malaysian or Emirates routing would have allowed me to book my points to my Virgin account.

In the end, $2300 with the ability to book my points to my Air Canada account is not too bad, especially considering the extra baggage allowance. Pity about having to fly United, but you get that.

After checking with our agent, Cycling Adventures, we got the same sort of deal. Australia to the EU via the USA but home directly from the EU with 2 x 23kg all the way.

SWEEEET.

This now made everything very easy, and this is what we came up with.

1. Stay near Pau, which is near Lourdes (sightseeing), right near Spain (ride into Spain, I lovvvvve Spain), and right near the start of L'Etape. We booked a place in Aramits, for EU700 for 10 nights (sleeps 5).
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2. Fly into Toulouse on an Around the World (ATW) airfare from Australia. This is basically Melbourne – LA – Frankfurt – Toulouse – Frankfurt – Singapore – Melbourne (MEL-LAX-FRA-TLS-FRA-SIN-MEL).

Once we land, we'll have a car waiting. It's only a couple of hundred kilometres down to Aramits, so we can get in, get settled then have an afternoon ride.

Our basic itinerary is something like this

• Arrive Jul 15th, afternoon ride, watch end of Stage 11.
• July 16th: take car to bottom of Tourmalet, ride back to Pau (some 150km) and watch the rest of Stage 12.
• July 17th: L'Etape registration, recovery ride, watch end of Stage 13, possibly by driving to Revel.
• July 18th: 2010 L'Etape du Tour. Get back to hopefully see rest of Stage 14 on telly.
• July 19th: ride down to watch Stage 15 roadside, from the Port de Bales (final climb of day).
• July 20th: CARNAGE!! Ride to either the Aubisque, Tourmalet or Peyresourde to watch the carnage on Stage 16.
  
• July 21st: Rest day, down into Spain!
• July 22nd: Stage 17 up the Tourmalet again. This is the same as the L'Etape route.
• July 23rd: up to watch Stage 18, probably from the start, which we didn't do last year, and gives us a chance to look around the watch the finish in a bar somewhere.
• July 24th: Stage 19 individual time trial. If it's not decided by Stage 17, it will be here (barring accidents etc). We might do a ride and sightseeing in the morning, then watch the finish.
• July 25th: Home!

70+ page Guide to Cycling through France

That's it. Don't forget you can get a really detailed guide to everything you need to know in my Guide to Cycling through France.

I wrote this guide after getting back from France in 2009, as there was a serious gap in the market for people who needed a single resource that detailed all the pitfalls and tricks in planning a trip to France to cycle.

Here's what you get for AUD$19:

• A “Hassle-Free Checklist” for pre-trip planning (from airports to auto hire, baggage and beyond)
• Detailed baggage/excess costs the airlines use when handling your bike (must-have data for most major airlines into the EU)
• The pros and cons of taking your own bike versus hiring (covering cost, convenience, and even how to pack your bike)
• How to save thousands (yes thousands) on mobile and data roaming
• Important things to watch out for when watching the Tour from roadside
• What you must know before participating in L’Etape du Tour (planning, pitfalls, tips, and more)
• Must-have French phrases for making touring around France a breeze
• Tips for finding free wifi (free and unsecured)
• How to avoid surprises with road quality/types, travel times and toll gates
• The smart way to decide between car versus campervan hire
• Weather tips that will keep you happy (and dry!)
• All the best places to base yourself for rides – and where to avoid
• Comprehensive equipment list suggestions – what’s critical, what’s nice-to-have
• Essential contacts, handy web links and more!