If you are going to catch the AdH stage then get there two days ahead. If you come in from the north side you can expect traffic to be blocked all the way onto the autoroute which is 30 MILES away and beyond that, in both directions on the autoroute from the exit another 20 miles or so. Each year it gets worse. By way of reference, the drive from Lyon is normally 2 hours -- the day before AdH it takes 8 hours.
Don't even think of riding the valley road north from Bourg d'Oisans as a "nice flat ride" the day before AdH as you will be riding in car exhaust the entire way in both directions with a stalled bumper-to-bumper line of cars blocking the road the entire day. Coming in from Briançon is quite a bit better -- but expect chaos getting out.
There are plenty of unmarked "shortcuts" to take if you have a flare for adventure, a good map and take the local attitude towards the Gendarmes and "road closures" -- meaning, if there is a will, there is a way to get around road closures and so on. But I'm not telling where those shortcuts are at AdH or Mont Ventoux for that matter (for future years) because it's too valuable too share. The Tour attracts more and more viewers every year . . .
You're best off watching a less popular stage in my humble opinion, although having watched the Chamrousse TT a few years ago, an uphill TT is a great way to actually see what is going on. The roar of the crowd that follows each rider is something to be experienced -- picture this massive wave of energy accompanying you each meter of the climb!
Getting around -- bring a bike. But keep in mind that after a certain time, the road will be closed to bikes as well (on the massively popular stages like Ventoux and AdH), and then your bike becomes a pain in the ass as you have to walk everywhere pushing it through a crowd of others doing the same...
But to understand what lengths people go to -- they will walk 20km from the nearest road closure at 4:00 am to get to the course (for example, from Sault up the SE flank of Ventoux), watch, then head back. At AdH it's just what you do.
Toilets -- this is France. There aren't toilets anywhere.
General rule of thumb: On mountain stages, the middling climbs will be tolerable but for any mountain top finish, expect way more people than you expect! Carry a lot of water, TP and a camera. Take bikes and park 10 - 20km away and bike in, then bike out -- it will save you hours of hassle. For AdH, come in from the Briançon side no later than early the day before, or from the North side no later than two days before.
Also, there was a good link at lancearmstrong.com to a pdf that gives all the details you are looking for about watching the Tour. Perhaps it's still there, have a look.
Check out
http://www.ironguides.net/tdf.htm for something to keep in mind for future years if you are interested in racing on a stage of the tour a day or two ahead of the tour itself. We'll always be riding to the race in the week ahead and winding up an 800km week with a full-on bike race with 7500 others on one of that year's Tour stages . . . a little DIY Tour de France for those who want to dream a little and take it a step beyond watching . . . each evening we eat dinner and watch how the day's Tour stage unfolds, then the next day we head out and ride quiet French summer roads en route to the Étape du Tour, then we do it all again.
Have fun!
marc becker
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