Grand Tour France - 2022 "Pyrenees & Paris Experience" Week 3

Welcome to our final week of France’s Grand Boucle. Change over day today. We’ll collect you from the airport and help you check in to the hotel. Bikes will be reassembled or fitted to your requirements and in the afternoon, we head out for a short ride before returning to discuss this week's plans.

Dinner nearby.

Into the deep end with an early start! We have a 100km loop today with almost 2,000m of climbing that is on the race route, if you are up for it. Otherwise we have a shorter loop that joins the route from Col des Caougnous and Mur de Péguère before the descent to the finish in Foix. We will regroup to watch the pros arrive and then transfer to our hotel in Tarbes.

Today is a massive day of climbing for the pros. Lucky for you we can offer a couple of easier route options that will encompass challenging climbs and thrilling descents. The GTP support vehicle will drop riders at Payolle and you will ride to Loudenvielle. This is where you decide whether to continue on the race route to the finish, an extra 660m or to stop and watch the pros come through Loudenvielle before their last climb. We will then coast down (15km) to Arreau for the transfer back to Tarbes.

This morning we can ride from our hotel to the famous Catholic pilgrimage town of Lourdes, where we can watch the riders depart before riding along the valley floor to Argeles-Gazost. We'll stop for lunch and watch the racers pass through Argeles-Gazost towards Hautacam. We will then descend back to Lourdes, and if there is time, visit the Sanctuaires Notre-Dame de Lourdes.

We will transfer to our beautiful hotel in Montauban.

No stress today, sleep in a bit, enjoy breakfast and then we are riding 70 odd kilometres to stunning Cahors, an apt place to finish Stage 19 as the Chateau de Cayx is owned by the Danish Royal family.

The official course is flat and fast but we aim to ride from our hotel to Cahors to quaff the local red wine and cheer on the pros as they arrive in Cahors. After the podium presentations, we will transfer to our hotel in Montpazier.

Dinner in town.

Our final day in central France and perhaps the winner of the Grand Boucle will be decided at today’s 40km Individual Time Trial. Relatively flat with 2 small climbs, it will be fun to attempt our own time trials and compare our results with the pros after they have arrived!

We will start early in Lacapelle-Marival in order to avoid possible road closures and arrive along the race route in Rocamadour.

We will watch some of the riders cross the finish line but we have a long journey ahead in the GTP van to our hotel in Paris.

Bravo! We’re in Paris for Stage 21, the final race day.

Provided we arrived at a reasonable time the night before, we are on our bikes early to ride from Paris La Defense Arena and one or two laps of Champs-Elysees before it is closed. We can then head back to the hotel to change and return to a special guest place by the finish line to watch the sprinters battle it out and cheer on the winners of this fantastic cycling spectacle.

After the podium presentations, we’ll head off into Paris for our final superb dinner.

We hope that the celebrations from last night did not do too much damage. Well done for completing a fast and frantic week through the French countryside and into Paris. You have had a little taste of the essence of France’s premier race and seen how it is applauded and celebrated in each of the communes, towns, villages and cities as it approaches and passes through. And every year it is different. An excuse to return another time.

We’ll help you get packed and take you to the airport or train station. Until next time bon voyage.

Viva La France!