Last year at the Tour de France, I had the opportunity to experience Stage 19 with the summit finish on La Plagne alongside both our REK group and the Experience Tour, together with our photographer. On the REK tours of the TDF, riders complete every kilometre of the stage the day before the professionals, while on the Experience Tour, our leisure riders tackle the best part of the route on closed roads just hours before the pros. The same mountain felt completely different on those two days.
Stage 19 – July 25 – 130 km – Albertville > La Plagne
On July 24, our Ride Every Kilometre group rode 130 km — three climbs and a summit finish in La Plagne. No shortcuts. No edited version. They rode it a day ahead of the pros, on open roads, under shifting alpine light. We followed in the support car, and even from the passenger seat you feel it — the length of the day, the effort accumulating, the silence before each climb.
REK has its own rhythm. Regroup before the ascent. Regroup at the summit. Regroup before the descent. It’s a ritual — not about speed, but about cohesion. No one disappears. No one rides alone.
We were lucky with the weather. A soft drizzle in the final kilometres, just enough to remind us we were deep in the Alps.
A small but meaningful detail from the 2025 edition stood out along the route. That year, a creative campaign led by Škoda and FCB London addressed the long-standing tradition of obscene phallic graffiti painted on Tour de France roads by transforming those drawings into empowering artwork promoting the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. It was a subtle but powerful shift.
Lunch looked like something from a postcard — lake views, quiet conversations, legs stretched out. The kind of stop where you realize this isn’t just a ride. It’s an experience you build hour by hour.
Jack, one of the most experienced GTP team members on REK tours, was quietly checking timing, softly controlling the group — bottles filled, route confirmed, morale steady.
Then La Plagne. That final push. That shared exhaustion. Hugs at the top. Not about who arrived first — but that everyone did. A summit of the mountain, and of the day.
Two kilometres below the official finish, our tented gazebo camp waited. Chef Fatjon had prepared a hot mountain meal — polenta with mushrooms, pasta with pesto, local cheese, dry meats. Steam rising in the cool air. Vans open with dry clothes. Rain tapping softly on the tents. The kind of moment where fatigue melts into pride.
The next day, July 25 — the official Stage 19 for the pros and our Experience Tour guests.
We joined the Experience Tour in the morning — a different rhythm. Riders chose between 30 km or 60 km of the most scenic section. They chose shorter — not easier, but richer in atmosphere. Time to pause at the summit, to watch, to feel the race unfolding around them.
Meanwhile, REK riders woke up early to ride Stage 20 — 185 km from Nantua to Pontarlier — and later that day the announcement came: Stage 19 was officially shortened to around 95 kilometres, with two of the five planned categorised climbs dropped for the pros. Our riders had quietly completed them all — a different kind of badge of honour.
Back with the Experience group — riding the route on the same day as the race is something special. The crowd is there, the road is closed, and only we, as an official tour operator, have the badges and passes to ride the finish line. Our riders, joined by our Spectator group, didn’t just finish at La Plagne — they had a finish-line photo and stood on the podium. A magical moment for any cycling fan, knowing the pros would soon cross the same line.
The weather shifted again — the rain came properly that afternoon. We huddled under the gazebo once more, glasses clinking, crowd cheering, polka-dot ponchos everywhere, the Publicity Caravan rolling past, team buses arriving, and finally the pros climbing through the rain — pure power, and a dream to see your heroes so close. The Alps were loud and alive.
It was a long day. After the final buses descended and the crowds began to fade, we made our way to the hotel, where stories stretched late into dinner. As our guide Selene said:
“You’ll remember this day even more because of the rain.”
In the end, it wasn’t about kilometres. It was about being inside the mountain. Inside the race. Inside the team. Whether 0 km, 30 km or 130 km — you left La Plagne carrying something with you.
Written by Elnura, Grand Tours Project Team, with AI-assisted editing.