You can follow in the footsteps of the Tour
You can follow in the footsteps of the Tour
It’s been said so many times before but definitely worth repeating: one of the beauties of professional cycling is that you can ride the same roads the riders do. You can’t go and play at Old Trafford after watching Man Utd, and you can’t go for a few sets at Wimbledon (not without getting arrested, anyway) but you can go over to France and ride in the Alps.
But although you won’t get the same closed roads as the pros – unless you’re riding an official event – you can ride pretty much anything that you see on TV. You can even map out the exact same route as stages from this year’s Tour should you so wish and the only thing you’ll have to contend with is traffic. And navigation. And, potentially, cattle.
There’s nothing quite like the feeling of riding up Alpe d’Huez looking at the names of the champions on each bend, passing the monument to Fausto Coppi and Louison Bobet on the top of the Col d’Izoard or taking a detour down someone’s driveway on the descent of the Cote de Pramartino a la Jonathan Hivert and Thomas Voeckler in 2011 (okay, maybe not that last one).
Anyway, if you’re a lifelong cycling fan – or even a newbie – riding in the Alps is one of those things that can bring a smile to the face of even the most stoic cyclist. Remember when you were a kid a pretending to be your favourite rider? This is the chance to do it on the roads they were riding, no matter whether you’re hero is Coppi or Froome.