I watched the iconic Tour de France and cycled part of it myself
The Tour is an iconic part of French culture able to entrance fans of all ages – as well as first-time spectators
I recently agreed to go on a ‘Tour de France’ holiday despite never having much interest in cycling, watching two stages of the famous race then attempting to emulate the cyclists by making a gruelling climb myself.
I have dabbled in cycling here and there, but riding the iconic Alpe d’Huez was definitely going to be my biggest day out on the bike yet and a daunting challenge.
By the end of the trip however, I saw the event – and cycling holidays – in a whole new light.
Thousands of spectators
The legendary step is one of the most famous of the tour, and in the 2026 edition saw two stages in the area on Friday (July 24) and Saturday (July 25).
The passage of the Tour through the Alpe d’Huez is one of the busiest of the year for tourism in the area, and this was clear from the sheer number of cyclists around.
We rented bikes from a shop in nearby Annecy that delivered directly to our accommodation.
We cycled down from Oz (a village in the mountains) to the bottom of Alpe d’Huez thinking we would be able to climb up with some fellow riders, find a spot on the side to watch, and then continue to the summit after the tour riders had passed.
How wrong we were.
We arrived at the bottom of the climb with several thousand other cyclists, all in complete gridlock.
The Gendarmerie were ordering people to dismount and walk, causing many people on bikes to give up and turn around.
We decided to persevere and started the climb on foot, fortunately not stopped by any gendarmes.
At the first hairpin, people were getting back on their bikes, so we did the same and began the slow climb to Dutch corner – a sea of orange where the Dutch fans accumulate every year to cheer on their national counterparts in the race.
The climb required a lot of focus as we rode four or five abreast in packs along the paths.
As we got further and further up, the team cars and lorries began passing, with horns sounding all the way up the mountain to warn people to get out of the way.
Nothing was going to slow them down; the drivers accelerated fearlessly despite the mass of pedestrians and cyclists on the road.
Great atmosphere
It quickly became clear to me why so many people line the roads every year for the event.
The atmosphere was electric and it showed France at its very best.
People were chatting to strangers and cheering cyclists on.
We had Scottish flags attached to our bikes, and we heard several cheers of ‘Allez Ecosse !’ as we crawled onwards.
Commitment is clearly key; people had dragged trailers filled with food, beer, gazebos and BBQs, sometimes as far as halfway up the mountain on foot.
Some parents were pulling up toddlers on tandem bikes, other children were riding their own bikes and decked out in racing gear.
We settled just past the Dutch corner, on a straight with a great view down the road.
The sun shone down and the crowds drank beer in anticipation of the famous “caravan” parade, where sponsors of the Tour travel all the way up the hill on floats, playing music and throwing out free merch.
The parade went on for about an hour and as it drew to a close and the helicopters above whirred, we knew the cyclists must be close.
Rapid speed
The speed at which they ascended was my main takeaway, and it felt like the professionals climbed faster than I could descend.
Although you only see them for a few seconds, by that point in the ride they were already well spread out, with a breakaway, a chasing peloton, and then numerous smaller groups all flying up the hill.
We were probably waiting for riders to come past over about half an hour, interspersed with the support vehicles racing up the hill at scary speeds.
When the last rider had passed, the gendarmerie kept the road closed for a long time, due to the floats and support cars coming back down the hill.
What was so different about the Alpe d’Huez stage this year is that there were actually two stages that ended in the famous ski village.
As if the first intense climb had not been quite enough, the following day the riders took a different route up the Col de Sarrene.
We started the day by watching the “roll out”, where all the riders begin the race. It is quite insightful - even at this point in the race they begin quite spread out, with lots of them chatting away to their rivals.
Apparently some of them even almost miss the start because they are taking a pee break!
After we watched the roll out, we had a big cycle ahead of us to meet them at the beginning of Col de Sarenne.
With around 1500m of climbing and a steep descent, we encountered varying standards of roads and a few landslides from bad weather weeks before.
When we got to the bottom of Col de Sarenne, the riders had already done over double the amount of climbing we had at about 10 times the speed. It is really unbelievable how quick they can go.
Retracing steps
Sunday saw the final day of the Tour get underway towards Paris – there is no rest for the professionals – we were finally able to complete the rest of the Alpe d’Huez climb ourselves.
Following the gridlock on the way up the hill on the first day, this time the traffic heading down the mountain weaved almost all the way to the very top.
It meant that even in the post Tour daze, there were horns and cheers as we traipsed up the long climb.
As someone who has never been invested in the Tour before, I can see why people get hooked.
The trip brought together some of the things I love most about France; thousands of people of all generations showing up to share in joy and fun against the beautiful backdrop of the Alps.
It is a great way to spend a holiday in France, but I would not say no to an electric bike next time!
