• Hi,

I can't speak for the Alpe, but I can offer my experiences aiming for Courcheval or Izoard last year. By the end of the year before (December 1999 for July 2000), anywhere near the stage starts and finishes in the mountains was booked up. We ended up watching on Col de Madelaine: not the stage finish, but still a magnificant crowd and spectacular display of cycling and suffering. Madelaine remained open, at least to cyclists and pedestrians, until a few hours before the tour caravan started to arrive, but that might not hold true for the Alpe finish.

If you can't get into Bourg D'Oisans or Alpe D'Huez, I'd look at anywhere west up Lauteret; if you stay overnight in places like Deux Alpes or Pont Du Maurian (to pick but two), it should be easy enough to get to the finish via Col du Sarenne (assuming reasonable fitness; expect roads on the route to be busy beforehand and a motorhome tailback post-stage).

I don't know if the Alpe is closed a day before or after; experience with other stages would suggest not. Whenever the chance arises, it's a hard hill: to approxi-translate the French guy who joined us at a rest-stop halfway up: "I've just climbed the Galibier, and gosh this Alpe D'Huez is hard".

Don't take this as negative: anywhere on a stage and riding anywhere it those mountains is marvelous.

Courage!

Andy Hutcheon

• They don't close the L'Alpe D'Huez road to cyclists until about four-six hours before the race comes up on the day. By all means go up the day before, but for real atmosphere with all the crowds on the roadside cheering you on, go up in the morning before the race comes up. There are literally thousands of cyclists doing that. Then you have a quick way off after the race. On any day through summer there will always be hundreds of cyclists going up with local photographers taking snaps with prints available the same day. You can also get a certificate from the tourist office at L'Alpe D'Huez.

Some really keen people camp by the roadside two-three days before the race comes along. There is limited space available, and I doubt that you would find space the day before. I have found that the best way is to camp at Bourg d'Oisans and then cycle up on the day. If you do this one of the best spots is at the '5km to go' sign. Lots of people walk up the first few hairpins and stay there for the day. Don't even think about taking a car up. There is no organised transport up on race day. Sorry I have no details of hotel accommodation at Bourg d'Oisans...they will probably all be booked up by now anyway. Hope this is useful.
Dave Whitney