- This year, the Tour de France will depart from Nice. It is the second time in its history that the city has hosted such an event.
- The start of the Tour de France, initially scheduled for June 27, will start on August 29, due to the sanitary measures linked to the Covid-19.
- Throughout the summer, it will be possible to test the three stages that the runners will take.
“We had fun remaking them not long ago, the Col de la Colmiane, the Col de Turini, that of Eze, but in several stages. Here is our playground! Exclaims Philippe Chassagnard, president of the Cyclo Club Cagnois. These three passes, emblematic of the Côte d'Azur, will make up one of the stages of the Tour de France on August 29.
187 km long, this mountain circuit of the Tour climbers is "the most difficult", says Pierre Hermand of the OCC Antibes bike club. It is also the first time that a mountain stage is made up of two passages at the top going over 1,500 meters above sea level, specifies Christian Prudhomme, director of the Tour de France.
"Workable for amateurs"
With the postponement of the event to the end of August (due to the sanitary measures linked to the Covid-19), the two summer months will be an opportunity to put yourself in the shoes of a Tour de France. Cycling enthusiasts can test the routes where the 176 professional cyclists will meet on August 29.
The first stage, three loops on the hills of the Nice middle-country, is a "beautiful stage", for Philippe Chassagnard, "achievable for amateurs".
The second, the most difficult, is also "the most beautiful", enthuses the president of the Vélo Club Cagnois. It is "symbolic of the Alpes-Maritimes", adds Freddy Vasseur, president of the Cavigal Cyclisme de Nice, because it "leaves the sea and arrives in the mountains".
On the Napoleon road
187 km long, it can be done in two stages, "rather in the morning" because of the heat in the afternoon, explains Philippe Chassagnard, following specific instructions: "You park your car at the Charles-Albert bridge in the Var valley. We cross the Col de Colmiane, then Turini, before descending the Col Saint-Roch and return to Aspremont to finish at the Var valley and collect his car. There, the amateurs will have made the bulk of the stage ”.
"And for the bravest, the next day, you have to do the Col d'Eze," he adds. “From the large ledge to the Fort de la Revère, you have a magnificent view of the sea, Monaco, Eze. It's a great ride on three quarters of the tour, ”advises the club president.
The third and last local stage will start from the Allianz Riviera stadium until Sisteron, taking the Route de Napoléon. This path, popular with hikers and bikers, passes through Grasse, in the footsteps of the emperor and those of runners ... Just that.
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