City to City

Tour de France 2024, Friday 12 July Stage 13 Agen - Pau

By car: 204 km

By bike: 16km

Tat: A can of Tourtel, Gendarmerie keyring, Cofidis buff, Senseo coffee pouch, Haribo sweets. Still no hat 

Q: Is it possible to see the start and the finish of a TdF stage?

A: Yes - just 

By 10:30am I had parked the car for a quick escape and was cycling into the centre of Agen. I thought I was relatively early, but despite a 13:30 depart, the centre of Agen was already heaving. The signing-on area had transformed into a village of stalls and noise. I managed to buy a pain au raisin in a local boulangerie, but there was no chance of sitting down for a coffee. 

The Caravan has become a huge scrummage, with people bringing bags to stuff with as much tat as possible. It is already getting rather tiresome. After that, a wander back to the signing-on area to watch some of the teams, and then watching the Depart Fictif.

A quick cycle back along the river, jump into the car, and a two-hour dash to Pau. Fortunately, my hotel had a car park; unfortunately, it was the outskirts of Pau and it was a quick ride to the city centre to arrive just in time for the finish. 

Afterwards I wandered around the team coaches picking up the cyclists - this is the only time you can still get close to the riders and their bikes. ASO has carefully sanitised the rest of the race, but the team coach area is still a glorious hayhem, and long may it continue.

So, a ride back to my nice B&B Hotel, where curiously team Arkea B&B Hotel aren’t staying - they are in the Kyriad, 200 metres away, sharing with Lotto Dstny. A nice meal at the La Boucherie chain, and then preparing to do it all again tomorrow.