2011 Etape Route Annoucement Coming Soon!
L'Etape du Tour is the world's most prestigious mass participation cycling event. There are nearly 10000 cyclists at the starting line each year, all looking to complete the entire route of a mountain stage of the current Tour de France. It is to cy
cling, what the New York Marathon is to running. The organizers of the event ensure the roads will be closed to vehicular traffic as well as providing strategically placed food and rest stations. There is also mechanical support along the route provided by Mavic. This ensures that everyone has a great time participating in L'Etape.
The route for L'Etape de Tour 2011 will be announced in October. We are all eagerly awaiting the route announcement and will be bringing you more race details and package and itinerary information as soon as possible. Please keep checking back for updates. You can also sign up to our newsletter or follow us on Facebook or Twitter to keep up to date with On Your Bike.
The route for L'Etape du Tour 2010 celebrated the centenary of the Tour's first foray into high mountains, and especially over the first 2000 + meter col, The Col du Tourmalet. Since 1910, this pass has been crossed from one side or another more times than any other col in Tour history. For 2010, the Tour de France and Etape organizers celebrated the Tourmalet with a rare stage finish at the summit of the col, at 2115 meters. This 174 km route took on 2 other classic climbs after leaving Pau, the Col de Marie-Blanque (1035 meters) and the Col de Soulor (1474 meters) en route to completing stage 17 of the 2010 Tour just a few days before the pros came to town.
Please click here for more information about joining On Your Bike for L'Etape 2011.