AI quick summary
- L'Etape du Tour lets amateur riders tackle a full Tour de France mountain stage, usually in July over the same closed roads the pros will race days later.
- Entries open in late autumn and sell out within hours — around 15,000 places across routes that typically cover 130 to 180 km with 3,000 to 5,000 m of climbing.
- You need a properly trained engine, low gears and a realistic pacing plan — the mountains are unforgiving and medical support is stretched.
- Closed roads, Tour-caravan scenery and a famous summit finish make it a once-in-a-lifetime ride for committed cyclists.
/ 01
What is L'Etape du Tour?
Organised by the Tour de France itself (ASO), L'Etape du Tour has run every July since 1993, giving amateur cyclists the chance to ride a full stage of the upcoming Tour over the same closed roads, with the same villages, signs and summit finishes the pros will hit days later.
Typically held the weekend before the Tour's mountain stages, the event fields around 15,000 riders from over 50 countries. The route changes every year and always includes major climbs — the Galibier, Alpe d'Huez, Tourmalet, Ventoux and Col de la Loze have all featured in recent editions.
Unlike most sportives, this is a genuinely hard day out. The cut-off times are tight, the climbs are long and the heat of a French summer adds another layer of suffering. Finish it and you have earned a story.
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What you will face on the route
Routes are announced each October when the Tour route is revealed. Although every edition is different, the broad pattern holds: a long alpine or pyrenean stage with multiple hors categorie climbs and a summit or near-summit finish.
What to expect by edition type
| Edition profile | Distance range | Climbing | Main challenge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine mountain stage | 130-160 km | 3,500-5,000 m | Sustained climbing, altitude |
| Summit finish | 120-140 km | 4,000-5,000 m | Final 15-20 km climb |
| Pyrenean stage | 130-150 km | 3,000-4,500 m | Shorter, steeper climbs |
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Entry and logistics
Entries open in late October or early November and sell out within hours. Registration is via the official letapedutour.com site and costs around €140 to €180 depending on the year. Package deals including hotels and transfers sell out even faster.
Travel and accommodation are the real logistics challenge. The start town is usually deep in the Alps or Pyrenees with limited hotel capacity — book a year ahead or expect to drive 60 km or more on the morning of the event. Many riders camp near the start to cut the transfer.
Bike hire is available locally but quality varies. Serious riders bring their own bike in a box. Several specialist shuttle companies run transfers from Geneva, Lyon or Toulouse airports each year.
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What makes it harder than a normal sportive
The combination of distance, climbing, heat and altitude makes L'Etape harder than almost any domestic sportive. The climbs are Tour-category — long (10 to 20 km), steep (6 to 9 per cent average, with pitches over 12 per cent) and sometimes at altitude above 2,000 m.
French summer heat regularly hits 30 to 35 degrees Celsius in the valleys. Heat exhaustion is the single biggest reason riders are pulled from the course, ahead of crashes or mechanicals.
Cut-off times are enforced strictly. Fall behind at a checkpoint and you are swept up by the broom wagon, no exceptions. Field density on the early climbs also means you often cannot choose your own pace for the first few kilometres of each ascent.
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How to prepare
Treat L'Etape like an A-race. You will want at least six months of structured training, with a solid Z2 base, threshold work and specific climbing repeats. Aim to be comfortable riding six hours or more and climbing 2,500 m in a single session before July.
Gear wisely: a compact chainset (50/34) with at least a 30-tooth cassette, ideally a 32 or 34. Most riders will spend extended time sitting at 250 to 300 watts on the climbs — if your FTP is under 250 W, you will be in zone four or above for long stretches.
Practise eating and drinking at threshold. Riders who fuel poorly blow up spectacularly on the final climb of L'Etape, often within sight of the summit.
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