Tour de France 2008 with Agile Compass

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Tour de France 2008

Looking for the official 2008 Tour de France site? It’s here in English & ici en français.

2009 start in Monaco The 2009 Tour de France starts in Monaco, not far from our Italian home base in Piemonte. We’ll know more after the official presentation in October.

Tour de France all’italiano The Tour comes to Italy and has 2 of of its 3 Alpine stages there. On Sunday July 20, Stage 15 crosses from Provence into Cuneo province in Piemonte and finishes at the Prato Nevoso ski resort near our Italian home base. Monday is a rest day for the Tour, but 2 of the teams (identities not yet known) will be staying at our hotel! In the past, the teams have asked Tommaso, the owner of our hotel and a phenomenal amateur cyclist, to take them on training rides in the vicinity. Tuesday July 22, Stage 16 starts in nearby Cuneo and returns to France via Colle della Lombarda on the way to Col de la Bonette, the highest paved pass in the Alps. We focus on the major climbs, where you actually get to see the riders, whereas on the flat stages they flash by in a blink of an eye.
Presented in collaboration with Cycling–Made in Italy.

Highlights (Sat Jul 19 to Sat Jul 26)

Sat: We meet you at Nice Côte d’Azur airport in the morning and transfer you to our hotel in Chiusa di Pesio
Sun: Stage 15, either ride to Colle della Maddalena (Col de Larche) from Demonte Colle dell’Agnello (Col d’Agnel) from Venasca, or to the stage finish at Prato Nevoso from Roccaforte Mondovì. Mingle with the members of the 2 Tour teams staying at our hotel. [The organizers have revised the route to start at Embrun to go over Col d’Agnel instead of starting at Digne-les-Bains because of the danger of rockslides on the climb to Col de Larche.]
Mon: While the Tour has a rest day, ride to Colle della Maddalena Colle dell’Agnello if we did Prato Nevoso the previous day, or vice versa; or ride to Stage 16’s Colle della Lombarda from Demonte. Stronger, faster riders may have the option to accompany Tommaso on a training ride with the pro teams staying at our hotel
Tue: Stage 16, either ride to Colle della Lombarda from Demonte (with option to visit Sant’Anna di Vinadio, the highest-sited church in Europe), or drive over to Jausiers in France to ride up Col de la Bonette to see the stage there
Wed: Rest day for us. Optional self-guided rides, or non-riding sightseeing day. Watch live coverage of Stage 17 (Galibier, Croix-de-Fer, Alpe d’Huez) in the afternoon on our hotel’s wide-screen TV. Dinner on your own, we can suggest places in town
Thu: Experience another side of Piemonte — the Langhe wine country with gorgeous vistas over vineyards, orchards and hill towns with castles and church spires (and visit a winery at the end). Ride distance and difficulty are adjustable on-the-fly in real time
Fri: Ride the scenic hills and valleys in the immediate vicinity of Chiusa with option to visit the workshop of one the the world’s top chocolate makers, Silvio Bessone, to taste and, if you like, buy sinfully delicious chocolates
Sat: We transfer you from Chiusa to Nice airport

Pricing* and availability – $1,885/person double-occupancy; add $300 for single-room. Airport transfers, hotel accommodations with private bathroom, all breakfasts and most dinners, sag support and guided rides included; airfare and bicycles not included. Bookings for this tour closed on March 10.
* Prices may be adjusted without prior notice to account for significant changes in the Euro/US Dollar exchange rate. Once you book, however, your price is locked in.

The 2008 Giro d’Italia will have 3 back-to-back Dolomite mountain stages May 24–26. Our Giro special, May 22–27, may be an alternative to consider.

March 20 – ASO announces teams invited to the Tour, Astana still excluded:

AG2R (FR)
Agritubel (FR)
Barloworld (UK)
Bouygues Telecom (FR)
CSC (DK)
Caisse d’Epargne (ES)
Cofidis (FR)
Credit Agricole (FR)
Euskaltel (ES)
Francaise des Jeux (FR)
Gerolsteiner (DE)
High Road (US)
Lampre (IT)
Liquigas (IT)
Milram (DE)
Quick Step (BE)
Rabobank (NL)
Saunier Duval (ES)
Silence (BE)
Slipstream (US)

BE = Belgium, DE = Germany, DK = Denmark, ES = Spain, FR = France, IT = Italy, NL = Netherlands, UK = Britain, US = USA

15 Embrun to Prato Nevoso (Italy) Su 20
15 Dignes-les-Bains to Prato Nevoso (Italy) Su 20
16 Cuneo (Italy) to Jausiers Tu 22

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Stage 15 landscapes

Please see our 2007 Giro d’Italia stage 12 page & slideshow for more about Colle dell’Agnello.

Col de Larche/Colle della Maddalena
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Prato Nevoso

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Prato Nevoso panorama

Stage 16 landscapes

Col de la Lombarde/Colle della Lombarda

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Lombarde/a

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Col de la Bonette

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Bonette Monument

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Tour de France 2006

Although we didn’t offer a special program for the Tour in 2006, while it was in the Alps we went to see 3 stages as part of a regular dynamically customized week: the start of Stage 14 in Montélimar, the finish of Stage 15 at Alpe d’Huez, and Col du Glandon for Stage 16.

Move the mouse pointer into the slideshow to pause it, out to resume.

All photos by O. Morales

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