This year the last stage of the Tour de France departed from my little town of Rambouillet. Unless you have been a roadside spectator of the Tour you may not know that the cyclists are preceded by a publicity caravan that is like a travelling circus. It is not only the greatest bicycle race, but also a travelling road show that goes through so many beautiful parts of France that it is almost like a guided tour.



There is publicity for everything but most people crowd by the roadside to catch samples that are thrown from elaborate floats.

One of my favorite mustard brands, from classic old Citroen trucks:



It's raining BIC pens!



Maybe laundry soap bubbles are your thing:



24 hour TV coverage from the air means that you can get some very good views of France:



Tasty little sausages thrown from restored 2CVs.




It's a colourful event, lots of fun.

Interesting!

I had no idea it was like that before the race....but why not celebrate.

Do they do something like that before each stage?

Zeke

It’s not only before each stage but also along the total route of all of the stages.

Superbes photos! Merci!

I'm no bike racer but watch a bit. I like to ride at the back of the pack in MS150 bike rides. I have done the century rides (100 miles). That's on the first day and then hop a bus back to the starting point with my riding buddies. We all raised money for the Multiple Sclerosis organization to be able to ride. They raise millions of dollars a year for research into treatment for the disease. Bike riding as a fund raiser is big business. The Kansas City MS 150 has rest stops and a lunch stop along the way with vehicles running the route to pick up cyclists with problems. Bike shops have repair stops at the rest areas on the route similar to the TDF and their team mechanics. Lots of fun to watch the TDF I would guess. Perhaps I will make an effort to follow at least part of it one day from France. Thanks for another angle on the TDF, Wink. Be Well.

Where are the pictures of the riders? I watched pretty much all of the stages and didn't like the way they scored the race when the big hail storm hit thus set up the winner of the race.