Champs Eleysees Tour de France Guide

Me and my family made the trip to the Champs Eleysees this year to see the Tour de France. As I couldn't find any detailed guides s here is what I single handedly found out. I would also like to say that circumstances and events may be different in different years so always ask at information desks to check.

Travel

The first hurdle is travelling to the race. We went on the train and the metro to the champs. It was relatively low cost and the scenery was beautiful on the way into Paris. Our trip was about 30 mins long and the train was very comfortable and easy to use.

The metro is easy too. Our train tickets were conveniently compatible with the metro and it let you through the metro gates all day. 

On the metro we went from Montanas to the Champs Eleysees metro station. Route 13. There are a couple of metro stations along the Champs Eleysees. And they Gordon the top to the arc d'triomphe.

Some Metro Stations do close so don't just rely on one metro station. 

The Champs Eleysees station come out on the opposite side to the finish and there is a big screen to your right. This screen can just be seen from really far down.

Also note that some metro stations can be used to get to the other side of the course.

Timings

You will need to cross reference train and Tour de France CARAVAN times to get there at the right time, add and hour or two of leeway and time to get the perfect spot. (I will come on to that later.) Also find out when the women's is on and plan accordingly. The women's race is really good fun and totally gets you in the mood to watch this glorious race. 

I recommend the Tour de France app which has live updates or following the tour on Twitter so that you know when the riders will appear.

Where to watch

If your getting there early you will be able to find a good spot. With a bit of searching on course. You will want to be on the barriers so bring flags (they can be Gaffer taped to the barriers) and be prepared to camp out. On the barriers is the place to be so be prepared to defend your position to those who have turned up later than you. The tour is amazing for bringing people who you wouldn't have met to one place so try to talk to people.

Me and my family watched at the roundabout halfway down the Champs Eleysees. This place is a bottle hotspot so you will want to be at the side closest to the finish so you can pick them babies up!!

Food and Drink

There are some food stalls down the Champs Eleysees but I recommend to buy some baguettes and some ham/saussiucon to have for lunch. Then you don't lose your spot and is a bit cheaper.

If it is swelteringly hot you will need to keep up the fluids. Take water with you but expect to run out. There will be water available to buy so don't worry.

Toilets

There is no doubt that you will need go to the loo. Paris doesn't really have any public toilets so you could go a bar or walk to a public toilet.

Security 

In some places the French police were doing spot checks so the Champs Eleysees is quite secure. 

Clothing 

Check the weather forecast and plan accordingly. So wear light breathable clothing/footwear which you can stand in all day long. 

Kit list

Money

Phone 

Country flags

Gaffer tape

Food

Drink

Rucksacks

Drawstring bags

Train time tables

Tdf time table

Tube map

This document

Chairs

A rug

A lot of patience 

Sun cream 20°/30°

Sun hat

Sun glasses

Rain coat (if necessary)

Jumper

Cow bells

Stuff to do whilst waiting (books, music etc.)

Assen Day 1

Assen is finally here! With months of preparation we have arrived at our camp. 

Yesterday - me and the team (with a few friends) rode some of the following days courses to suss out some of the roads etc. We then signed on and went to our houses. 

Today's stage was a short, 1.5 km Prologue. It was fast, twisty and technical. What made it worse was that it rained at around 10 so the bricked section was very slippery.

 

I posted a 1 min 50 time which in the end put me in 60th. But the times were so compact that if I were half a second quicker I would be in 44th.

 

TT PB

Yay! The weather played in my favour this week, it meant that I could achieve a 24:16 on my local Time Trial course! Which is a personal best!

First win on the road in Under 16s

Finally! After some hard fought racing over the past month, I have achieved my first road win! This was at the Mallory Park road race league. The course was the anti-clockwise lower circuit with the Hilltop finish. This is my favourite course and I have managed to win several times on this circuit! The wind was a strong headwind for the finish.

The day's field consisted of about 20-25 riders in the under 16s. This meant that my teammate, George Evans had the chance to attack on lap 4 - making the leading breakaway. The break consisted of 4 riders; George Evans from MI; James Alexader (Solihull); Louis Perry (Lyme); and myself. We were working quite well together for the remaining laps, not drilling it but keeping the pace, other riders off our backs and not messing around by trying to attack each other. With one lap to go Louis went for an outstanding attack and tried to solo it to the win. This wasn't a surprise, as this tactic has worked for him in recent history, thus I decided to chase him down at once - there was no way I was letting that go again.

We briefly regrouped and I needed to pick my moment. Suddenly in the closing straight I heard my teammate George shout 'FINN! GO!' I had a 10 meter gap! Burying myself I did the longest sprint in the history of my cycling career! I put as much power as I could into my Raleigh... Up the Hill... Goooooo! I'd got it! 

Mid Season Review

The last 6 weeks haven't been the greatest in my youth cycling career. While my results haven't been fantastic I have learnt a lot.

I have had some Road races that I've really enjoyed but I'm yet to have a win in this season. However I've focused on other things like learning to attack and succeed in breaks during races for example. So to be fair it's not suprising. So far I haven't raced any national races, but I'm really looking foreword to race the Tour of the North West.

Photo by Cycling Photos by the Taceys

My Track racing was an extraordinary learning curve. All the way through my first 4 omniums I was progressing through the group by learning racing strategy thus improving my results. One of the major things that I learnt was that your equipment plays a major part in track racing. I mean, looking at the guys who are leading the races, their on £3000+ equipment. So in the final 2 events, I borrowed some track wheels and this greatly improved my results! I went from fighting for a single point to fighting for points on the sprints in the points race! A huge step up! Thanks a lot Geoff and Mike! My goals for each event were to successfully complete certain moves, so my 'wins' we're using techniques which I had discussed with my coaches.

Tour of Flanders 2016!

The Tour of Flanders. The first monument. A legendary race. 

This year The MI Racing Academy went to see the race and to ride the sportive. It was awesome! 

We made it up all bar one of the climes which was the Koppenburg due to loads of traffic!! And now I have a lot more respect for the people who win these monuments. There really hard!!

I was on my Raleigh Criterium Sport running the Cole wheels and Shwalbe Durano 28mm tyres at 90psi for extra comfort on the cobbles.

 

Tyre Pressure and Wheel Experiment

I bet we've all wondered what our ideal tyre pressure is. So I decided to find out what it really is. It's time to do an experiment!

Milton Keynes Series 2016

To kick off the 2016 Road Season Lotta and I raced the Milton Keynes Mini Series. This runs all the way through March consisting of 4 races. And is on the Milton Keynes bowl.

Photo Credit Elliot Haigh - https://haighphotography.smugmug.com

The first race went very well. I was animating the race with a series of attacks and on the 2nd to last lap I went with an attack off the front but got caught in the final 200m.

The second race didn't go so well, In the first lap I had a mechanical and that meant I was basically out of the race. However there were good points to take out of that race which was that I didn't panic when I had the mechanical and that I could still have a decent race after having a mechanical.

Race 3 was one of the best. I contested in the final sprint as the race was held together and that meant that I could use my sprint to achieve 8th. I think my new Raleigh bike helped quite a bit!

Race 4 was the race I enjoyed the most. It was really tough as there were attacks left, right and centre. But what really made the race for me was leading out my teammate George who got 2nd in the bunch sprint and 5th overall.

Raleigh Bike Opportunity!!!

One of the amazing things from last year's Road Racing season was that I won the Mallory Park Road Race League. With this came the opportunity to get a Raleigh Road Race bike. It was awesome!!!

Last Week, prior to my first road race of the 2016 season I picked up the bike. It was amazing to go to the Raleigh warehouse and meet some of the guys working there (and to pick up the bike of course!!). I met up with the two other winners and we were first introduced to our pride and joy for the up coming season (the bike of course!). 

The bike itself is amazing, it is a Raliegh Criterium Sport with Shimano Ultegra components and it runs beautifully. I'm really enjoying riding it and I can't wait to race it in the up coming season!!

After we received the bikes we had a tour around the warehouses, seeing the bikes on show and all the new models of Raleigh bikes. Then we had a professional photo shoot with one of the Raleigh photographers which was really exciting!! 

Here's Me getting my photo taken!!!

We're in the Back Page of the Loughborough Echo!!

The Loughborough echo published an awesome article about the team. 

See it here!

http://www.loughboroughecho.net/sport/other-sport/wymeswold-duo-signed-up-new-10865320

NDCXL 2015-2016 U16

As my beloved Cyclocross season is over. The time has come around for the annual NDCXL award night. 

The year anything could have happened for me, I could have been at the back and getting used to the  big step up in under 16's racing or I could be coming top 5 in some NDCXL races and top 25 in the Nationals. 

This year it was the latter of the two. From the start to the end I loved the Cyclocross season and also from the start al the way through to the end I was coming in the top 5 in NDCXL races and top 25 in Nationals. I was working really hard and everything was to show for it. 

By the end of the season; racing week-in, week-out and being consistent in my results, I got 3rd in the NDCXL!! And to go along with that I finished the season with a win!  Hopefully next year I will get several more.

What a season!! 

Lotta's AMAZING video of cooking on the rollers!

Lotta made this AMAZING video of her making cookies while she's in the rollers!  It's great fun - she's got skills!

The MI Racing Academy

As most of you know, I am joining the MI Racing Academy. This will be a big change and just what I need at the moment to keep improving.  My previous club Nottingham Clarion was brilliant and I loved racing for them but now I have new coaches and mentors as well as support from sponsors and Team Jewson.  I'm really excited to be joining the MI Academy and I'm really looking forward to be racing with my new friends and teammates.

Last week we had our team launch which included a bike fit at Midland Bike Fit. This was really fun, I enjoyed meeting my new teammates and learning what the Academy is all about.  

So far it's been great fun, but the real challenge is going to come when we're racing! 

You can find us here at: www.themiracingacademy.co.uk

My 9 Favourite Photos of last Year

I really enjoyed taking photos at races last year. Here are the 9 photos that I'm most pleased with. I hope you enjoy them! 

Welcome to 2016!!!

2016 has arrived!! This meant that there were only 4 Cyclocross races left of the season. For me there were 2 really important races. 

I'll start with part 1 of our racing saga. The National Championships in Shrewsbury. I have never run so much in a cycling race before!! This was one of the most challenging courses of the 2015-16 Cyclocross season and anyone that was to win here, was to win in style. Results-wise I came 25th which is my best national champs result to date. However I would like to mention the U14s winner Emile Alexander. He absolutely smashed it and was definitely a worthy winner, I say this because not only did he win by over 4 MINUTES!! but he also was the fastest rider in the whole youth category, when i say fastest, I mean if he started with the U16s he would have won that too by over a minute. An impeccable ride if you ask me.

Part 2 is of the final NDCXL league race, in Broxtowe. With all the wet weather in the past week it was quite surprising to see that the course was quite slippery and not as boggy and wet like it typically would be at this time. That fell into my favour as I prefer that type of course. now onto the race. From the start l was leading, getting the holeshot up the road. Then out of the woods I got a lead of 20 seconds. Every lap I pulled away from the Main Field by up to 1 minute and at the end my lead totalled of a whole 2 minutes. This was my first overall win as an U16 and the best way to finish the Cyclocross season.

Moda Forte Bike Review

Last Sunday I rode my new Moda Forte for the first time on the track. This was a Team Time Trial RSR (British Cycling Regional School of Racing) at Manchester Velodrome and was a perfect way to test this bike on a hard session but out of competition. 

It felt like a big step up from my club Dolan which I had pretty much outgrown.  Although both have an aluminium frame the Moda is more streamlined and comes with carbon forks.  It felt good straight away and only needed a few tweaks to make the ride perfect (dropping the stem for the ride I'm used to). It really is the whole package for the type of track bike that I need at the moment, with its American Classic wheels. The only things that I needed to change were the 44cm handlebars which felt huge (swapped for some 40s) and the sprocket, because I need youth gears.

I can't wait to race it.

http://www.moda-bikes.com/portfolioentry/forte/

Ghent 6 day 2015

Some of the Architecture in Ghent is amazing!

The Ghent 6 day. One of the world's most prestigious 6 day track races. This event attracts thousands of cycling crazed spectators from all over the globe into one velodrome in the centre of Ghent. This year I got the chance to visit this race for the first time with some friends... and boy was it exciting. Even hearing the blasting music from outside the velodrome got me excited to see what would happen inside! 

Chris Lawless

On the 2nd to last night Ilio Keisse (the local pro) raced to the win and managed to get the lap on the field that him and his comrade Michael Morkov needed to win this years event (pictured below). This was amazing to watch, all the crowd went wild at the move and it looked awesome. To be honest I'd love to ride on that track but then again wouldn't anyone?

Thanks to Tom, Vicky, Alex and Matilda for taking me!

This is the favourite photo that I took over the weekend
 - Ilio making a move

This is Ilio's move to take the win

Winner, Winner, Chicken, Dinner (my iccle wickle little sis, Lotta)

My sister Lotta had a brilliant weekend... I will let her tell you about it.

Hey guys,

So my first under 14's win, a big deal right? After having a great race at our home race in the NDCXL the day before (coming 2nd, my best result this season, only beaten by Zepnat's Ammo), I thought my weekend of racing couldn't get better, though obviously it could. I race again on Sunday on Lincoln. An up and down, twisty turny, long straight course suited me quite well as I could try to put the power down along the windy straights and put my good technical skills to the test down in the woods. I had a good start and in 2nd trying to stay ahead of an under 16 girl (Jessica Woodworth from Bourne Wheelers) but she was closing the gap I had on her.  Unfortunately she dropped her chain on the third lap leaving me wondering why she was so far back but also pleased as I had opened the gap up and I attacked again. Than it turned into one of my usual races of being on my own burying it to stay ahead. As the bell for the last lap started ringing I  knew I could hold on the 2nd place of all U16s 30s behind Isabel Darvil and 1st under 14 as long as i didn't muck it up by crashing or breaking my bike. Fortunately, I did it, I had won my first race, I was buzzing!  

Well done to anyone who raced!     

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

This bank was REALLY steep (Photo from Steph's Photo Page on Facebook)

HPP Sauce (Holme Pierrepont CX)

Last weekend the Mansfield family had a very busy 2 days. This was because we were doubling up on races with the NDCXL and Links League. Furthermore the NDCXL event was the Nottingham Clarion NDCXL event for this year! 

The NDCXL was a great event with an amazing and challenging course providing interesting racing when the weather took it's turn for the worst! (rain to say the least!!)


I've always enjoyed racing at my home grounds of Holme Pierrepont. Seeing the trees whip past when we race through Wildman Woods is always a fun section of when I race at HPP. This was an awesome race and I really enjoyed the course, after a couple of weeks of not feeling very competitive.  I was racing in a group of three with James Swadling and Tim Elsmore-Martin, it was very difficult and I needed to really dig in and attacked once to drop the first of them, and again to drop the second.  I was really pleased to secure my 5th place in the final positions, against some tough competition ahead.  Well done Toby Barnes who won... convincingly.

Team mate Calum on his way to his win in Juniors

Mallory Park Awards Night

A couple of weeks ago the Mallory Park Road Race League finished with me in the lead of the overall points. So now we've arrived at the annual Mallory awards night, we had a couple of very short, fast and fun races and the legendary mini bike race. But instead of bragging about what I'd won I would like to say some thank you's. So I'd like to thank my team mates Alfie Lofthouse and Will Beech from my club Nottingham Clarion, without you guys I probably wouldn't have won it so thank you guys it means a lot. I'd also like to thank my coaches but also my Dad for being my timekeeper, my encourager, my driver and my coach too, thanks a lot Dad. I may have to back on my not telling you all what I'd won but I think this can be an exception, so I'd like to thank the people who nominated me for the rider of the year competition this was really special because I didn't expect it, so thanks a lot you made my night. Also I'd like to thank the event organiser Mike Twelves, the commissaries and Mallory's sponsors Raleigh and Jewson thank you for making this happen, without you guys we couldn't be where we are today. It was great to have Ian Wilkinson the Raleigh GAC Team Captain handing out the awards. And finally it was awesome to hear Mick Ives reading out Nicole Cookes letter to all of us at Mallory Park and seeing Bradley Wiggins' video message to us I think between them they have 17 world championship titles. This was the best way to round off the road race season, I'll see you all next year in the U16's!!