I'm considering going back to see the Ronde van Vlaanderen again in the next few years, but this time I would like to ride (part of) the course.  I had thought about doing the cyclosport, but I have to admit, sharing the road with a peloton of 20,000 riders is a bit daunting.  Can anyone tell me if the various hellingen ridden in the Ronde van Vlaanderen are open outside of that?  For example, if I want to make an attempt on the Koppenberg in the days before the cyclosport, is there any reason I can't (attempt, that is)?

While I'm asking, I may as well ask the same thing about the various pave sections of Paris Roubaix.  I know you can't, for example, drive on the Trouee d'Arenberg (and the cyclosport doesn't even go there, or didn't this year, according to the website), but could I ride my bike on it "out of season" so to speak?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Unfortunately, I was unable to go last year when many of the PdC crew went to see these races.  But I got to go this year.  Below the jump are some of the videos/pictures I took.

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So, I thought I had gotten a prime spot for watching the finish of the stage 75 meters from the finish.  I'd be able to see the riders come around the corner at just over 100 meters to go and then watch them all the way up to the finish line.  Then that dang cloud rolled in. 

Anyway, first, Contador & Schleck came by.

Because the cloud prevented me from seeing the finish (and because I wasn't paying attention to the announcer), I didn't find out who won for several minutes...

Anyway, next was Rodriguez, Hesjedal, SamSan, Menchov, & Gesink.

One nice thing about being at the stage finish is seeing the podiums after.  FIrst came Andy.

When Contador came out, I only heard one boo, but listening to the video, I think I hear a lot more than just one...

(forgot to zoom on that one...)

Also got a decent shot of Cance

And of Thor

I do have to say, I think I preferred the day on the Col du Soulor.  Partially because the weather stunk on the Tourmalet, but I think it had more to do with the barriers on the Tourmalet and the absence of same on Soulor.  On the Soulor (as at Alpe d'Huez a couple years ago), being right there with no barriers, you almost get the feeling you're a part of the race; not a participant in the race, obviously, but sort of like what we call the "12th man" in American football.  By contrast, being behind the barriers, I felt much more distant from the scene even though the riders went by probably less than 10 meters from me.  Of course, on Soulor, they went by probably no more than 1-2 meters from me...  Still a great time though.  Highly recommended.

Sorry for this being so late, I only just got the videos/pictures uploaded to my computer.  Also, the video quality is not great, as I had the camera to one side as I watched the riders go by, so my aim wasn't so hot.

Anyway, I went to the Pyrenees this year for the Tour de France.  The first stage I went to was Stage 16, where I was near the top of the Col du Soulor.  There was quite a crowd there even though this wasn't even the top of the Aubisque climb (probably due to relative ease of access).

First, the breakaway, containing Armstrong, came through.

Evidently, it's not possible for me to go the the Tour de France without at least one camera mishap, so I managed to avoid recording the Contador-Schleck group as it went by.  I did get the Evans group, however.

And the Grupetto.  Cav is particularly easy to spot here, given his placement.

Obviously, I didn't find out who won the stage until much later, but it was a good day and great fun. 

Btw, if you're ever at the Col du Soulor, this place is a worthy stop:

In a couple days, I'll post some videos/pics from stage 17 (Pau - Tourmalet).

and I hate to waste a post on this but I just noticed something interesting that I have not seen commented upon, either here or elsewhere, and it seems to me kind of big:

In Stage 2 of the Tour de France, there was evidently a split of some sort and Bernard Kohl finished 1'59" behind the peloton (which included Sastre and Evans).  Needless to say, if he could have that time back, he would have won the Tour de France (though, just as needless to say, had he not lost that time, the race probably would have played out differently).

Anyone know what happened to him that day?  Seems kind of strange to think that he may have lost the Tour de France that day and no one has said a word about it...

(results taken from http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2008/tour08/?id=results/tour082)

Better late than never, I suppose.  I just got back from France yesterday and didn't have access to a computer until today.  Anyway, I thought I'd share some of the photos I took of the now-famous Stage 17.

I stayed in a hotel in Huez-en-Oisans, roughly 5 km from the finish.  First, a couple of pictures to set the stage.  This one is from just above Virage 1.  The little village you see down there was where I stayed.

This one is from Virage 9.

Prior to the race, I did as Drew suggested and added my own graffiti to the slope of the Alpe.  This is just below Virage 6.

I haven't looked for it yet on my recording of the stage, but I suspect it wasn't visible because people were crowded in pretty close when the riders went by.  I imagine, at best, you'd be able to see the "di" and "fe".  Well, I tried...

Anyway, on the day of the race, me and thousands (anyone have any idea how many of us were out there?) of my closest friends were waiting with eager anticipation.

One way you can tell the riders are close is when you see or hear the helicopters.

Unfortunately, I had a camera malfunction when Sastre went by.  It's my great (albeit only) regret of the trip.  Nevertheless, I managed to capture the rest of the heads of state as they went by.

And, among others, Arvesen and Cancellara.

And le autobus.

(copied from video I took)

All in all, a great day, and very thrilling.  I echo Albertina in suggesting anyone who can go should go.  In fact, although I had thought of this going in as a once in a lifetime experience, I'm already thinking about going back again at some point (but first, I want to do the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix.  But that probably won't come off for a few years).

The depart the next day in Le Bourg D'Oisans didn't interest me too much, so, since I had rented a car, I drove ahead to a little town called La Cote-St-Andre which was on the course for Stage 18 to get an idea of the peloton in full flight.  Once again, I managed to screw that up, but I did get a video of the two leaders some minutes ahead of the peloton.

(copied from video)

Finally, I went up to Paris and kicked around there for a few days.  Of course, I went down to Place de la Concorde (well, near there, actually) to see the final stage.  I haven't seen much about it other than to see that Steegmans won the stage, and it appears to me from this photo he had a couple of leadout men in the last km.

Seriously, you've got to go at some point in your life if you're a fan of this sport.