The 102nd Tour de France is just around the corner taking us as every year through the diverse and stunning landscapes of France in the height of the summer sun. For three weeks, from the 4th – 26th July, France’s beautiful countryside is on spotlight on TVs around the world. Crowds will gather for this event, which attracts a massive 10 to 12 million spectators from around 40 different nationalities who will line the streets of France to celebrate this national event with real international dimensions. The Tour is broadcasted to almost the entire world, 190 countries, and to add to its international dimension this year the tour will start off in Utrecht in The Netherlands. It will then travel via Belgium into France.
For those of you who don’t know the tour is broken down into stages of around 150km. The total length is around 3500km through France’s diverse countryside including flat, hilly, mountainous and high-altitude stages as well as the individual time-trial stage. This year the first 9 of the 21 stages of the tour cut across the northern part of France so in this case from Utrecht all the way to Vannes on the west coast of France. From Vannes the cyclists accompanied by their team and enormous logistics travel to La Pierre Saint-Martin in the French Pyrénées from where they cycle all the way to the Alps crossing the beautiful scenery of southern France.
TDF history
The first ever tour was hosted in 1903 with the objective at that time of increasing the sales of the sports paper l’Auto, the editor who was himself a prominent cyclist. It is the oldest and considered the most prestigious of the three-week cycling events, which also include other similar endurance events such as the Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta, a Espana. The paper launched its first five-day cycling event on 19 January 1903 with 15 participants. The first of the tours were open to almost all including private entrants as well as teams with different rules for each class of racer. The race certainly achieved its objective and the paper’s circulation rose from 25,000 to 65,000 and by 1908 a massive 250,000 reaching its height in 1933 with a circulation of 854,000. The tour took place every year except during the two world wars.
The international dimension of the TDF is not a recent addition but dates back from the 1954 when Amsterdam hosted the start of the race. The race has had many international starts including Belgium, Germany, Spain, Luxembourg, Ireland, The Netherlands, Monaco and the UK last year from Leeds.
Host city, Rodez
Out of the 21 stages of the tour, only three towns can claim to be the host as an arrival and a departure point. They are Rodez and Mende in southern France in departments Aveyron and Lozère and Saint-Jean de Maurienne in the Alps. 400 cities and towns bid for the privilege of hosting the Tour with only 20 stages, 21 including Paris where the Tour traditionally ends since 1975.
The city of Rodez is tucked away in the Midi-Pyrénées in the department of Aveyron. Rodez is the prefecture of Aveyron right in the heart of the department. It is situated almost equidistant between Toulouse and Montpellier in south-west France and only a couple of hours drive from the Spanish border. Rodez is dominated by its grey-pink gothic cathedral, which can be seen from afar and certainly from the tour’s helicopters filming the event.
Rodez will be host for the arrival of the 200km stage number 13 from Muret near Toulouse to Rodez on Friday 17th July. The next morning the cyclists depart from Rodez for the 14th stage taking them to Mende. The city of Rodez is no newcomer in hosting the tour. It has already been host in 2010. This year the town hall has promised Rodez and all its visitors “deux jours de fête”, “two days of partying” with its traditional 14th July firework display being pushed back to coincide with the tour’s festivities on the Friday evening. Naturally the town of Rodez is delighted with this exceptional exposure thanks to the tour’s major international diffusion but also for the excellent economic activity brought to the department. Hotels, restaurants, terraces will be bursting at their seems more than usual for what is already peak season. Another important highlight for Rodez is the exposure to its latest cultural pride and joy, notably the musée Soulages. The museum opened its doors in May 2014 and has attracted a record number of visitors from all over the world. The museum dedicated to Pierre Soulages, who is still alive and painting at 95 years old and is the most well-known contemporary French artist in the world. His art work is displayed in over 90 museums including the Tate in London and the Guggenheim in New York. Soulages donation is displayed at the museum as well as a temporary exhibition hosting national and international contemporary artists. Definitely worth the visit if you are coming to Rodez.
Property Market
Rodez is traditionally an agricultural department boasting a variety of character properties including barns, farmhouses, master houses and châteaux built from solid stone. Many former farms have been abandoned and are now converted into family homes with outbuildings. Often the outbuildings are converted into additional living space, guest areas or gites where one could earn a steady income. Rooftops in Aveyron are made from a traditional stone called “lauze” which gives a very aesthetic fish-scale affect. With the favourable exchange rate this is the right time to invest in the area. The area is served by Rodez, Toulouse and Montpellier airports.
Nav Vilain
Marketing Director at Selection Habitat
+33 5 65 70 10 49