Grand Depart

We will be meeting at our Belgian hotel at 13:30/1:30pm. Our hotel is ideally located in the south of Belgium and is a hotel that is often used by professional cycling teams. The hotel is a 3-minute walk from the Train Station Kortrijk with trains arriving easily from Lille train station and also the airport of Zaventem.

The cyclists in the group will receive help from your guides to fit your bike. Because we’re in the region of the famous Belgian classics like Tour the Flandres, Gent Wevelgem, etc., we will ride in that landscape during our warm-up ride and also ride a small section of cobblestones like in those classics. The ride will be approximately 25km and will be a great way to check your bike fit and will help shake off the dust from traveling.

The spectators in the group will have the opportunity to visit the Cycling Museum in Roeselare. A defining feature of the museum is the KOERS bicycle collection. This collection will cover how cycling and competitive cycling have developed from the early days to the present, the collection of 300-plus bicycles covers a total period of almost 200 years. We’ll end our visit in the cycling café with a cycling Belgiun beer or other refreshment.

Tonight we’ll enjoy a local and traditional welcome dinner in the hotel restaurant. In addition to meeting our fellow travel guests at dinner, we’ll go over the itinerary for our Grand Depart trip. Each guest will receive a gift from Custom Getaways. The cyclists will also receive a jersey and water bottle.

Welcome to Stage 1 of the Tour de France 2025!  Following breakfast, the cyclists will ride approximately 50-60km on rolling terrain. A portion of the ride will be on the official course as we head to our first VIP, the Relais Etape.

The spectators are in for a treat as their Belgian guide, Patrick’s area of expertise is WW1. The spectators will learn more about the surrounding areas and how they flourished or suffered during the World Wars.

The entire group will meet at today’s venue, Relais Etape. The venue is located along the course and serves an excellent 4-course meal for lunch. It also offers snacks, beer, wine, soft drinks, coffee and water. Once the race finishes, champagne will be served to toast the stage winner. Another nice feature of this venue is that it has TV’s to watch the race until the racers pass right in front of us. We’ll watch as the sprinters’ teams are likely to offer little opportunity to the breakaway riders, who will have to focus on the contest for the polka-dot jersey on the climbs of Cassel at km 106 and Mont Noir at km 139.7. The sprinters will take center stage on the final straight below the Citadel, located within the walls of Lille.

We’ll watch live as the caravan parade passes in front of our venue prior to the racers passing. The caravan pumps up the crowds with colorful floats and the tossing of small prizes. Each Relais Etape guest will receive a gift from le Tour.

Once the race finishes, we will head back to our hotel where you can explore the town and find a place for dinner with some of your new friends.

We’ll say goodbye to the town of Kortrijk as both the spectators and cyclists head towards the poplular town of Bruges, Belgium.

The spectators will enjoy a short, informative tour of Bruges before having the day to explore on your own. You’ll want to plan your day carefully as Bruges has a lot to offer, too much for just one day. Between canal tours, breweries, chocolate shops, Market square, medieval Bruges, Michelangelo statue ‘Madonna & Child’ plus much more, you’ll be sure to find the perfect day for you.

The cyclists will also be visiting Bruges but first they get to ride! We’ll start from the hotel in Kortrijk headed to Bruges. Through typical Flanders landscape and along a river, your 50 km ride will offer beautiful views on small roads. After your ride, you’ll have the afternoon in Bruges to explore.

Our hotel is ideally situated, just a 20 minute walk from Bruges Market Square. Tonight’s group dinner will be at the hotel where we compare stories about today’s ride and our best memory of Bruges.

Not only is Dunkirk the finish for today’s stage, it is also where we set our sights. We are headed to the finish line!

The cyclists will transfer to the start of today’s ride. After gearing up, we’ll ride approximately 50km on the official course before crossing the finish line in Dunkerque, France.

The spectators will visit Eperleques Blockhouse. The complex is home to the V2 rocket launching bunker which was built by the Germans in WW2. It is most impressive. After the Blockhouse, we will transfer to the finish line area and meet up with the cyclists.

Once across the finish line, we’ll tour the official podium and have pictures taken individually and as a group.  Today’s stage viewing will be in the Izoard VIP venue. TV’s are located within the Izoard venue where we will watch what the racers do to adapt to the weather following the climb of the Côte de Cassel. The final 35 kms will be exposed to the wind. Will it blow? And in which direction? The stage has been designed to encourage the formation of echelons, or, failing that, for a bunch finish near the Marcel-Tribut Stadium in Dunkerque. We will watch as the racers pass us live on the way to the finish line. This venue is a great way to see the race with snacks, beer, wine, soft drinks, coffee, water, TVs and private restrooms. Champagne will be served to toast the stage winner.

Following the race, we’ll be able to sit back and relax as we transfer to our hotel in the city of Arras. We’ll enjoy a group, farewell dinner tonight with local cuisine.

Good morning.  Let’s head to today’s start in the town of Amiens, France.

You will love the energy of the Tour as you’ll have access to the VIP Start Village with coffee, snacks, tour officials and merchandise tents. You will also be able to see the riders interviewed at the sign-in stage before they begin their 173km ride.

Another great feature of the start village is that you will have access to the team bus paddock. You can walk around the team busses and cars before the race begins. However, you need to be careful as the racers will ride around you to get to the sign-in stage and to the starting line…a really cool experience!

Once the racers depart, you can grab a quick lunch in town before jumping on the bus for a 2-3 hour drive to the CDG airport. We will drop the group at the airport, which also houses the train station and the Sheraton hotel. You’ll have the option of booking a night at the Sheraton hotel, which will give you perfect access to your flight the next morning.

Au Revoir!