On July 7th Montpellier will host the Tour de France, and the return of the team time trial. I found out the route somewhere online last week and went out to see how tough it’ll be for the lads. The riders will start at Place de la Comedie, the center of the city…
…race up Rue de la Loge and hang a left at this fountain (and our apartment in the distant background)…
…speed down Rue Foch and under our very own Arc de Triomph…
…then fly down a couple of avenues to get out of the city. Once they clear Euromedicine they’ll dive down into Grabels, a valley town that is fast becoming an extension of Montpellier itself.
After Grabels the road goes up a little steeply, through brush land.
And past the nearly-non-existent village of Bel Air.
Then they cross the highway, wiggle down a little hill and cross a valley…
…and climb rather severely up the other side, probably passing this guy on the way.
At the other side of the donkey the road takes a dip once again. I had the speedo up to 58 kph, which is suicidal for me. I’m guessing the pros will do a bit better than that. Here’s the hill looking back.
After this the route cuts south and hooks up with the D5. From here on in I’m sure it’ll be full throttle because, other than a tiny hill to get into the city, it’s totally flat.
And that’s that. The ride was much tougher than I’d imagined. Must warn Lance and Co!
The Vicious Cycle 
Thank you so much for posting this route! My fiance and I will be in Montpellier for the team time trial (he’s a big enthusiast) and this map was really helpful in figuring out if our hotel is anywhere near part of the route!
If you have any suggestions on a good place to be on that day to watch the cyclists, please share!
Hi Catherine. First of all, I really hope that route is correct! Next, for hotels (if you haven’t chosen) I’d suggest one in the city, since the TTT will leave and return there. But, I was checking a couple months ago and some were already booked out. Might be a good idea to get one reserved quickly. As for watching the race, I’d say anywhere central will be a mistake, unless you love crowds! If you have bikes then anywhere outside the town will be good, I guess. The last stretch coming back (on Route 5) is wide and flat, so I’m guessing you can get good views from along the side of that road. Maybe see you here!
Thanks for the tips! I thought we were too late to book a room, but (amazingly) there was vacancy for the night before and after the TTT at a well-rated B&B close to the center of the city.
Unfortunately we will not have our bikes with us. But maybe we’ll look for rentals!
For rentals check out VeloMag. The office is on the big street that leads up from the train station. Right side, near the tram stop. You can rent bikes for a couple euros a day, I think.