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Are there any good viewing venues for the Tour de France in Chicago? ... european cafes or bars that are open early.  I've heard tell The Map Room is open, any other suggestions?

 

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I don't know, but I'm excited to watch.  Any stages more exciting than others?

The stages that finish with big climbs (where the Yellow Jersey winner is usually determined):

July 14 (Thurs):  Luz-Ardiden

July 16 (Sat):  Plateau de Beille

July 21 (Thurs):  Col du Galibier

July 22 (Fri):  L'Alpe d'Huez

... and the time trial on the last day of the Tour, July 23.

Are you sure the tour ends on Saturday?

akagoethe said:

The stages that finish with big climbs (where the Yellow Jersey winner is usually determined):

July 14 (Thurs):  Luz-Ardiden

July 16 (Sat):  Plateau de Beille

July 21 (Thurs):  Col du Galibier

July 22 (Fri):  L'Alpe d'Huez

... and the time trial on the last day of the Tour, July 23.

Oops, sorry, yes, there is the final Champs-Élysées stage on Sunday the 24th.


The first stage this year could actually be exciting - it's not a time trial: http://www.steephill.tv/2011/tour-de-france/previews-results/stage-01/

 

I'm interested to hear about Chicago venues, especially for watching it live.  I caught the end of a stage in 2009 at The Map Room and would go back even though they don't serve a hot breakfast.  I understand they're pretty cool about ordering food in.

I plan on being at the map room tomorrow to watch the tour.

Map room opens weekdays 6.30am. http://www.maproom.com/index.html  Yes, I'd be interested in joining other Tour fans for a stage or three.

 

Stages I'd like to see:

Stage 13 0n Fri 15th - Pau to Lourdes.

I rode the Col d'Aubisque from the western side and then down in to Lourdes 30 years ago. By far the toughest day's riding I ever did - full bike camping load and with only a 10-speed bike, the lowest gear needed to be lower.

Stage 16 on Tue 19th - St Paul-Trois-Chateaux to Gap. Very familiar territory (but unfortunately very little cycling) here from my mis, er, well-spent youth over 30 years ago....

Stage 20 on Sat 23rd Grenoble Individual Time Trial. I lived in this wonderful city for a year. Map room opens at 7.30am Saturdays.

Looking at this link: http://www.letour.com/2011/TDF/COURSE/us/1300/etape_par_etape.html - 'time schedule' tab - can anyone interpret the start timing here? and what do the 41.0, 39.0 and 37.0 columns mean?

 

the 41, 39, 37 are caravan schedules.

TdfMapRmIMG_2991Was at The Map Room this morning with handful of fans and fans-in-training to watch Stage 14 this morning. They had no problem tuning our choice of TVs to Versus (DIRECTV channel 603) and putting the sound on so we could listen to Phil and Paul.

 

Had a tasty chocolate frosted cake donut, and their other baked goods look yummy as well.  They'll also let you bring/order in food, and have a vast collection of menus behind the bar.

 

Sad to say they don't open till 11am on Sundays, so watching live broadcasts of tomorrow's stage and next Sunday's finish are out.  Any suggestions for alternative Sunday view locations are welcome.

Brent Cohrs agrees as well about Stage 14 on his ChicagoNow blog.

 

And  what time (our time) does the race start tomorrow morning? Would love to watch it as well.

 


Kevin Anderson said:

TdfMapRmIMG_2991Was at The Map Room this morning with handful of fans and fans-in-training to watch Stage 14 this morning. They had no problem tuning our choice of TVs to Versus (DIRECTV channel 603) and putting the sound on so we could listen to Phil and Paul.

 

Had a tasty chocolate frosted cake donut, and their other baked goods look yummy as well.  They'll also let you bring/order in food, and have a vast collection of menus behind the bar.

 

Sad to say they don't open till 11am on Sundays, so watching live broadcasts of tomorrow's stage and next Sunday's finish are out.  Any suggestions for alternative Sunday view locations are welcome.

Steephill.TV' Stage 15 summary page gives an approximate finishing time of 10:17am, our time (CDT).

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