Tour de France eve in Valenciennes
Lionel, Graham and François find themselves at Tadej Pogačar's hotel the night before the race
Tour de France Eve is Christmas Eve for cycling fans. The biggest race in the world gets underway in Lille tomorrow and our team is in north-eastern France reader for the Grand Départ.
François Thomazeau has made his way from his adopted home in Marseille to the city of his birth for his 36th Tour. Lionel Birnie (22nd Tour) and Graham Willgoss (3rd Tour) have made their way through the Channel Tunnel, along with hundreds of British cycling fans. They’ve collected their accreditations and have headed to Valenciennes, their base for the opening weekend, and are ready to go…
They recorded a pre-Tour conversation at a very agreeable hotel in Valenciennes, which turned out to be the base for the UAE Team Emirates squad, and the pre-race favourite Tadej Pogačar.
The Tour starts here…
Daily episodes start on Saturday after stage one. KM0 will be released throughout the Tour. Follow The Cycling Podcast in your preferred app to get episodes as soon as they are released.
Greg Andrews and the team at DVineCellars have released their Tour de France case of wines, celebrating the route of the 2025 race.
The case of six wines is on sale now.
Will be there a wine talk podcast with Greg from Dvine cellars? I've learned a lot from his chats