2019 Tour de France 'Sunflower to Pyrenees' Tour

2019 Tour de France ‘Sunflowers to Mountains’ Pyrenees Tour

2019 Tour de France ‘Sunflowers to Mountains’ Pyrenees Tour Join us for a holiday extravaganza right in the heart of Southern France and the picturesque Pyrenees ! to witness the spectacle of this world-class event up close and personal.

Mountains

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We promise a terrific blend of mixing it with the PRO PELOTON while making sure you conquer some mountains ! of your own including the breathtaking Col du Tourmalet.

Along the !! way you will stay in beautiful 4* star accommodation and we limit our transfers to just two lodgings.

Ensuring you spend more time on the bike and sightseeing and less time packing and unpacking your suitcase. Your accommodation has been carefully chosen to ensure ‘close to the action’ locations and ! superior quality, making sure it’s not just about the bike.

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Now more PRO than ever you will be ‘treated like a PRO by the PROS’ all while catching the exciting first mountain stages of 2019 edition of Le Tour de France. Ride at your own pace with peace of mind knowing you are! supported at every pedal stroke, with unsurpassed support from the experienced PRO CYCLING TOURS team.

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Our Tour de France ‘Sunflowers to Mountains’ holiday has been carefully designed to take in several stages of the race! including a stage start where you get to see and meet some of the PROS, an exhilarating stage finish, a heart stopping KOM sprint and more. The remainder of the time spent taking in many of our favourite back-roads, ! classic climbs and quintessential French villages including exploring the beautiful city of Toulouse and surrounding towns plus not forgetting the beautiful Pyrenees mountains.

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You will conquer the ultimate climbs in the Pyrenees including the Col du Soulor, Col d’Aubisque and Col du Tourmalet, ! and soak up the indescribable excitement of actually being right in amongst the tour action as it snakes it’s way through and over one of the most stunning backdrops in France. Riders of all levels enjoy our cycling holidays, because they know they are fully supported and we offer ride options.

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For our !guests who are not riding on this tour you will be offered a smorgasbord of sightseeing activities as well as getting to see places off the tourist track as well as naturally getting up closer than ever to the PROS.

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DATES:

14 – 21 July 2019

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PRICE:

$ 4,750 AUD

GROUP SIZE:

14 guests with 4 professional staff

START:

Toulouse

(Train station or International Airport)

FINISH:

Lourdes

(TGV Station)

CONTACT:

info@procyclingtours.com

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(8 days / 7 nights)

DAY 1

WELCOME TO LE TOUR DE FRANCE

Your arrival to France will be heralded with a fabulous festival and fireworks display. Ok, maybe not only for your arrival but also for la Fête Nationale or as you may know it, Bastille Day. Depending ! on your arrival time, we will collect you from Toulouse Blagnac International Airport or Toulouse TGV train station and take you to our 4 star hotel ! conveniently located on the edge of the old town.

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Once checked in, your PRO CYCLING TOURS team will be on hand to help re-assemble your bike or introduce ! you to your hire bike.

In 2019! we will upgrade to a brand new fleet of amazing road bikes to help you climb even the most challenging ! of mountains.

As well as our new road bikes, you have the option to rent one of our new to the fleet E-BIKES. ! on our hire bikes at the end of this itinerary.

Full details To complete your arrival, you will receive our exciting ! new welcome pack, which includes not one but now two full sets! of our BRAND NEW DESIGN PRO kit. After all, you need to look the part when you’re riding amongst the worlds ! best PROS. Depending on how you feel, we will go for a ride along ! the canal to stretch out the legs. The bike path along the picturesque canal takes us as far as we like, a great way ! to get to know your fellow guests and the PRO CYCLING TOURS team.

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Toulouse is a vibrant city, full of wonderful architecture, ! fine restaurants, open squares and pedestrian only streets where you can shop to your hearts content. ! will also host a stage start and a stage finish, Toulouse so we are in the prefect location to fully experience the excitement ! that is Le Tour de France.

Tonight !we will enjoy getting to know each other over a fabulous welcome dinner at a superb restaurant (one of our guest’s ! favourite) in the heart of the old town.

RIDE

2.5 hours / 50km / flat

STAY

Toulouse - 4* star hotel

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14 JULY

DAY 2 SUNFLOWER FIELDS AND A STAGE FINISH Today is! our first day catching a glimpse of the tour. The

15 JULY

PROS will have a gruelling day ahead of them with a grand

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total of 218kms to cover in today’s stage, but it will be flat so they have nothing to complain about.

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We have it a little easier today with a 75km mainly flat and

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easy ride planned to see todays action packed stage finish in the stunning city of Albi, with its magnificent and iconic !

cathedral. It is a very pretty ride with plenty of opportunities to stop for one or two of those quintessential !

Tour de France sunflower field photos.

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After our delicious buffet breakfast we will leave direct from our! hotel. For those not wanting to do the whole ride,

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you can choose to start a little closer to Albi.

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For our non-riding guests today, we suggest you take the

! in the vehicles directly to Albi and explore this easy route lovely town with festivities in full swing. Or you may simply

wish to ! stay and relax and explore the lovely town of Toulouse.

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Tonight we will enjoy another fantastic meal together,

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chatting about any PROS we met and chatted to or got autographs and photos from and what the next few days

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before the mountains have in store for the PROS and us.

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RIDE

80km / 3.5 hours /undulating

SLEEP

Toulouse 4* star hotel

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DAY 3 WE RIDE WHILE THE PROS REST For the !PRO peloton today, they deserve a well-earned rest day after yesterday’s epic stage. This is a fabulous opportunity for ! us to explore the picturesque surrounds of the beautiful southern Occitanie region of France and take in our very first ! climb of the tour.

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We will leave our hotel this morning by van to our start location for our ride. Following a nice warm up of about 25km we arrive ! at Mazamet and commence our 17km assent of Pic du Nore, which at 1211 metres is the highest point in the Montagne !

Noire region.

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It’s your chance to put your bikes and your fitness to the challenge today. On the way you will climb over 1000mts !

(3200ft) to reach the summit with an average gradient of 5.7% there are a couple of sections at 9% - so nothing too ! taxing.....yet.

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For non-riders today you can be chaperoned in the vehicle and enjoy the ! route less travelled to the top of Pic du Nore, and enjoy the breathtaking vistas. Or perhaps be driven to the village at the base ! of the climb, Mazamet, where you can spend the morning exploring before the riders arrive early afternoon.

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Of course staying in Toulouse today is another option. You might like ! to spend the day in a spa getting a relaxing massage or simply take some time out to go shopping and explore.

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There will be plenty on in Toulouse today with the set up of tomorrow ! stage arrival underway.

This evening you will have an opportunity to dine at your own ! leisure in one of the many terrific restaurants in the old town of !

Toulouse.

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RIDE

70km (45mi) / 4hrs / 1300mts gain

SLEEP

Toulouse 4* star hotel

16 JULY

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DAY 4 ACTION PACKED STAGE FINISH ! are perfectly positioned to watch the exciting Today we stage finish into Toulouse. Before we watch the final

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heart-stopping rush of the bunch finish in the centre of town we will take one last ride amongst the sunflowers ! ahead of our farewell to Toulouse tomorrow.

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After another fabulous and filling breakfast we will take a very scenic ride ! to one of France’s ‘les plus beaux village de France’ or simply put one of Frances prettiest villages.

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We take time to savour the relatively flat ride today, one of the last !before we head to the mountains of the Pyrenees.

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You can opt to again ride straight from the hotel for a generous 70km (45mile) ride or for the shorter option today,

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we will begin our ride a little closer to our destination.

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For today’s non-riders, we suggest you take the opportunity to explore ! our lovely destination village of Bruniquel. You will be taken there by van and will have most of the morning to enjoy a !leisurely stroll and enjoy a pastry or two at the local boulangerie.

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The village is a picturesque mixture of old pink stone and red

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tile with a dramatic belfry, medieval gateways and defensive walls. Two feudal medieval castles dominate the village and

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the valley, one of which is the Château de Bruniquel.

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Or you may wish to stay in Toulouse today for a final day of

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This evening you will have the opportunity to dine at your

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leisure and perhaps have a quick chat to one of the many PRO riders staying in town.

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RIDE

70km (45mi) / 3.5 hrs / relatively flat

SLEEP

Toulouse 4* star hotel

17 JULY

DAY 5 READY‌SET‌.ALLEZ We have! a well-deserved relaxed start to the day with the morning free to meet many of the PRO riders and watch

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them warm up and sign on for todays race.

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Today is your opportunity to ask for that photo or signature and walk! amongst the team busses. A stage start is a fabulous insight into the machine that is the Tour de France. !You will be right in the thick of the action to grab many of the trinkets and souvenirs thrown out at the

! the tour sponsors. The caravan has grown so crowd by much over the years that it now takes well over 45 minutes!for the parade to pass.

! gun has sounded and the riders have departed, Once the you will have the opportunity to take in a light lunch before

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we depart by van for our ride start location a short drive away at the foothills of the Pyrenees Mountains.

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Our ride will be a nice rolling one through the foothills of

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the Pyrenees with only a few pinches, just to make sure you realise ! you are approaching the mountains.

On our !arrival to newly refurbished 4 star hotel on the rivers edge in Lourdes, we will be sure to watch the final kilometres ! of the first mountain stages of the tour live on TV with a refreshing beverage in hand.

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Tonight we will enjoy another delicious hearty meal at a fabulous! nearby restaurant.

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RIDE

3 hrs / 50 km (35mi) / rolling foothills

SLEEP

Lourdes 4* star hotel with river views

18 JULY

DAY 6 COL DU TOURMALET- PAVING THE WAY FOR THE PROS Today is !the day many of you would have been waiting for – to conquer one of cycling’s holy grails, the mighty Col du

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Tourmalet.

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Having featured in the Tour de France more than any other Col (some 80 plus times and again tomorrow with an exciting

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summit finish) the Tourmalet is considered one of the more challenging ! UCI climbs in Europe. Not so much due to it’s

gradient, but more so being due to its consistency, which seems to zap the ! legs over it’s 18km (11mi) length up to an elevation of 2115m (7000ft). Save something for the last kilometre!

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We will have the option to leave by bike this morning, taking in

! to Argeles, presenting the perfect warm up before the bike path gradually climbing up the gorge to the base of the Tourmalet at Luz-Saint-! Sauveur.

You will !be cheered on all the way by fellow race enthusiasts who have lined the climb in their campervans in preparation for

! stage. Once at the summit of the Tourmalet, it’s an tomorrow’s exhilarating descent back to Luz Saint Sauveur and often the

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best way to truly appreciate what you have achieved is descending the way you came up.

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After a great lunch stop in this charming town, and time and

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legs permitting, a second climb of Luz Ardiden awaits us – with it’s uncanny ! resemblance to Alpe d’Huez, in the Alps and with 15km (9mi) at 7.5%, this is a true climb on it’s own!

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Those not riding today have the option to explore the unique town of Lourdes.

Or why not hitch a ride to the top of the climb, ! and soak up what are long considered to be the finest view of

! Pyrenees. And as expected, if the sun is shining today, the entire you will be simply left awe-struck.

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Today you can ride as much as or little as you like, for those up

! for the double, you’ll be sure to enjoy your sleep tonight! !

RIDE

3 – 6 hrs / 40 – 100km (24 – 62mi) / mountains

SLEEP

Lourdes 4* star hotel with river views

19 JULY

DAY 7

WATCH THE PROS CONQUER THE MOUNTAINS !

Today we will again conquer another epic ride in the Pyrenees. We will reach the top of not one but two summits today. Our first, the Col du Soulor is a superb and picturesque climb. It will be the first major climb of the day for the PROS before they race to the summit finish at the top of Col du Tourmalet.

Todays ride departs from the hotel after breakfast. We make our way to the base of the Soulor via a pretty riverside bike path and at the base of the climb we will stop for an energising coffee before our assent begins.

Col du Soulor is long and very pretty climb. A 19km (12mi) climb the average gradient is about 5.2%. But don’t let the first 12kms (7mi) fool you, the last 7km (5mi) have an increased average with a few kickers at 10%. At the top there will be plenty of KOM Tour excitement to ease the pain in the legs.

For those wanting the second Col under their belt, we can continue a further 10kms to the summit of the beautiful Col d’Aubisque. Together with the Tourmalet and the Galibier, the Aubisque is one of the great legendary climbs of the Tour de France. From Col du Soulor it’s a very gentle incline of only about 4%.

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We then head back to Col du Soulor to watch the PROS cross the summit for their first KOM for the day, before we head back down to watch the last final KMs of their race to the top of the Tourmalet live on television.

Tonight we will share in plenty of laughter amongst newfound friends over a delicious meal and flowing drinks as we bid a final farewell to the Pyrenees and Le Tour.

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RIDE

3 – 6 hours / up to 85km (53mi) / 2100mts (6900ft) gain

SLEEP

Lourdes 4* star hotel with river views

DAY 8 AU REVOIR PYRENEES AND LE TOUR ! bid farewell to what has been an amazing Today we holiday and the 106 edition of the Tour de France through! southern France and the majestic Pyrenees Mountains. th

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We will provide any assistance disassembling and ! packing your bike or remove your pedals, garmin etc from your hire bike.

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For our guests continuing with us onto our ALPS & !

VIP FINALE TOUR in Paris, we will be transferring after breakfast to the incredibly beautiful ancient ! village of Uzès, (which also happens to be where PRO CYCLING TOURS headquarters are located, as well as ! home to Frances Best Bakery and the best market in the Languedoc). We will be based here for the next 4 ! nights.

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For our guests planning on staying a little longer in the area, ! we are more than happy to assist with any add-on accommodation or transport advice.

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For our guests leaving Lourdes today, we will arrange transfer! to the nearby TGV station.

And finally ! our opportunity to thank you for entrusting us in taking you on a journey through sunflower fields and mountains in this beautiful region of France for ! this, the 106 edition of Le Tour de France. th

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We look forward to welcoming you back very soon.

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Happy travels.

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DEPART

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Lourdes TGV station

21 JULY

WHAT MAKES THIS TOUR SPECIAL !

!We guarantee more inclusions, more support and the best professional service you will receive on any cycling holiday especially on our Tour de France holidays.

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Slumber in splendid 4* star accommodation throughout this holiday AND we only change locations twice which means more time riding and exploring and less time spent in vehicles.

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Delicious and filling buffet breakfast on ALL mornings.

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Dine on 5 mouth-watering three to four course meals showcasing the local cuisine and served with local wines and beverages.

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Explore some of France’s most amazing ‘off the beaten track’ scenery.

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Witness live the stages of the Tour de France including two arrivals, one depart and an exciting KOM.

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All transfers from the moment you arrive at Toulouse for the duration of the tour to the moment you depart, in our modern and comfortable vehicles. We use smaller vehicles and not large coaches to afford more personal support and quicker transfer times.

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Ride some of the world’s classic climbs in the Pyrenees including Col du Tourmalet, Col du Soulor and Col d’Aubisque.

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Visit and explore some of France’s most beautiful charming and picturesque villages and ride stunning quiet back roads.

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Flexible ride options each day - ride as much or as little as you like. With peace of mind knowing you are fully supported all the way.

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The owner of PRO CYCLING TOURS creates and personally hosts your holiday experience along with a dedicated team of experienced professionals.

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Smaller group sizes to ensure you receive uncompromised service. With 4 professional staff for a maximum of 14 guests (hands down the best ratio in the industry) you always receive the PRO treatment and you are never left without support. We are with you all the way.

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Multilingual guides and professional mechanic service including daily cleaning and maintenance check of your bike.

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Modern, fully equipped, air-conditioned 9 seater vans with WI-FI connectivity, portable showers, change rooms, entertainment systems and more.

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Pre holiday coaching and advice from a former PRO Tour de France rider and current PRO RIDER coach. The support you need to get the best out of your cycling holiday.

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At PRO CYCLING TOURS we are dedicated to making your holiday with us one of your most memorable.

You receive the PRO treatment from the moment you contact us to well after your holiday has ended.

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Our professional Soignier support includes transfer of luggage, expert handling of your bike and taking care of all the finer details so you don’t have to think about a thing.

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Photography by PRO CYCLING TOURS. We provide you with hundreds of precious memories of your holiday, before you leave for home.

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Detailed printed ride maps and colour itinerary.

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2 sets of PRO CYCLING TOURS PRO style quality riding kit (new exciting design coming in 2019).

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On road supplements including energy bars, drinks, first aid and vehicle support throughout your ride and the day (not just at the start and finish).

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Quality and new season road bikes or E-bikes for hire. All bike hires INCLUDE full set-up, professional helmet, ALL spares, two drink bottles, qualified mechanical support and plenty of gears to get you up any climb.

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PLUS plenty more PRO CYCLING TOURS extras to surprise you along the way

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HOW TO FINALISE YOUR BOOKING To guarantee your place(s) on this tour, simply register and confirm your booking by way of a $1,000 AUD deposit through our 2019 TOUR DE FRANCE SUNFLOWERS TO MOUNTAINS PYRENEES Tour Page at procyclingtours.com Final balance of tour payment is due 3 months prior to tour start.

For any questions please feel free to email us at info@procyclingtours.com and remember to visit our FAQs page for all trip inclusions, bike hire details etc.

For full terms & conditions please refer to our website www.procyclingtours.com.

SINGLE ROOM GUARANTEE All tour cost are based on twin share. We will match you with a same sex partner. If you are travelling alone and prefer not to share a room or bathroom facilities, we can provide you with your own room.

At an additional cost of $1200 AUD you will be guaranteed a private room with private facilities.

You can select this option at time of booking with a deposit to guarantee the room for $200 AUD.

GLOBAL TRAVEL ASSIST WITH IZAWAY PRO CYCLING TOURS is proud to provide our guests with dedicated and specialist worldwide travel assistance. IZAWAY is a travel company specialising in custom travel - but what sets them apart is their amazing personalised service. They make your travel easier and save you time and money while delivering a seamless travel experience. IZAWAY can assist you with: - Travel planning pre and post tour - Flights and other transport bookings pre and post tour - Hotel bookings outside of tour dates - Travel insurance for US residents Contact owner Isabelle direct at isabelle@izaway.com

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HIGH END ROAD BIKE HIRE or E-BIKE HIRE

In 2019 we have upgraded our fleet of hire bikes to the latest high-end road bike PLUS introducing a limited number of E-Bikes. For the duration of this tour hire cost are: $ 550 AUD for Road Bike $ 950 AUD for E-Bike Hire bike costs includes: !

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New carbon road bikes with small gearing OR E-bike Professional new season helmet, sanitised and safety standards approved Two new water bottles - yours to keep after the tour Safety saddle bag with multi-tool, spare tube, leavers and gas canister Qualified mechanical support- including daily check and clean of your bike All and any spares (if required i.e. tubes etc.)

As a unique PRO CYCLING TOURS benefit, we offer Theft and Damage Insurance for complete piece of mind for an additional $150 AUD for your road hire bike or $250 AUD for your E-Bike hire. Alternatively we require a valid credit card at time of booking to cover the $6000 AUD for the road bike or $8000 AUD for your E-Bike should your hire bike be stolen or damaged outside of our normal terms of use.

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Contact us at: INFO@PROCYCLINGTOURS.COM *Itinerary subject to change at any time without notice *Full terms and conditions visit www.procyclingtours.com

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