Going to watch the Tour de France? Here are some cycle route suggestions from Strava

Taking in cobbles, climbs and, erm, Parisian motor traffic, these routes mapped out by Strava take you on (presumably) pleasant little loops on and around the race route.

There are 19 in all, typically from start or finish towns. Simple maths will tell you that not every stage is covered. They’ve instead tried to provide a couple of different route options – typically a short and a long one – from just a handful of bases.  

This being Strava, they of course point out that the proposed routes include “famous race segments where you can compare your time with the pros who have ridden the same sections such as Marc Soler, David de la Cruz, Robert Gesink, Adam Yates and Thibaut Pinot.”

Not entirely sure how Marc Soler got top billing there, but hey-ho.

Strava says the routes avoid busy and complicated roads and are designed to suit all riders. (The Paris one may be a bit more of a ‘making the best of things’ kind of affair – but that’s just our view. We’re sure the rest of them are nice.)

• Vendée (Short Route)
• Vendée (Long Route)
• Bretagne (Short Route from Quimper)
• Bretagne (Short Route from Mûr de Bretagne)
• Bretagne (Long Route from Quimper)
• Bretagne (Long Route from Mûr de Bretagne)
• Nord (Short Route from Roubaix)
• Nord (Long Route from Roubaix)
• Nord (Long Route from Saint-Amand-les-Eaux)
• Les Alpes (Short Route from Le Bourg-d’Oisans)
• Les Alpes (Long Route from Le Bourg-d’Oisans)
• Ardèche (Short Route from Vallon-Pont-d’Arc)
• Ardèche (Short Route from Valence)
• Ardèche (Long Route from Vallon-Pont-d’Arc)
• Les Pyrénées (Short Route from Lourdes)
• Les Pyrénées (Long Route from Lourdes)
• Les Pyrénées (Alternative Long Route from Lourdes)
• París (Short Route)
• París (Long Route)