{"id":142122,"date":"2016-08-01T13:50:45","date_gmt":"2016-08-01T13:50:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?p=142122"},"modified":"2018-06-01T12:40:40","modified_gmt":"2018-06-01T12:40:40","slug":"blog-whats-like-part-le-tour-de-france-winners-contest-thrilled-find","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2016\/08\/01\/blog-whats-like-part-le-tour-de-france-winners-contest-thrilled-find\/","title":{"rendered":"BLOG: What\u2019s It Like to Be a Part of Le Tour de France? The Winners of Our Contest Were Thrilled to Find Out"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thanks to \u0160koda AUTO, WeLoveCycling.com was able to offer 5 of our fans an all-inclusive trip to the 19th\u00a0stage of the Tour de France. And what a stage it was! The 146-kilometer-long route from Albertville to Saint-Gervais was certainly one for the history books. With one sprint and 4 deadly climbs, the stage looked pretty tough already, but the unpredictable weather made sure the action was properly wild.<\/strong>
\n<\/p>\n

A lot of riders crashed, including the man himself \u2013 Chris Froome. The overall winner of this year\u2019s Tour de France managed to get back on the bike again and chase the T\u00eate de la Course. But to the delight of all French fans, one man was just too far away. Romain Bardet gave the hosting nation its first stage victory in stage 19 of the 103rd<\/sup> Tour de France, and the crowd went absolutely wild.<\/p>\n

Looking back at the 19th<\/sup> stage, it seems it kind of had it all, and I\u2019m really glad our winners were there to witness it.<\/p>\n

\"The
The hero of the day.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve just won a place in the \u0160koda Hospitality Programme on the Tour de France!\u201d said the e-mail received by our five winners, and according to their own words, they just couldn\u2019t believe it. \u201cIt must be some kind of mistake\u201d, they said to me even as we were having the welcome drink at our hotel overlooking the white peaks of Mont Blanc.<\/p>\n

\"Riding
Riding with Stephen Roche? The very best way to start a day, indeed.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But soon things got very real. Later that night our winners met our celebrity drivers Tim Harris and John Robertson who drove them around during the whole stage, and even the triple crown victor Stephen Roche, whom they met again the next morning when he took them out for a ride.<\/p>\n

\"It\u2019s
It\u2019s all those little touches that make you feel like a true VIP.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The people from the \u0160koda Hospitality Programme went above and beyond to make everyone in the group feel like they were the kings of Le Tour that day, and it were the small touches, like your name on the \u0160koda Superb car, that made all of our winners feel like true VIPs.<\/p>\n

\"Our
Our winners Bence, Sergei, Paul, Volker and Steve were having the time of their lives.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Before the start of the stage, we were driven to the Village D\u00e9part, where everyone started to really feel the pre-race atmosphere. And as we walked through the \u201cpit lane\u201d, the perks of being driven by John Robertson and Tim Harris really started to show. Not only are they really funny guys, but they also seem to know literally everyone. Soon our winners found themselves talking to pros and some even got the selfies they always wanted.<\/p>\n

\u201cLook, it\u2019s Andr\u00e9 Greipel! \u201d said Volker, our winner from Germany, and in absolute delight showed us the photo with his national hero.<\/p>\n

\"Isn\u2019t<\/p>\n

Isn\u2019t Andr\u00e9 the nicest guy in the peloton?<\/p>\n

We had to keep moving, however, to stay in front of the peloton, so our cars soon rolled out. The drivers stopped next to a lovely meadow occupied only by one French RV and the couple next to it. They were somewhat disturbed by our fleet of \u0160koda Superbs, but that was nothing in comparison with all the helicopters that started flying and landing there a moment later. The true highlight of the day was finally here. The HELICOPTER FLYOVER.<\/p>\n

\"Flying
Flying in a helicopter over the peloton is something to be never forgotten.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We let the peloton go past with glasses of champagne in our hands and jumped in the helicopters right after. The pilots lifted off and soared over a nearby lake and the lovely countryside. We made one pass, then another pass above the peloton, and from the expressions on the faces of our winners, it was obvious that this was something truly special for every one of us.<\/p>\n

\"No
No smoking! \ud83d\ude42<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIt was absolutely unbelievable!\u201d said the guys right after we landed with wide smiles that stuck with them till the end of the day.<\/p>\n

After the flyover, our faithful cars and drivers took us to a prepared road-side barbeque before making our way along the rest of the course to the Club Tour de France right next to the 100-metre mark. By the time we got there, our arms were tired from waving at the cheering crowds lining the road. But it was worth it to see the thrilling finish of the stage.<\/p>\n

\"Romain
Romain Bardet was the hero of the day.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What else is there to say? Everyone had the time of their lives, met their heroes, experienced unbounded hospitality from the whole team, enjoyed local cuisine in a lovely hotel and brought home some unforgettable memories.<\/p>\n

There will be another contest next year, so be sure to take part in it. Our winners from this year certainly will.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Thanks to \u0160koda AUTO, WeLoveCycling.com was able to offer 5 of our fans an all-inclusive trip to the 19th\u00a0stage of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":142135,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[329],"tags":[411,473,433],"global-categories":[],"class_list":["post-142122","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-road-cycling","tag-contest","tag-romain-bardet","tag-tour-de-france"],"yoast_head":"\nBLOG: What\u2019s It Like to Be a Part of Le Tour de France? The Winners of Our Contest Were Thrilled to Find Out - \u0160koda We Love Cycling<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Thanks to \u0160koda AUTO, WeLoveCycling.com was able to offer 5 of our fans an all-inclusive trip to the 19th\u00a0stage of the Tour de France. 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