Tourist guide

• ÉTAMPES
  Located between the city and the countryside, “Little Venice” was for a long time the place where kings got up to their more or less clandestine capers, having settled their mistresses there.
• CHEVREUSE (km 43,5)
  The château de la Madeleine, frequented by the poet Jean Racine, is now in the heart of the Natural Park of the Upper Chevreuse valley.
• SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES (km 49)
  This new town is especially famous for its Arcades du Lac, designed by the Argentine architect Ricardo Bofi ll.
• MAGNY-LES-HAMEAUX (km 49)
  The former Port-Royal des Champs Abbey houses a museum retracing the history of the site.
• PARIS
  The final stretch taken by the peloton provides an insight into the historic heart of the capital.

Download the tourist guide of the stage(6 pages, .pdf)

Download the complete tourist guide(113 pages, .pdf, 55 Mo)

The contribution ofChristian Binet, a comic-book artist, was especially infl uential in the success of the “Fluide Glacial” review in the 70s. He is best known as the writer of the cult series Les Bidochon, now totalling 18 volumes. He created the characters Robert and Raymonde in 1977 and lives right in Étampes.

“I ride my bike three times a week, just to warm up and for exercise, because, as an artist most of my day is spent sitting down. I am lucky to live in a really nice area, where we have small rolling valleys and little hills that are ideal for losing weight. I do not ride competitively, but rather for my health. The cyclists of the Tour de France, now that is a different world altogether! I could never picture myself pedalling every day for a month!

I personally love the Tour de France and its festive side. It is often mocked and portrayed as being a bit corny, although in fact, it is an event that brings together all sorts of different people. I once had the opportunity to picnic at the roadside and noticed that you could come across many people who are not even interested in cycling. I cannot think of any other popular celebration like it, at a time when sport is usually only about performance and money. The Bidochon family adore the Tour de France, it is their whole world. I have not yet been able to make them go cycling, because I have trouble drawing anything mechanical! But one of these days I am going to have a Bidochon book made elsewhere and we will definitely see them on bikes…”