Fan access to the Tour de France Femmes will be restricted on some sections of the route on stage 7 to Mont Ventoux, race organiser ASO announced on Wednesday evening.
The move comes after speculation earlier this week that the route of the queen stage may have to be altered due to wildfires burning in the departments of Drôme and Vaucluse, which the race is due to pass through.
ASO, in a joint announcement with the prefecture of Vaucluse, stated that several parts of the course towards Ventoux will be restricted to fans and hikers, with the Dentelles de Montmirail massif off limits, including the village of Bédoin at the base of Mont Ventoux.
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The restrictions are also in place on 7km of route between the summit of the day’s penultimate climb, the Col de Suzette, and the town of Malaucene, which lies 15km before the start of the final ascent.
The restrictions will be in place on both Thursday – during the Étape du Tour cyclosportive – and Friday, for the Tour’s queen stage.
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“While an extensive safety and emergency response operation will be deployed over both days in coordination with the event organiser, Amaury Sport Organisation, the Prefect has decided, due to the sensitivity of the area and the wildfire risk, to prohibit public access to the Dentelles de Montmirail massif. Only access to the Paty exemption area will be permitted,” ASO announced.
“Everyone is reminded that, under all circumstances, extreme caution must be exercised in forest areas that remain open to the public.
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“The following rules must be strictly observed: No smoking; no lighting of fires; and no driving or parking, even temporarily, on DFCI forest access tracks, which are reserved for emergency services.”
Despite the spectator restrictions, the stage looks to have avoided any of the potential re-routing requested by the Vaucluse department prefecture in the case of an extreme wildfire risk in the area.
Major wildfires have hit both the Vaucluse and Drôme departments in recent weeks, though the wildfire risk in the former, which plays host to the final 90km of the 146.8km stage, has been downgraded to ‘moderate’ since the request.
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“At a time when forest areas are at a peak risk of fire, the prefecture has asked the organisers of the Tour to consider an alternative route,” read a statement released by the Vaucluse prefecture last week.
“Following a fire risk assessment on Tuesday 4 August, an alternative route will be implemented should the wildfire risk be considered extreme.”
At the time, race director Marion Rousse confirmed that the stage would go ahead, with the final climb unaffected, saying, “What I can say is that the climb to Mont Ventoux will definitely go ahead, but there are several options in front of us and we will remain at the service of law enforcement and the state, and we will do what they tell us to do.”
That remains the case as the Tour de France Femmes’ first visit to the Giant of Provence nears, even if fans will be forced to avoid some small portions of the route.
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