An interesting article on the ever brilliant PezCycling News on just how much it costs to have a stage of Le Tour in the neighbourhood:
http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/?pg=fullstory&id=4481
Do some quick sums, or rough estimates, and you’ll see that Le Grand Depart in London next July won’t have come cheap.
It’s also why the Tour doesn’t tend to head into the Massif Central. Auvergnats are the French equivalents of Scots: tight-fisted or “radin”, as the French would say. Which is a shame, because it’s a wonderful part of France and names like Puy De dome and Mont Dore are etched in the legend of the event.