What's the point of attending a Grand Tour Bike Race in person?

If they are traveling that far, they are also going there to do some riding ahead of the race so they get to experience parts of the course for themselves. The races start after noon, so you would have plenty of time to ride some of the climbs, watch, and ride back to your where you're staying.

I haven't been to Europe, but I once was an excited teenage bike fan who went to watch Hinault and Lemond riding the Coors Classic when it had some California stages.

Mountain stage and time trials can be worth it. You see many riders one after the other one, and it's slower (for mountains) so you see them for a longer time. You might even see a Pogacar or your favorite climber alone, after an attack or breakaway.

On the opposit, flat stages, even more so towards the finish line, are very disappointing; You wait hours to see 10sec and you actually don't see anything since it's like cars passing a 40mph and there are so many people that you can't get a good point of view. Don't take your kids there. They will be upset after seeing nothing.

The exception is the last stage of TdF at Champs Elysees. That is really worth a trip to Paris.

People do it for a few days of drunk camping and partying. The atmosphere and the fun are bigger draws than seeing the peloton whiz by. The Dutch fans always seem to be having the best time.

Exactly the reason. They get to a mountain day before it closes for the race. Ride a bike down and up in the morning. Set up to watch the race on TV with nearby campers. Get out on the road to see live action. Get back to the TV to watch the rest. Having fun all day long.

In the mountain stages, the peloton can be stretched out for a long time.

It's a great time - partying, talking to people from other countries and sharing drinks with them, etc. The French, Spanish, and Dutch women are also very friendly. It's much better than being in the infield for something like the Indianapolis 500 and you're a lot closer to the action as well.

Almost like going to stand on the sidelines of the Boston Marathon...

Make a large omi opi sign and flash it at the tv motorbikes as they speed by

Of course you don't know it because you've never been there.
It's more than "10 seconds of the peloton passing you".
It's the experience of going to a hill with your own bike or a van and other friends.
Spending the whole day in nature, socializing, and not at your f****** home wasting time in social media of forums.
Moreover, the greatest stages, there are parties over there, people of many nationalities and backgrounds go there, drink, dance, sing.
But again, of course, how would an ignorant basement rat like you know it?

Roadside partying with strangers and I'm sure it's not aired but someone is mooning the cyclists.

No. It sucks. Don’t go ever go to a bike race unless it is a time trial or loop.

Well said by you and others.

I spent time riding from the Jura mountains into the Alps in the summer of 1996. I was at stage 6 when the weather started getting bad and experienced the tour and the culture of cycling. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life. I walked my bike up a few of those hills in the Jura mountains and then Alps and kind of understood when Indurain and others bonked a few days later. I got back to Paris two weeks later to watch Riis' coronation and the victory lap taken by the finishing riders.

I've been to many track and field and cross country world championships and worked the NYC marathon many times and the Tour De France of 1996 is my most memorable experience.

Can you not make the leap in your mind and imagine why?! I’m worried about you.

France, the Alps, the scenery. The food and wine.
the chance to ride on amazing roads. watching super athletes, etc.

most tourists these days travel the world to stand in the same spot they saw the famous instagram photograph and take their own lousy photo without walking around to really experience it. Going to, say, the Tour de France, you see the nearby towns and countryside, have context for the epic (and steep) mountain climbs, and can see 700 year old architecture. Plus, it’s vacation!

imagine traveling with the diamond league and getting to run/hang out on all of the famous tracks. Or play on famous golf courses. It’d be cool.

lol

It's the atmosphere, the whole experience. Getting there, finding your spot, talking (a francais) to the other spectators, then seeing, yes for 15 seconds, multiple groups go by - the breakaway, the peloton, the grupetto. My parents and brother went and saw two stages a few years ago and had a great time. I hope to go and see a stage or two one of these years.

It’s a three week traveling party. Or it’s passing through your village so you and the family watch the race go by. Or you’re a climate change “activist” so you glue yourself to the road.

Here are some of the reasons a normal person would LOVE to see a grand tour stage:

• introduce my whole family to the spectacle of sport (I bring my kids and they love it)
  
• trip to Europe with all the amazing towns and cities "off the beaten path"
  
• trip to Paris for the final stage (we stood outside the Louvre and watched like six laps)
  
• camping in the Alps to watch a climb = camping in the Alps!
  
• looking into the eyes of the riders as the struggle up a 10% climb and realizing what depths they'd go to for a chance at cycling glory
  
• tons of swag from the girls on the sponsor caravan. My kids loved all the free stuff they got in the parade like hour before the race came through.
  
• connecting physically and personally to an historically important event like the Tour or the Olympics makes those events more meaningful for me
  

p.s. There are different kinds of stages. I have watched a TT from the start house (which was amazing), Alpe d'Huez (as a freakin' TT which was the best stage ever), twice the finish in Paris, and a alpine descent (stood on a corner as they ripped past at 50 mph). All of those were great. The only stage that was a waste of time was standing on the side of a flat road as they blew past. That was not very much fun.

Being in the mountains for the business end of the race is such a cool feeling; there's an anticipation when you start seeing the official vehicles and police motos and can look down and start spotting the break. But the groups after are a ton of fun as well, the riders just getting to the finish have some time to show off and wave to the crowd or if you're Peter Sagan hit a wheelie riding up 8%.