Tentative Tour Dates 2008
With some spots already taken for 2008 Tours in Europe, tentative dates have been released. If there were changes to the dates it would be one or two days either side of the start and finish date.

I will confirm dates later in the year.

 The Tour of Italy (Giro d’Italia) is set down for 23 May pick up and 2 June drop off (11 nights).
Initially this tour will be restricted to 7 but may be extended to an absolute maximum of 14.

 The Provence Tour (max 14) (new for 2008) is a flat tour and will start on the 29 June and finish on the 8 July (9 nights). Mont Ventoux is a climb as famous as Alpe d’Huez and an opportunity to ride this will be made available.

The Pyrenees Tour (max 14) is set down for 10 July pick up and 19 July drop off (9 nights).

The Alps Tour (max 14) is set down for a 20 July Pick up and 30 July drop off (10 nights).

The Tour Down Under in Adelaide, Pick up is on the 19 Jan and drop off is the 28 Jan (10 nights).

If you do want to travel with us in 2008 start reserving early. All deposits for Europe Tours are refundable until the 1 December 2007.

Cycling Update & 2007 Tours

Time for a quick update on what is going on in the cycling world and how things are shaping up for next year.

New Zealand’s Greg Henderson has signed for T-Mobile giving us three NZ riders riding in Europe for a Pro Tour Team. Potentially we could have three kiwis at next years Tour de France! (Greg Henderson, Julian Dean and Tim Gudsell).

The most exciting part of Greg’s signing is he is one of the fastest road sprinters in the world and would be a “protected” rider in races he starts in, meaning he could be gunning for race wins in some of the worlds biggest one day races and for stage wins in races like the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia! (Tour of Italy) 

Just two days ago Greg was second in a major race in Australia behind Robbie McEwen the 2006 TdF green jersey winner.

Ivan Basso has now been cleared from the drug scandal that broke a few days before this years tour and it looks like Jan will be cleared shortly as well. We may yet get a showdown between these two great riders in 2007.

Our July race viewing itineraries for the Alps and Pyrenees tours will be e-mailed to everyone on the data base around the 29 October and we will post it on the website a few days later.

The Tour of Italy route is announced early November and our race-viewing itinerary will be e-mailed out around the 11 November. Interest in this tour has been high and should be fully booked shortly after the release of the itinerary.

This tour will stop in three locations, Bellagio a beautiful Italian village on Lake Como, Bormio in the Alps near the Swiss border and in Canazei located in the heart of the spectacular Dolomites.

The Giro is fast becoming the more popular of the Grand Tours due to it’s laid back atmosphere, less congested roads and fabulous Italian hospitality.   

Don’t forget if you ride the Armstrong Peugeot Harbour race on Saturday the 2 December you go into the draw to win a trip on the Alps tour 2007 (airfares included). Go to www.festivalofcycling.co.nz to enter on line

Again if you have any questions please feel free to contact us at info@kiwistylebiketours.co.nz

From the Kiwi Style Bike tours team
 

The web site is currently being updated and should be live by the end of the day (Wednesday). On the site you will see two new additions, the classic cols tour and the Grande Alpine Traverse.

The Grande Alpine Traverse is a little different from our standard tours. It is an 8-day, 6 stage cycling adventure starting from Lake Geneva and finishing in Menton in the south of France. It is 630km long and goes over 15 mountain passes (5 of which exceed 2000m alt). There will be one trip on next year scheduled to start around the end of June finishing a couple of days before the Alps tour. More detail on this tour and the new 9- night Classic Cols tour can be found on our website.

Our new website address is www.kiwistylebiketours.co.nz, using www.kiwibiketours.co.nz will also get you there. The old web address of www.letour.co.nz is still owned by us and will redirect you automatically to the new site for the next 12 months. 

We have also put a seat on the Alps Tour 2007 up as a spot prize at this years Armstrong Peugeot Harbour ride that is part of the Armstrong Festival of cycling 2006. The Armstrong Harbour ride is on Saturday the 2nd December starting from McCormack’s Bay Road near Redcliffs in Christchurch. The race follows the traditional "long bays" ride around the port hills and is set to become the most popular ride in the South Island. So enter the race and finish and you could be the lucky winner flying to France with us next year!! To find out more about the ride visit www.festivalofcycling.co.nz.

So have a look at our site, tell your friends and if you have any questions please contact us.

Richard Chris and Rawea. Email at info@kiwistylebiketours.co.nz.

CytoSport teams up with kiwis@letour
kiwis@letour are a Christchurch based company that provide spectacular tours with friendly, personal and flexible service. Follow the Tour de France through the magnificent French Alps and Pyrenees or stay close to home and experience our countries own beauty in the stunning South Island....  For further information and website link click here...
 

Customer Comments (2006 Tours):
Well where do I start I arrived in one piece and by the end of the tour I was battered and bruised, but had an awesome time. I cant speak highly enough of Richard, Ra and Chris. The tour was out of this world, the rides were breathtaking, the hotels were great, the people on the tour were great fun and of course seeing the Le Tour de France was a highlight. It was amazing at how close we got to the superstars of the tour, I had photos with Julian Dean and Magnus Backstedt so as you can read if you are thinking about doing a tour with kiwis@letour don’t think about it doing it,…do it!
You wont be disappointed I certainly wasn’t.
Thanks heaps guys see you in a couple of years for another awesome tour
Tanya Knapp

“Seeing the Tour de France was the most amazing experience. The trip exceeded all my expectations”

Ken Lord, Christchurch
“This is the best thing I have ever done"ws readers...we appreciate your ongoing support. THANKS!