Tour director defends Tour de France hotel system after teams demand better standards
Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme has defended the race organiser’s hotel allocation system after riders and staff criticised the quality of their accommodation during the first rest day.
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Several teams reported problems including excessive heat, mould, insects and poor ventilation at hotels in the Massif Central. The complaints prompted calls for the Tour to introduce a minimum standard for accommodation throughout the three week race.
Prudhomme acknowledged that the hotels available in remote parts of France are not always luxurious, but insisted that the current system is designed to treat every team equally.
“If we want the race to visit beautiful parts of France and have beautiful stages, it means that sometimes there aren’t five star hotels everywhere,” he told French radio station ICI.
The Tour organiser, ASO, is responsible for booking and distributing hotel rooms for the entire race. According to Prudhomme, it must secure around 1,850 beds for every stage, including in rural and mountainous regions where suitable accommodation can be limited.
He said allowing teams to arrange their own hotels would risk giving an advantage to the wealthiest squads.
“We’re the only ones who can guarantee equality amongst the teams at the Tour,” Prudhomme said.
The allocation process is intended to balance hotel quality over the full race, as well as the distance teams must travel between their accommodation and each stage.
“At the end of the Tour, all the teams will have the same number of hotel stars,” Prudhomme said.
He added that ASO also aims to ensure comparable transfer distances and, during mountain stages, similar sleeping altitudes.
Teams react to hotel conditions
His comments followed widespread attention around Uno X-Mobility riders Tobias and Anders Halland Johannessen, who moved their mattresses onto a balcony after deciding that sleeping outdoors was preferable to remaining inside their hotel room.
The brothers shared images of the arrangement on social media, initially presenting the experience with humour. However, the posts also highlighted the limited control teams have over where they stay during the Tour.
Tobias Halland Johannessen later described the night as another part of the race’s unpredictable character, while noting that the balcony had offered fewer insects and more comfortable sleeping conditions than the room.
Alpecin-Premier Tech also raised concerns about its accommodation. Adrie van der Poel, working for Alpecin-Premier Tech, also shared with In de Leiderstrui the details on the unfavourable conditions that the Belgian team drew during the rest day.
“We bring our own mattresses and portable air conditioning units, but there were plenty of other things wrong,” said Van der Poel. "Mould, cockroaches, the food for the staff... The team arranges meals for the riders, but not for the support staff.”
General manager Christoph Roodhooft said the issue was not a demand for luxury, but a request for a reasonable minimum level of cleanliness, comfort and location.
Soudal Quick Step sports director Tom Steels similarly argued that teams would often prefer a longer transfer if it guaranteed better sleep and recovery.
“I think a team would rather drive an extra hour after the stage to get to a good hotel than sleep poorly somewhere close by,” Steels told Sporza. “Every team deserves a good hotel on the rest day. I see that as a sign of respect, and it ought to be the golden rule.”
Although the teams’ demands are understandable, Prudhomme insists that the Tour’s route and logistical demands leave organisers with limited options.
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