Anyone know how easy it is to get close to the riders? Our youngest is keen to get Cav's autograph.
At the start of TDF stages the team buses are normally in a fenced area inaccessible to the general public. Most times the buses are parked near enough to the fencing that it's possiblle to wait there and the riders will oftern come over and sign things. When Cav was with HTC he was excellent at this and would make his way down the line making sure no one got left out.
Team Sky generally aren't so good. They will often stay on the bus as late as possible only to emerge when it's time to go and sign-on. Like most teams, this is particularly the case if the weather is poor (rain) or very hot.
After a stage, the buses are accessible (just parked in the roads close to the finish line) but at this point in the day riders just want to get on the bus so you'll have to be quite pushy to get in their way. If Cav has won the stage you'll have no chance as the bus will probably leave him to travel to the team hotel in one of the team cars.
Wherever you choose to try and get autographs, have a pen and something to sign, and make sure you and your youngest shout very loudly at whoever you want to come over as soon as they emerge from the bus. If it's Cav, shout "Cav" - not Mark. If it's Wiggo, shout "Brad". They are both very good at discerning British voices. If you see Dave Brailsford shout over at him and say your youngest would like an autograph. He's very good with punters and is really into the whole "inspiring the public "thing. Sky have two PR people, Fran Millar, (dark haired, will probably be behaving like she's above dealing with the public), and Nick Howes, young dark haired lad from Leeds (very friendly). It's worth shouting at them too - they're PR people so they are used to responding to random people calling out their name.
Good luck!