Fanpoint brought the community together. From children to grandmothers, recalls the deputy mayor of Chroboly.

The beaming faces, lit up with smiles, of the overwhelming majority of participants in the Mountain L'Etape Czech Republic in August were the best reward for the organisers of the fanpoint in Chroboly, which was one of the top two fanpoints along the route of the event in South Bohemia. Despite cyclists having already completed nearly the entire distance and elevation of the challenging course, the enthusiasm of the fans from Chroboly gave them the energy needed for the final climb at Rohanov and the subsequent finish in Prachatice. "We hope to be on the route of the second edition of the Mountain Etape," says Deputy Mayor Martin Janoušek, not hiding the fact that the event under the Tour de France banner has driven the entire village wild.

"I would wish for every village to be included in the L'Etape route and then experience the same euphoria as we did. It showed that it's not just about a cycling race. For the village, it brought huge added value. Even three months later, there wasn’t a single person who complained," reflects the Deputy Mayor of Chroboly about the passage of the peloton of the Mountain L'Etape Czech Republic by Tour de France, which featured a thousand cyclists and the accompanying promotional caravan.

"The fanpoint we decided to organise really brought people together. Even residents who don't usually engage much in local events took part. Older people were even banging on barrels with sticks. Others brought small barrels with mallets and cheered for the entire afternoon. People we didn’t expect got involved. And I’m not even talking about the decorations we prepared and left along the road. We made it onto the map. Even three or four weeks after the L'Etape passed through, people from the area would stop me and say how beautifully decorated the village was," says Martin Janoušek.

Drawing was done in garages, even a farmer got involved

When he and the mayor attended an informational meeting in Prachatice in January, where cyclists would have their base before the start and after the finish of the stage in August, they weren’t fully convinced about organising a fanpoint in Chroboly. "I’m a big fan of the Tour de France. I was excited about the information we received. By the time we returned home, the mayor and I agreed to set up a fanpoint. We just didn’t know how people would take it. We were worried about whether we would find enough volunteers to help with the preparations. And also, whether part of the village might oppose it," recalls Martin Janoušek.

So, the Deputy Mayor prepared a presentation based on the materials from the informational meeting. "We invited the most active people from our village and surrounding areas to a restaurant and explained everything to them. Everyone reacted positively, they were excited. So, we left the presentation in the restaurant so that anyone could review it later and add their ideas," says Martin Janoušek. "The timing worked out perfectly for us as well, because we had no other events in August. L'Etape fit perfectly between the cooking competition for cauldron stews and the Marian pilgrimage."

During July, the main organisers of the preparations gathered, summarised the collected ideas, and decided which ones to implement. The task distribution began immediately. "For example, the giant banner made from bed sheets was painted by parents with two sons in their double garage on the ground. Another lady sewed a banner from bed sheets above the road and measured out its width and height herself. A local farmer provided us with bales of straw to build sculptures. He came about a month after the presentation, having heard about the L'Etape by Tour de France passing through the village, and suggested we create decorations inspired by the real Tour. He even brought a few photos for inspiration. He then provided the straw bales for free, as well as the machinery to transport them. More people joined in spontaneously after that," says Martin Janoušek.

Give the young people free rein...

Chroboly was then perfectly prepared. Despite having nearly a hundred kilometres in their legs and two thousand metres of elevation, the cyclists couldn’t help but smile. Many stopped, most exchanged high-fives with the fans, and others took photos while riding.

"We approached everything very thoroughly. We used Google Maps to get an aerial view and planned where to place seating for the beer drinkers, where the banners and straw sculptures would go. We wanted everything to be evenly distributed, but also not to escape the cyclists' attention," explains Martin Janoušek.

In the local restaurant, two-metre-long blank posters were also available for children to decorate as they wished. Since the date of the Mountain L'Etape fell during the second half of the summer holidays, many families in Chroboly took the opportunity to create cycling-themed drawings to fill their free time. This resulted in unique handmade decorations.

"During the preparations, we had to improvise a bit. For example, instead of a bike embedded in a bale of straw, there was originally supposed to be a large wheel. But we were running out of time, so we created an imagined scene of a cycling crash. We gave the local young people paints to highlight everything on the straw. They took the brushes and approached it very detail-oriented, even a bit roughly. Us older ones thought the result was morbid, but it definitely caught everyone’s attention and surely liked it. So, the rule is: if you want to do something crazy, it’s best to give young people free rein," says the Deputy Mayor of Chroboly with a smile.

The road was like a colouring book

The road through the village was lined with decorated old bicycles that were originally meant to be scrapped, which locals had been collecting in the recycling yard since the decision was made in January to organise the fanpoint. The surface of the road itself resembled a colourful colouring book. "We bought a lot of paints and also chalks. On Friday evening, we used paint to create the messages we wanted to remain visible after the L'Etape passed. Everyone who walked by, even if just for a beer, got involved. So, the road featured half-pints, flowers, basically anything our amateur artists could think of. Unfortunately, because of the rain, we couldn’t let the children draw with chalks in the morning before the race," recalls the Deputy Mayor of Chroboly about the final decorations for the passage of the Mountain L'Etape peloton.

The result of the fanpoint was unique. Both the locals and the cyclists had a great time. "The goal was for people to enjoy themselves during the L'Etape and experience the Tour de France event. We approached the fun not only through the passage of the racing peloton but the entire preparation process as well. I was really surprised. As was the mayor. We actually don’t know why even people who usually ignore local events got involved. Maybe they wanted to experience something new. To connect with the Tour de France. Around eighty people took part in the preparations. And I’m not even talking about the race day itself, when almost the whole village cheered," says the Deputy Mayor, still pleased even with some distance from the event.

In the vote for the best fanpoint, Chroboly narrowly lost. The winner was the Vyšný fanpoint. "They managed to create a huge fan atmosphere in a short stretch. Our road climbs, but after all, it’s an airport. So, if we end up on the L'Etape route again in the second edition, we’ll have to figure out how to create an even better and livelier atmosphere. But we’re not aiming for victory in the competition. It’s about how many people came and how the event brought them together—from small children to grandmothers. Everyone had fun. They were excited. They’ll definitely come again and want to enjoy the L'Etape."