There was no racing in the Tour de France on Monday, but instead of the usual Grand Tour rest day, the riders, staff, and organizers faced the longest travel stretch in the race's history as they traveled south from Denmark, through Germany and Belgium, and into northern France.

The riders had it relatively easy, and the teams arranged six charter flights to Lille and Calais on Sunday evening after the third stage. While the majority of the teams used flights provided by race organizer ASO, Israel Premier Tech had the luxury of a private jet. [Oliver Naessen of AG2R Citroën told Het Nieuwsblad, "It's very easy. After the stage, you take a shower, get put on a bus, get on a plane, and watch a movie on board."

"All you need is your passport, helmet, and shoes, and you can train the next day. I thought I was flying on Monday, but by Sunday evening I was already there. As far as I know, I could have raced on Monday.

The trip was not without problems, however, as one of the three planes transporting the athletes broke down before departure. The affected athletes were immediately reassigned to three smaller planes.

Three staff members from each team accompanied the chartered trip, and the teams also had to plan ahead so that the athletes could secure the chefs and, in DSM's case, the bikes on Monday. The rest of the team's directional sportifs, soigneurs, mechanics, and press officers were forced to take the long way around.

In the 1998 Tour, the flight from Grand Depart, Ireland, to Brittany was about 300 km, about 100 km less than the Sunday flight distance; in 1998, the team equipment and race caravan were transported by overnight ferry from Cork to Roscoff. This time, the majority of the team and their equipment took part in a road trip of over 900 km.

Those driving the team's buses, cars, and vans faced more than 10 hours of driving before reaching France, but race organizer ASO provided a hotel in Bremen, Germany on Sunday night.

"We have been working on it for months," AG2R manager Vincent Lavenu told L'Equipe. 'It's not ideal, but we're getting used to it. We know how to deal with it."

Finally, five hours after the riders departed for France, Tour journalists took a direct charter flight arranged by ASO.

After this mass exodus, the teams were able to do their training rides on Monday. Team DSM was also able to participate in the recon of the cobblestone stage on Wednesday.

"There will be little fatigue after the first week of racing," said Thierry Gouvenoux, technical director of the Tour. 'Regulations dictate that there will be an additional rest day due to the distance from the Grande Pearl. So the riders will have some relief from the strain of the three days."

"The athletes will be able to rest and start again on a six-day cycle. They will be less tired when they arrive at the mountain."