La Voie Bleue, stage 1: Hagondange → Metz
On stage 1 (Hagondange → Metz, 90 km) the best month is September: 80% of days were dry with highs of 10–30 °C; the wind barely favours either direction (0.2 km/h on average; ERA5 2006–2025, 9:00–18:00).
Weather by month
| Month | Good days | Rain days ≥ 1 mm | Rain, mm | Avg high | Days ≥ 30 °C | Days < 10 °C | Daylight, h |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6% | 27% | 74 | 5 °C | 0% | 88% | 8.6 † |
| February | 17% | 23% | 59 | 7 °C | 0% | 77% | 10.1 † |
| March | 44% | 24% | 59 | 11 °C | 0% | 46% | 11.7 |
| April | 67% | 25% | 50 | 15 °C | 0% | 16% | 13.7 |
| May | 71% | 28% | 72 | 19 °C | 0% | 2% | 15.3 |
| June | 69% | 25% | 67 | 23 °C | 6% | 0% | 16.2 |
| July | 67% | 21% | 61 | 25 °C | 13% | 0% | 15.8 |
| August | 69% | 21% | 63 | 24 °C | 11% | 0% | 14.4 |
| September | 80% | 19% | 66 | 20 °C | 2% | 0% | 12.5 |
| October | 69% | 22% | 71 | 15 °C | 0% | 10% | 10.7 † |
| November | 27% | 28% | 73 | 9 °C | 0% | 61% | 9.0 † |
| December | 8% | 27% | 82 | 6 °C | 0% | 83% | 8.2 † |
Best months are all months within 3 percentage points of the best one. † less than 11 hours of daylight — long stages get tight.
Wind by month
| Month | Wind Hagondange → Metz, km/h | Headwind > 15 km/h, Hagondange → Metz | Headwind > 15 km/h, Metz → Hagondange | Better way |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −0.1 | 13% | 13% | either |
| February | −0.1 | 14% | 13% | either |
| March | +0.1 | 11% | 11% | either |
| April | +0.2 | 8% | 8% | either |
| May | +0.3 | 7% | 8% | either |
| June | +0.5 | 6% | 8% | either |
| July | +0.7 | 4% | 7% | either |
| August | +0.5 | 4% | 6% | either |
| September | +0.2 | 6% | 7% | either |
| October | −0.2 | 9% | 9% | either |
| November | −0.3 | 12% | 12% | either |
| December | −0.2 | 13% | 13% | either |
Along the route (sections of about 25 km)
| km | Heading | Tailwind in September, km/h |
|---|---|---|
| 0–25 | NE | +1.5 |
| 25–42 | NE | +2.4 |
| 42–68 | S | −1.4 |
| 68–90 | S | −1.1 |
Other stages
- Hagondange → Metz 90 km
- Metz → Épinal 139 km
- Épinal → Port-sur-Saône 106 km
- Port-sur-Saône → Auxonne 119 km
- Auxonne → Chalon-sur-Saône 99 km
- Chalon-sur-Saône → Lyon 148 km
How to read the numbers
Wind is the 10 m wind of a 25-km grid cell, daytime hours 9:00–18:00 local solar time; at saddle height in a sheltered valley it is weaker, on a coast or ridge stronger. A positive value is a tailwind. ERA5 slightly over-counts days with ≥ 1 mm of rain (by about 5–7 percentage points) and underestimates daily highs by 1–2 °C. Good day = less than 1 mm of rain between 9:00 and 18:00 (riding hours, local solar time) and a high between 10 and 30 °C; rain at night or in the evening does not spoil it.