So allow me to present:
13 Real Places in 27 Stages
![Picture](/uploads/3/3/0/9/3309534/7999544.jpg)
The site of the first stage - a time trial - and the start of the second stage.
![Picture](/uploads/3/3/0/9/3309534/7527159.jpg)
The Parque Natural de Sintra-Cascais is where the time trial takes the riders before they return to Lisbon.
![Picture](/uploads/3/3/0/9/3309534/299877.jpg)
Stage Three ends here and Stage Four begins here.
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Where Stage Four ends, and where Abigail and Federico meet for the first time when he signs an autograph for her.
![Picture](/uploads/3/3/0/9/3309534/6167894.jpg)
Where Stage Five ends, and where we start to see the cracks deepening between Abigail and her husband, Charles.
![Picture](/uploads/3/3/0/9/3309534/3238106.jpg)
Site of the end of Stage Six and the beginning of Stage Seven, and a pivotal rest day in between.
![Picture](/uploads/3/3/0/9/3309534/3316439.jpg)
Stages Seven and Eight end and begin here, respectively. A nearby mountain, the Col du Tourmalet - which features prominently in the history of the Tour de France - has a role to play in Stage Seven.
![Picture](/uploads/3/3/0/9/3309534/2195131.jpg)
Where Stage Twelve's team time trial kicks off, and where Abigail takes a stand.
![Picture](/uploads/3/3/0/9/3309534/6139708.jpg)
Stage Thirteen ends here, with Adrie answering some of Federico's more, erm, delicate questions, and a team leader being (temporarily) sidelined.
![Picture](/uploads/3/3/0/9/3309534/9953828.jpg)
Stage Sixteen begins here, with Federico paying a surprisingly small price for breaking a team rule, and Abigail dealing with the unwanted interest of an admirer.
![Picture](/uploads/3/3/0/9/3309534/8696243.jpg)
Site of Stage Seventeen's end and Stage Eighteen's start. The rest day in-between proves...eventful, for Abigail and Federico.
![Picture](/uploads/3/3/0/9/3309534/9807731.jpg)
Stage Twenty-One ends here, after a massive crash which alters the race standings - à la the "Stockeau Massacre" event in last year's Tour de France.
![Picture](/uploads/3/3/0/9/3309534/79863.jpg)
A pivotal event happens on the descent of this mountain - an iconic climb which has featured in many Tours de France - and has repercussions for the race as well as for Federico and Abigail.
![Picture](/uploads/3/3/0/9/3309534/4743074.jpg)
14) Paris, France.
Like the Tour de France, the fictional Tour d'Europa finishes here, with a series of laps around the Champs-Elysees.
And there you are. Thirteen very real places where my fictional race takes place.
And yes, I'm having lots of fun researching this story.
And yes, sometimes it can be a bit problematic working out the logistics.
But you know...
Ciao for now!