OP might have been referring to the hours of police/officials/advertising caravan that precede the riders. You can’t just show up 10 minutes before the race pas

OP might have been referring to the hours of police/officials/advertising caravan that precede the riders. You can’t just show up 10 minutes before the race passes. On a typical mountain stage the roads are closed mid-morning so anyone who wants to see it either has to drive up in advance (up to a week on the really famous climbs) or ride/walk up on the day then wait for the aforementioned traffic to pass before seeing the race. But it’s okay: it’s a big party. You hang out with new friends, you wait for the media helicopters to appear, and then you see the riders, albeit briefly, producing inhuman levels of effort. Then you go home and watch the race for real on TV, happy with your day out. On flat terrain in the middle of a stage you might be able to just park up and wait for 30 minutes but you’d also be missing the spectacle surrounding the race itself.