France — the UK and Australian packagers selling France

The five operators below are not French-domiciled. They package French wine-region
cycling for UK, US and Australian buyers, and they are where the published price
grids and the read-across to Australian willingness to pay actually live.

11. Headwater — the best published price grid of any operator in the scan

• URL: https://www.headwater.com/ · trading since 1985, ABTA/ATOL,
  "the self-guided specialists". Founded 1985 by Richard and Christine Bass in
  Northwich, Cheshire; now part of the Travelopia Group, "a global portfolio of
  19 specialist travel brands". Scale: "more than 6,000 travellers annually
  across our portfolio of 300+ trips in 35 countries" [VERIFIED — headwater.com/about-us**]**.

Complete French wine-region price list [VERIFIED — /list/by-country/france/cycling.htm]:

• Single supplements [VERIFIED]: Classic Burgundy from £255; Champagne Wine
  Route from £500. Roughly 29–36% of the twin-share price.
• Inclusions (Champagne 5nt): 5 nights 4★, all breakfasts, bike hire included,
  bike fitting and briefing at the start, navigation app, luggage transfers
  between hotels. Excludes flights and insurance.
• SUPPORT MODEL [VERIFIED]: "Our local agent provides a free navigation app to
  guide you during your holiday." Support is via the local agent — Headwater
  subcontracts ground handling to a French DMC. [NOT FOUND] any van, response
  time, or emergency-hotline wording on the tour pages.
• [NOT FOUND] any mention of wine purchase transport.

12. Cycling for Softies — the sector's founding brand, and its most human support model

• URL: https://www.cyclingforsofties.com/ (cyclingforsofties.co.uk does NOT
  resolve — the live domain is .com.)

• Founded in Manchester in 1982 by Susi Madron — "40 years' experience".
  ABTA & ATOL, VAT No. 602 8114 79. UK 020 7471 7760 / 020 3944 3218, plus a US
  number (+1 833 518 1607) — they sell transatlantic.

• Now part of the Wilderness Group, alongside Wilderness Scotland, Wilderness
  Ireland, Wilderness England, Wilderness Private Travel and Ski Solutions —
  six brands [VERIFIED — /about-us**]**. See the Failures, Seasonality And
  Regulation chapter for the full corporate trail (the founder company was
  dissolved in 2016).

• SUPPORT MODEL — the most human-shaped in the sector [VERIFIED]: a
  Destination Manager per region.

  "Your Destination Manager is your point of contact in the destination. They
  are responsible for making sure that your holiday runs smoothly, to solve any
  issues that arise, and to share their local knowledge with you." /
  "Always just a phone call away."

  The same person is described as your bike mechanic and does the luggage run:
  "While you are cycling the route each day, a representative will take all your
  belongings to the next hotel – ensuring they are in your room by mid-afternoon."

This is the closest thing in the sector to the circulating-van person — but it
is one human per region doing bags plus mechanics plus problem-solving, and the
site never promises to pick up a rider. It is a roving person, not a roving
rescue. Worth noting that the role bundles exactly the three jobs the Cellar
Door Cycling driver would do, which is at least evidence the combination is
operationally coherent.

• Navigation app: Ride With GPS, named explicitly, downloaded after booking,
  turn-by-turn [VERIFIED].
• Typical daily distance: "around 25 km a day" [VERIFIED] — directly comparable
  to the proposed ~12-cellar-door loop.
• WINE LOGISTICS [VERIFIED]: "room in your pannier to pick up any goods you
  find in the beautiful towns and villages." You carry it. No collection, no
  shipping. Separately they run a "Wine On Us: complimentary box of two wines when
  you book before 31 August" promotion — wine as an acquisition incentive, not a
  logistics service.
• Pricing: the site does not publish per-tour prices — every tour page shows a
  "VIEW PRICES & DATES" button and a £25pp deposit to hold [VERIFIED absence].
  A third-party directory (Freewheeling France) quotes "From £1195" for 5- or
  7-night packages — [SECONDARY], not verified on their site.
  Burgundy season stated as April to October [VERIFIED].
• Accommodation: boutique hotels, contracted, many with pools. B&B or half-board.
  Hybrid and e-bikes, "fully serviced", e-bikes at "a small supplement".

13. Inntravel — the thinnest support model in the sample

• URL: https://www.inntravel.co.uk/cycling-holidays/france · founded 1984 by
  Richard and Linda Hearn, based in a converted barn in the Howardian Hills near
  York [VERIFIED — /about-us**]**. [NOT FOUND] current ownership, customer
  numbers, staff.
• French wine-region prices [VERIFIED]: Alsace Wine Route 6nt from £983
  (tour page shows £988 Aug 2026, £993 Sep–Oct 2026); Bordeaux & St-Émilion
  6nt from £1,278; Provence Avignon→Arles 6nt from £1,236; Loire Châteaux
  7nt from £1,511; Canal du Midi 6nt £1,295; Dordogne 7nt £1,481.
• Alsace inclusions: 6 nights, 2 dinners, 6 breakfasts, luggage transported,
  high-quality bicycle, route notes, GPS navigation. Excludes flights/transfers.
  E-bikes: "pricing confirmed at time of booking" — no published surcharge.
  Single supplements exist, amounts not published.
• Navigation: GPX tracks emailed 2–3 weeks before departure, plus printed route
  notes. No app [VERIFIED].
• SUPPORT MODEL: [NOT FOUND] — no local representative mentioned; contact by
  phone/email only. Essentially a booking-and-bags service.

14. UTracks — Australian-owned, and therefore the most directly comparable pricing

• URL: https://www.utracks.com/
• Burgundy Highlights 4-day self-guided [VERIFIED]: AUD $1,390pp twin share.
  Single supplement AUD $180. E-bike supplement AUD $160. Triple share discount
  −AUD $96. Includes 3 nights 3★ hotel Beaune, 3 continental breakfasts, digital
  pack with smartphone app + maps + roadbook + GPS tracks, 21-speed hybrid with
  helmet/pannier/lock/pump/repair kit, tourist tax, emergency hotline. Excludes
  travel to Beaune, meals, insurance (mandatory), guide, printed documents (extra
  locally).
• Provence Backroads 8-day [VERIFIED]: AUD $2,890pp. Single supplement AUD $1,100;
  solo traveller supplement AUD $1,170; e-bike supplement AUD $290. Includes 7
  breakfasts, 3 dinners, 7 nights 3★, luggage transfer max 20 kg, one piece per
  person, excess charged, hybrid bike, tourist tax. Excludes the handlebar
  phone holder, charged separately — a telling detail about margin discipline.
• Alsace by Bike 8-day: AUD $2,540pp (56 on-site reviews).
• SUPPORT MODEL [VERIFIED FAQ]: "our on-the-ground support staff are just a
  phone call away"; "we organise for your luggage to be transferred daily."
  Trips "require only two people to operate." Solo travellers pay a single
  traveller surcharge, distinct from a single-room supplement. App requires
  Android 11+ / iOS 16+; [NOT FOUND] the app's name.
  [NOT FOUND] any stated policy for a rider who cannot finish a stage.

UTracks is the cleanest read-across to Australian willingness to pay: an
Australian company charges AUD $1,390pp for 4 days / 3 nights self-guided in
Burgundy, with no van and no rescue promise. The Cellar Door Cycling working
price of AUD $189pp for a supported day is not expensive against that.

15. Discover France Adventures — the most explicit FAQ in the entire sector

• URL: https://www.discoverfrance.com/ · founded 1994, dual HQ: New York
  (55 E 59th St) and Mauguio, Hérault. ~40,000 guests over three decades
  [VERIFIED] — the only guest-volume figure any operator published anywhere in
  this scan. Bilingual offices in the Loire Valley and South of France.

Burgundy Wine Tour 5D/4N full price grid [VERIFIED] — the best-published
economics found:

Included: accommodation, daily breakfast, 2 dinners, hybrid bike rental, water
bottle + drawstring bag, mobile guidance app, roadbook, orientation meeting,
emergency support, luggage transfers, departure transfer to Dijon station.
Excluded: lunch, entry fees. "Starts any day of the year" — no fixed departures.

Other French wine-region pricing [VERIFIED]: Burgundy Beaune & Beyond 5D
€1,576; Dijon→Beaune 7D €2,175; Bordeaux Wine Tour 8D €2,011; Best of
Gironde 8D €2,331; Bordeaux & Dordogne 8D €2,714; Provence Classic 5N
€1,315; Gordes Provençal Escape 5D €1,589; Provence Deluxe 8D €4,580;
Provence Lavender & Vineyards 8D €2,929; ViaRhôna Vienne→Montélimar 5D €1,046.

SUPPORT MODEL — verbatim from their FAQ [VERIFIED]:

"Support vans are not available on self-guided trips."

"a dedicated phone number and a team of travel advisors available seven days a
week, from 9 am to 7 pm" — and elsewhere, support is described as during
daylight hours only.

For mechanicals they promise "to have you back on the road within an hour" —
the only published response-time SLA found in the entire international scan.

But: "riders must know how to fix a flat" themselves and "are responsible for
the bikes." Luggage moves "via pre-arranged transportation with the hotel" —
the hotel arranges it, not the operator's own van — bags out by 09:00,
delivered by 18:00. "We have never lost a bag."

WINE LOGISTICS — the only operator in France that addresses it head-on [VERIFIED]:

"we are happy to transport it for you if our transport is available, but
alcohol is your individual purchase."

On wine-tasting tours, carryout purchases are explicitly not included.
So: opportunistic, capacity-dependent, unpriced, and not a promise.

Single supplement rationale [VERIFIED] — directly relevant to the unit economics:

"a higher solo supplement is applicable to cover costs that aren't shared such
as bag transfers, orientation, etc."

They state outright that their support costs are per-van-stop, not per-person.
That is precisely the arbitrage the shared van is trying to capture — and here is
an operator naming it in their own pricing rationale.