Sunday, July 29, 2018

Wine and Food of the Tour de France 2018 Stage 21: Houilles to Paris Champs-Élysées


Where are we?
Houilles :A final first time stage city for our final day.
Houilles is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is a northwestern suburb of Paris, located 14.2 km from the center of Paris.
LeTour suggests a different kind of race: The International pedestrian Corrida de Houilles, is one of the most prestigious 10-km road running races in the world. Every year in the end of December, it combines a festive atmosphere with the highest level in the sport. In 2013, the race received IAAF’s international label and now holds two races, a popular one and an elite one. IAAF then awarded Corrida de Houilles a Silver Label placing it along the Top 50 road races on the planet.
LeTour Specialties: Multicultural cuisine  (Gee, thanks LeTour)

Paris Champs-Élysées:
LeTour specialities: French cuisine, more than 13,500 restaurants  (also helpful, LeTour)

 


The stage:  To Paris! The final day of the Tour is always strange: riders drinking champagne on their bikes in a sort of ceremonial parade, followed by laps around Paris and a very intense bunch sprint. 
For most of the day, it is that celebration:


 



 



 
 As they circled Paris there would be an attack after Sylvain Chavanel's honorary time on the front. He'll be retiring at the end of the year.
With seven laps to go, Silvan Dillier (AG2R-La Mondiale), Taylor Phinney (EF), Michael Schär (BMC), Damien Gaudin (Direct Energie), Nils Politt (Katusha-Alpecin) and Guillaume van Keirsbulck (Wanty-Groupe Gobert) were 24'' ahead of the pack. Nice to see Talyor Phinney, broken nose and all at the front. Bike issues for him finally resulted in a bike change. That was rather endless.


Nice to see Taylor make it back to that breakaway group.
Fifteen kilometers to go and that gap was only 20 seconds.
Hey, Alaphilippe with an attack. Doomed, but fun to see.
At the bell lap, all alone at the front Nils Politt. He would be caught quickly enough.
Time for the sprint. With so many of the big names gone, it would be interesting to see if an injured Sagan could pull it off. His team had certainly worked hard.
Late attack! The sprint was disrupted, but at the end: Kristoff.







The wine: Champagne Grongnet Carpe Diem Extra Brut NV
From CopakeWineWorks

From the producer, with some help from Google translate: In 1885 Edmond Grongnet acquires vines, then installs his press, always in his place of origin.
Since that time, 5 generations have succeeded each other at the head of the house, transmitting, like a ritual, the family know-how necessary for the elaboration of their champagne.
This wine, aged on a cork, gives rise to an extremely fine effervescence. The nose is both mineral and gourmand, complex.  The mouth is rich, structured. 

The food:  Honestly, choosing a food for Paris seems silly. But, for the record, I'm having a croissant. 

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