Wine & Food of Le Tour 2021, Stage 5: Changé to Laval Espace Mayenne

Where are we? Having left Brittany, onto the Mayenne.

Changé:  Le Tour tells me that: The locality goes down in history under the Latin name of Cambiacus, then from the Middle Ages it was called Changeium. Around 1697, Miroménil wrote that the region only produced rye, oats and "Breton wheat". After the Revolution of 1789, several Changéens paid with their lives for their participation in the Chouannerie. The castle was built on the vaulted cellars of the ruined Priory - which had been sold as national property in 1790 - at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries. Until its acquisition by the commune in 1962 to house the town hall, this castle remained the property of the d'Elva family, of Piedmont origin, established in France under Louis XV, three of whose members held the position of first municipal magistrate for three generations, from 1813 to 1925. The old parish church of Saint-Pierre, in poor condition and considered too small, was demolished to make way for the present building, the construction of which began in 1869 and was not completed until ten years later. In the 18th century, Changé had six lime kilns, some of which still remain. Changé has known various industrial activities: as early as the 14th century, wash houses and cloth laundries in the districts of Bootz and Maillarderie (attached to Laval in 1863); later slate, stone and sand quarries; in the last century, a brick factory and a laundry-dyeing factory with a steam engine; since then, many companies have come to settle in the commune.

Laval Espace Mayenne: Let's see the sites: Château de Laval

The dynasty of the lords of Laval has been a part of French history: the town was for a long time the crossing point between the Île-de-France and Brittany. A thousand years ago, a first castle was founded on the current Place de la Trémoille, followed in the 12th century by a stone building on the rocky spur overlooking the river Mayenne. The keep then became a symbol of the town. The main tower, erected at the beginning of the 13th century, dominates the Mayenne River and the Old Bridge which spans it by more than 34 metres. The courtyard of the castle, which is freely accessible, offers a remarkable view of the main building, whose tufa windows are decorated in Renaissance style. Transformed into a prison during the 19th century, the castle has housed the Museum of Naive Art and Singular Arts since 1967.
www.patrimoine.laval.fr

Tour specialties:
Changé: honey from Changé, educational vine

Laval Espace Mayenne: Pommeau du Maine, Sabot de Pégase (chocolate), le M (cake), le véritable Trappe (cheese of the nuns of Laval)

Christian Prudhomme says: The first week of the Tour hadn’t offered such a long individual time-trial since 2008, year of the last Grand Départ in… Brest! Geography commanded to break an eventual litany of flat stages and this gift to the time-trial specialists shows our will to vary the scenario and reshuffle the established positions.

The stage: Hello, first time trial. This would be, as they like to say, a few races in one: a race for the stage win, a race to see if we would have a new rider in yellow, and a race between the gc riders to see who could gain or lose time. A time trial, for those new readers, is probably how most non-fans think of racing--one rider alone doing his best to make it to the finish line as fast as possible. They set out at timed intervals, so at least in theory, our solo the entire time, though in reality, they sometimes catch the rider in front or are caught from behind. 

Our early leader was Mikkel Bjerg (Den) UAE Team Emirates with a time of 33:01.

⏱
📹 The recce of the final 5km section of today's TT!

📹 La reconnaissance des 5 derniers km du chrono du jour !#TDF2021 pic.twitter.com/7CgLmxssIv

— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) June 30, 2021

An update from an earlier stage: the sign holder has been arrested. 

After a long time in the hot seat for Berg, Mattia Cattaneo (Deceuninck–Quick-Step) bumped him with a time of 32′55″ His time in the seat would be short as Stefan Küng came in at 32:19!

Coming soon were the gc riders and we were expecting to learn a lot about which were healing after early crashes. Speaking of, Roglic had gone out well. Geraint Thomas had not, but would improve on course.

Indeed, Roglic would finish only 25 seconds behind Küng, a good time for him under the circumstances. Thomas would come in down 59 to Küng. 

A little later, it was Pogacar on a great ride, looking like he could be riding into yellow. Also looking great. Wout Van Aert, another possible contender for yellow today.

The power that 🇸🇮 @TamauPogi has got to be putting through the bike 💥

Quelle puissance de 🇸🇮@TamauPogi !#TDF2021 pic.twitter.com/3sGBYt5yeu

— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) June 30, 2021

He would finish at 32.00, gaining 43 seconds over Roglic. To stay in yellow, Van der Peal would need 32:39. Van Aert in at 32:30. Yikes, Alaphilippe came in 33:11, 13th on the day. And, wow, Van der Poel did it, retaining yellow!

Stage Results

Pos.	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	Tadej Pogacar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates	0:32:01
2	Stefan Küng (Swi) Groupama-FDJ	0:00:18
3	Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Jumbo-Visma	0:00:27
4	Wout Van Aert (Bel) Jumbo-Visma	0:00:30
5	Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) Alpecin-Fenix	0:00:31
6	Kasper Asgreen (Den) Deceuninck-QuickStep	0:00:36
7	Primoz Roglic (Slo) Jumbo-Visma	0:00:44
8	Mattia Cattaneo (Ita) Deceuninck-QuickStep	0:00:54
9	Richie Porte (Aus) Ineos Grenadiers	0:00:55
10	Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz) Astana-Premier Tech	0:01:00
11	Mikkel Bjerg (Den) UAE Team Emirates	0:01:00
12	Magnus Cort (Den) EF Education-Nippo	0:01:06
13	Rigoberto Uran (Col) EF Education-Nippo	0:01:08
14	Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Deceuninck-QuickStep	0:01:11
15	Pierre Latour (Fra) TotalEnergies	0:01:14

The wine: Domaine Les Maisons Rouges Coteaux du Loir Blanc Dans les Perrons 2017

From Copake Wine Works

Chenin! From the importer: Domaine Les Maisons Rouges was established in 1994 among the vineyards of Jasnières in the Loire Valley.  This terroir was chosen for its great potential; its high quality soils, native grape varietals, and accessible land presented rich possibilities to Benoit and Elisabeth Jardin.  Initially encompassing a mere half hectare of red grape vines, the estate has now been expanded to 10 hectares of which 2 are planted with red grape vines and 5 with white.  This change took place with some difficulty, as the vineyards (composed of a great quantity of very old vines) had to be returned to a healthy, productive state.

When Les Maisons Rouge first began over 15 years ago, it was planted with several red grape varietals, including Pineau d’Aunis, Gamay, and Cabernet Franc.  Today, the domaine exclusively grows l’Aunis for its red wines and Chenin for the whites.

In 2002, the Jardins made the choice to practice organic agriculture for which they were certified in 2007.  At the same time, they began aging on the lees in oak barrels in order to obtain more complex wines with good structure and longer cellaring potential.  The goal of this aging method is to produce wines that favor the minerality of the terroir over the fruitiness of the grapes.

In 2009, the domaine became certified biodynamic under the Biodyvin label to reaffirm their commitment to viticulture that is respectful to the environment.  This method results in healthy grapes, allowing the winemakers to produce wines without the use of sulfur (except during unfavorable years and bottling).

Very fresh and pleasant to drink; blossom and peach aromas dominate, complemented by a distinct minerality and fresh woodsy notes.  This wine is round and creamy on the palate.

The food: I so tried to find one of these: The Pegasus hoof
A Mayenne speciality, the Sabot de Pégase (Pegasus Hoof), presented in a 380g box, is a chocolate sweet created by the pastry chef Moïse Derval as a tribute to his hometown. Indeed, Pegasus, the winged horse, is the symbol of Mayenne, a department known for its numerous stud farms and its renowned horse races. The Pegasus hoof is presented in the form of a half horse hoof and is available in white, milk or dark chocolate with hazelnut caramel.