Thursday, July 15, 2021

Wine & Food of Le Tour 2021, Stage 18: Pau to Luz Ardiden

Where are we? Climbing in the Pyrenees.

Pau: A stage town for the 73rd time!  So, we've been here before.  Michelin tells me that: Pau is the birthplace of Henri IV and wears its royal past in a discreet and refined manner, as shown by this château. Located at the gates to the Pyrenees, it is steeped in nature, which lend life here its pleasant quality, as sought by the English in the 19C. Their contribution to the city was a love of horses and the sumptuous villas of the Trespoey neighbourhood. Today, with its "Horizons Palois" project, Pau is set to play its trump card and distinguish itself with dynamism. 

Luz Ardiden: A ski resort in the Pyrenees. Let Tour tells me that: This sunny village, situated at an altitude of 711m in the heart of the perched villages of the Pays Toy and the most beautiful listed sites in the Pyrenees (Gavarnie, Pic du Midi, Cauterets Pont d'Espagne and Lourdes), is appreciated for its cultural heritage as well as for the character of its traditions. Victor Hugo wrote: "This village, they named it Luz, which means light", when he stayed in Luz-Saint-Sauveur in 1843 in front of the church.

Le Tour specialties
Pau:  garbure, poule au pot, foie gras, magret and other dishes derived from duck and goose, honey, coucougnettes du Vert Galant (roasted almonds coated in dark chocolate and raspberry marzipan), Verdier chocolates, Francis Miot jams, "Russe" (almond cake and praline cream), ossau-iraty (cheese), wines (Jurançon, Madiran, Pacherenc).

Luz Ardiden: PDO Barèges-Gavarnie mutton, garbure (peasant soup), pastet (typical dish of the Pays Toy made from buckwheat flour), blueberry tarts and pies, spit cake, craft beers from the Pays Toy.

Christian Prudhomme says: Dense, tense, selective with the climbs up two giants of the Pyrenees: the Tourmalet and Luz Ardiden, where the verdict of the final mountain battle will be known. The climbing type leaders will have to find a way to gain enough time in the GC on those who are better in time-trials.


The stage: The last mountains and they went big.
And look, Alaphilippe in the break.
That group would stay away for quite a while, eventually reaching the main course of today's stage.<
As they climbed the Tourmalet, a group of Valentin Madouas, David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ), Omar Fraile (Astana), Ruben Guerreiro (EF), Pierre Latour (TotalEnergies), Kenny Elissonde (Trek-Segafredo) and Ion Izagirre (Astana)  caught the two remaining leaders, Alaphilippe and Mohoric.
Four kilometers from the summit and it was a group of four, Latour Alaphilippe, Gaudu and Guerreiro. As they climbed Alaphilippe would drop and be quickly absorbed by the peloton.
Result at col du Tourmalet with polka dot jersey points, something that only a few of these riders actually cared about. 
1. Pierre Latour, 20 pts
2. Gaudu, 15 pts
At 25’’ :
3. Guerreiro, 12 pts
4. Poels, 10 pts. (88 total)
5. Fraile, 8 pts
At 35’’:
6. Woods, 6 pts. (72 total)
At 50’’ :
7. Van Aert, 4 pts (68 total)
8. Vingegaard, 2 pts
Next up was a dramatic descent. 
Behind: Twenty five kilometers to go and Poels, Latour, Guerreiro and Fraile were 45'' behind Gaudu with the peloton at one minute. Twenty kilometers to go and the peloton had reached the chase group.
As they reached the climb, Gaudu was twelve seconds ahead. The yellow jersey group had been large, but it was shrinking rapidly as they climbed. Under ten kilometers to go and they caught Gaudu. 
Would attacks come?
The remaining riders in the lead group were Tao Geoghegan Hart, Jonathan Castroviejo, Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers), Rafal Majka, Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates), Sepp Kuss, Wout van Aert, Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma), Dan Martin (Israel Start-Up Nation), Enric Mas, Alejandro Valverde (Movistar), Wilco Kelderman, Emanuel Buchmann (Bora-Hansgrohe), David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ), Guillaume Martin (Cofidis), Sergio Higuita (EF Education-Nippo), Ben O’Connor (Ag2r-Citröen), Alexey Lutsenko (Astana), Wout Poels, Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious). That group would continue to shrink.
Eventually attacking, Pogacar! Going with him were Carapaz, Kuss, Vingegaard and Mas. After a final attack, coming in for the solo win, Pogacar.
Stage:


GC:

The wine: Domaine Ilarria Irouléguy Blanc 2018
From the importer: One of Iroulegy’s longstanding producers is Peio Espil at Domaine Ilarria. In fact, until 1990, he was one of just two independent producers in the appellation, which was traditionally dominated by the cooperative. Peio grew up in the region, a descendant of multiple generations who also inhabited the white stone house where he currently lives and works with his wife Lucie and their two boys. In this part of the Pyrénées, where the mountains begin to lose altitude as they weave their way toward the north of Spain, large domes of green grass cover the mounds—more so than snow that covers the granite peaks seen further east. It is a bucolic setting, with hundreds of sheep grazing the hills and where elongated white houses with red tile roofs dot the countryside.
A blend of 60% Petit Courbu and 40% Petit Manseng from limestone soils, with a skin-contact maceration for the Petit Manseng, followed by malolactic fermentation and aging in tank and (sur lie) in barrel for the blended wine. A pleasantly round wine, this dry white is marked by tropical fruit notes. A highly ageable white, it can be paired with the regional cheeses as well as chicken and pork dishes.

The food: le Ruuse recipe from Meilleurduchef

Ingredients for 6-8:

  • For the Russe biscuit:
  • 125g tant pour tant
  • 25g flour
  • 40g milk
  • 5 egg whites
  • 25g sugar


1 Before starting this Russe recipe, make sure you have organised all the necessary ingredients.
2 Combine the tant pour tant, milk and flour together with a wooden spatula.
3 The preparation should have a soft consistency.
4 Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt, until stiff peaks form.
5 When stiff...
6 ... add the castor sugar...
7 ... and continue whipping for 10 minutes.
8 Add 1/5 of the egg whites to the soft preparation...
9 ... to make it more liquid and homogeneous.
10 Pour the liquid preparation over the rest of the beaten egg whites...
11 ... and combine gently, using a rubber spatula.
12 Pour the preparation on a baking sheet (40 x 30cm), slightly greased...
13 ... and lined with baking parchment, slightly greased as well. Spread the preparation with a cranked spatula.
14 Sprinkle the whole surface with icing sugar.
15 Preheat the oven to 180°C (gas 4) and bake for 10 minutes.
16 The biscuit should rise a little and remain soft. Make sure you do not overcook the biscuit.
17 When cooked, remove from the oven. Cut the biscuit in two identical parts.
18 For an easier assembly operation, you can use an expandable frame Set the frame to the dimensions of one biscuit half.
19 Using a pastry scraper, scoop the crème au beurre. The amount of praliné used will vary according to the desired intensity.
20 Spread the crème au beurre into a thin, even layer.
21 Place the second biscuit half on top.
22 Gently press with your hands to make the layers more compact.
23 Leave in the fridge to set for a couple of hours.
24 Once the cream has set, remove the frame (slide the blade of a knife between the frame and the cake if necessary).
25 Using a serrated knife, trim the edges...
26 ... to create a perfectly neat rectangle.
27 Sprinkle the whole surface...
28 ... with icing sugar. Place in a nice serving dish and refrigerate until ready to serve.
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