Sunday, July 17, 2022

Wine and Food of the Tour de France Stage 15: Rodez to Carcassone

Where are we? In the Occitane.

Rodez: The local tourist site tells me: Located in the heart of the Aveyron département, Rodez welcomes you for a fantastic getaway, a weekend break or a family holiday. Discover our heritage, museums, exhibition halls and the many unmissable events and shows throughout the year.

Between the history of yesterday and today, Rodez is a city of unexpected charm - the majestic Gothic cathedral, the historic heart of town, the ancient monastery which today houses the Haras National - the National Stud, not to mention a beautiful natural environment to discover while walking and hiking.
There are lots of hiking trails in and around the Grand Rodez area with a complete change of scenery from everyday life guaranteed.
Eight town and villages come together to form a single community at the heart of Aveyron. Each has it's own identity while working towards a common future with the upcoming opening of the Soulages museum.

Le Tour specialties: aligot, tripous, Aubrac meats, cheeses (Laguiole, Roquefort, old Rodez), Marcillac wines, farçous (chard and sausage meat patties), old Rodez (cheese), Mandarelle (cake).

Carcassone:  The local tourist site has a legend for us: The Saracen occupation inspired medieval writers with one of our most famous legends. Charlemagne is of course the hero! The emperor sieges Carcassonne. The Saracen king, BALLAK is killed and it is then that his wife "Dame Carcass" decides to intervene. The siege has been going on for 5 years already and famine got the better of the last defenders. Alone, behind the ramparts, Dame Carcass watches; she has the straw mannequins; she shoots crossbow bolts at the besieging army to make the defenders still numerous. In the city, there is only a small pig and a measure of wheat left to feed the population. So Lady Carcass stuffed her pig with the rest of the wheat and threw it over the rampart. The pig bursts upon touching the ground and from its torn belly escapes a flood of good grain. Charlemagne immediately raised an unnecessary siege: there was so much wheat in Carcassonne that we fed the swine! Before the great army disappeared, Dame Carcass recalled Charlemagne to make peace. She sounded the trumpets "Carcass sonne" (which means rings in french). Then the emperor retraced his steps to receive his allegiance!

Le Tour Specialties: cassoulet (a universal cassoulet academy), petit carcassonnais (madeleine), Micheline, Or Kina (herbal liqueur). Wines of the Aude: Minervois, Cabardes, Corbières, Malepère, Limoux...

Christian Prudhomme says: The road to Carcassonne is often hilly and the ups and downs that lead to it can favour breakaways. But on this occasion, the route has been designed to suit the sprinters’ teams. That’s provided that they work hard to control the day’s attackers, who still might manage to produce a surprise.

The stage:A few prominent DNS's today Simon Clarke and Magnus Cort (Covid) and Roglic (a collection on injuries). 
In an early break, van Aert, Politt and Honoré. van Aert would eventually sit up, leaving the duo with a gap of close to 3 minutes. It was going to be a long and hot day. Indeed, extreme weather protocols for the day were announced:
 The donation of bidons is authorized to all spectators in security.
- The refuelling is open at kilometer zero and will close at kilometer 10 from the finish.
- The delays are increased to 20% whatever will be the average speed of the stage.
- Water bottles for the riders will be available in the ambulance and the shimano car at the back of the peloton.
Plus, this:
With 100 kilometers to go, the lead duo had 1:28. Way behind on the day was Morkov, facing a possible elimination. Crash by Owain Doul, as he was brought down by a water bottle in the road. 
Some history frem Le Tour: Carcassonne hosted 6 finishes of Tour de France stages before. 5 winners made it from a breakaway: Lucien Teisseire (1947), André Rosseel (1951), Jean Stablinski (1962), Yaroslav Popovych (2006) and Magnus Cort (2018). Last year was an exception with Mark Cavendish winning a bunch sprint.
Crash! This one involving  Kruijswijk, Van Aert, Tusveld and Fuglsang. Kruijswijk  would abandon.  A second crash with Vingegaard. he would make it back to the main bunch.
Just ahead, the break was caught as sprinters fell off the back. The stage had gotten very hard, very quickly. Groenewegen and many other sprinters were 1:10 back as they crossed the summit of the Côte des Cammazes. With 40 kilometers to go, local rider Benjamin Thomas and Alexis Gougeard had a small lead.
The Groenenwegen group would make it back to the bunch. Way behind, was Morkov, at more than 42 minutes.
Ten kilometers to go and the gap was 27 seconds. Five and 10 seconds.
As they closed in, Thomas went solo. Three kilometers to go and he had 12 seconds. two and 5 seconds. Alas.
Philipsen!
Stage:

The wine:  Domaine du Moulin Mauzac NV (Pet-Nat) From Copake Wine Works Christy says: Sparkling wines made from the mauzac grape are wonderfully unfashionable. And wonderfully delicious. If you're craving something that's a little less fruity than prosecco, a little softer than a cremant or champange, and a little more classic than a cool-kid petnat, this bottle could be just what you need. It's tasty, apple-y, all-around yummy goodness.

The food:   Roquefort papillon  
A sheep's milk blue that most are probably familiar with.  From the producer: They say that a young shepherd, in love, was distracted by a shepherdess. Forgetting his rye bread and sheep's cheese in the cave of Combalou where he was resting, he left to pursue the girl. A little while later, he returned to this place and discovered his meal covered in a blue-green mould. Famished, he tasted the cheese and was delighted. Roquefort, alchemy between the natural ventilation of a cave, rye bread and the cheese of the Lacaune ewes had been born.
In 1070 there is mention for the first time of Roquefort in the Carolingian texts. From then on the history of Roquefort remains closely related to Roquefort-sur-Soulzon and the Combalou mountains, thanks to King Charles VI. He decided in the 15th century, and for the first time in France, to grant exclusive production rights to the inhabitants of Roquefort, making the caves protected places. In the Century of the Enlightenment, Diderot consecrated Roquefort by awarding it the title of King of cheeses. In 1925, Roquefort became the first recognised Appellation d'Origine cheese. To date, it benefits from European recognition as Appellation d'Origine Protégée, which guarantees the provenance of a product.
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