TdF Stage 7: Tomblaine to La Planche des Belles Filles

http://www.letour.fr/2012/TDF/COURSE/us/700/etape_par_etape.html

From LeTour:  The view of jean-françois pescheux

"This is going to hurt : "Much has been said and written about this one. This stage is obviously making its Tour debut, since it starts from Tomblaine (the main town of the Meurthe-et-Moselle canton) and heads towards the only ski resort in the Haute-Saône, which the Tour has never visited before but where it may return if the course delivers on its promise. There is much more to the stage than just the finish, as the Col de la Grosse Pierre and the Col du Mont de Fourche make it a real leg breaker! The result? This stage is going to hurt. Then the best will duke it out on La Planche des Belles Filles. An 8.5% gradient with certain sections at 13%. A gruelling climb..."

http://www.letour.fr/le-tour/2012/us/stage-7.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yesterday was quite a day. In case you missed it, I direct you to this injury report from PodiumCafe. Note that almost all of these riders finished the stage. The list of riders who either did not finish yesterday or did not start today seems to be: Mikel Astarloza, Amets Txurruka, Davide Vigano, Tom Danielson, Ryder Hesjedal, Robert Hunter, Hubert Dupont, Wout Poels, Oscar Freire, Maarten Wynants, Imanol Erviti, Jose Ivan Gutierrez.

Previously retired hurt: Marcel Kittel, Maarten Tjallingii, Kanstantsin Sivtsov and Jose Joaquin Rojas.  182 started today, but early in the stage Anthony Delaplace abandoned. 

In the laughter is the best medicine category we have the Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank morning playlist:

KarstenKroon 1:49am via Twitter for BlackBerry®

Today's playlist: staying alive,born to be alive,I will survive,shake that body. OK and YMCA!

Today's 199km stage runs from Tomblaine to La Planche des Belles Filles in the Voges mountains. The break of the day formed early with Cyril Gautier, Christophe Riblon, Luis Leon Sanchez, Chris Anker Sorensen, Dmitriy Fofonov, Martin Velits, and Michael Albasini. Midway through the stage, with just about 100 km to go, their gap to the main peloton was 5 minutes. Meanwhile back in the peloton:

TheRaceRadio 6:19am via Web

Always impressed to see @MarkCavendish, in the Rainbow jersey, grabbing bottles for his teammates

With 70km left on the day, the gap from the break to the main peloton was fairly steady at about 5 minutes. And then, well, it was a great day for Sky.

From PodiumCafe:

Chris Froome of Sky did double-duty today on a grand scale, first delivering his captain Bradley Wiggins into the yellow jersey and then accelerating in the last 200 meters for the stage victory. Sky, led by Froome, drilled all of their rivals on the terribly steep climb to La Planche des Belles Filles, with numerous favorites losing more than two minutes and only Cadel Evans of BMC, Vincenzo Nibali of Liquigas, and Rein Taaramae of Cofidis able to keep the pace. Evans was strong enough to make a kick for the stage win, ahead of Wiggins, who stayed put while his deserving domestique went stage hunting. Froome easily came past Evans on the final ramp, a horrible 20% incline, for the win. 

Stage: Chris Froome 

GC:

1. Wiggins
2. Evans, at 0.10
3. Nibali, at 0.16
4. Taaramae, at 0.32
5. Menchov, at 0.54
6. Zubeldia, at 0.59
7. Monfort, at 1.09
8. Nicholas Roche, AG2R, at 1.22
9. Froome, at 1.32
10. Michael Rogers, Sky, at 1.40

 

Wine:  Chateau de Vaux Les Gryphees 

Moselle Blanc 2011 

from Franklywines  $18.99

Christy to the rescue again, as I needed something from the Moselle and could not find anything in the Bay Area. I'm pleased to see LeTour list the specialties of the region as plum, bergamot, macaroons, madeleines (cookies), as I'll be canning plum jam this afternoon after the stage ends.

From the importer:

Norbert Molozay is a true pioneer in French winemaking who has nearly single-handedly resuscitated France’s most northerly appellation, Moselle. This tiny VDQS (just 100 acres) is tucked up in the northeast corner of France, just over the Vosges Mountains from Alsace, near the Luxembourg border. Although an important wine region up to the mid-nineteenth century, phylloxera, industrialization and two world wars brought near obliteration of viticulture around Metz, in Lorraine, whose production was sold to make champagne until 1910, when the A.O.C. Champagne was created. Starting with the 2009 vintage, Château de Vaux will be working with organic farming methods, and will be certified organic ( biologique ) in 3 years.

Chateau de Vaux Website

Moselle Blanc - Les Gryphées

The cuvée Les Gryphées is composed of 30% Auxerrois, 30% Muller Thurgau (a crossing of Riesling and Chasselas), 30%Tokay Pinot Gris and 10% Gewurztraminer. The vines grow on rocky terraces with a south, southeast exposure in a climate which is a mix of oceanic and continental. Vines are planted on hillsides west of the Moselle River on clay-limestone soils. Each grape variety is separately harvested according to its ripeness, and is immediately pressed in a pneumatic wine press. Fermentation is carried out in temperature-controlled tanks at low temperature, with final blending in February. Les Gryphées shows notes of peaches and white flowers on the nose, followed through the palate with ripe fruit which is both rich, delicate and complex, revealing peaches and banana. Molozay suggests pairing this delightful wine with tagliatelle and mussels, sea scallops or a roasted free-range chicken with lemongrass. Indeed the Germanic resonances of this cuvee marry extremely well with exotic seasonings.

 I say: My first Moselle wine. This is why I first started both the wines of the Giro and wines of the Tour challenges--to taste wines from regions outside my usual suspects. 
A bit more golden than I expected. Lots of peaches on the nose, perhaps even K's favorite white peaches, some musk and flowers. Rich, full but not heavy. 

TdF Stage 6: Épernay to Metz

http://www.letour.fr/2012/TDF/COURSE/us/600/etape_par_etape.html

From LeTour: The view of jean-françois pescheux

Something for everyone

"Yet another sprinters' stage. After all, Christian Prudhomme and I want to make sure there is something for everyone. But will the winner in Saint-Quentin be able to triumph in Metz too? One thing is for sure. This is another beautiful stage, with a start which celebrates the Coteaux Champenois, and a 207.5 km course devoid of tough climbs but full of nostalgia, since it comes near the Lac de Madine, where the Grand Prix des Nations used to be held. But once in Metz, all eyes will be set upon the famous "blue line" of the Vosges, where La Planche des Belles Filles awaits the peloton tomorrow..."

Another sprint stage indeed as they race 207.5 kilometers from Épernay to Metz.  Épernay, of course, has me thinking about Champagne. Metz, according to LeTour has specialties of plum, quiche lorraine, potee lorraine (soup), piglet with jelly, Paris-Metz (cake), boulet de Metz (pastry). In other news, I'm hungry. Meanwhile, others are wondering if the Tour is boring this year.
Hopes that they may stay upright today are ended quickly by new of a pre-coverage crash. Andre Greipel, a double winner already, apparently has abrasions and a painful shoulder. Meanwhile, the daily doomed break formed and with 100km to go they had a lead of 5'30" down from  6'50" at around the 85km mark. In the break today, Dave Zabriskie, which means that his team manager suggests he hold out some hope:
Vaughters 6:16am via UberSocial for iPhone

While 90%of the time these breakaways get caught, @dzabriskie is smart when it comes to pacing and can surprise you in the final Kms.

And so it went for a little while. But then came another crash. And one big enough this time that when Mark Cavendish's girlfriend tweeted :
petatodd 8:19am via web

Would love to know if my boy is ok please...please.

You could image that many other cyclists families, friends and fans were feeling the same way . Peter Sagan won his third stage ahead of André Greipel and Matt Goss but it was the crash that people will be talking about after several abandons and significant delays. Early reports were that Ryder Hesjedal  finished some 13 minutes back. Also losing time were Robert Gesink, Alejandro Valverde, Frank Schleck  and Janez Brajkovic.

From twitter:

millarmind 8:38am via Twitter for BlackBerry®

Oh sweet jesus that was scary. Approx 70km/h pile up, like a tidal wave of debris smashing towards us, could do nothing but brake and pray.

Stage: Peter Sagan

GC: 

	Fabian Cancellara (Swi) RadioShack-Nissan	29:22:36
2	Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling	0:00:07
3	Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Omega Pharma-QuickStep
4	Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team	0:00:10
5	Denis Menchov (Rus) Katusha Team	0:00:13
6	Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team	0:00:17
7	Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale	0:00:18
8	Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale	0:00:19
9	Andreas Klöden (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan
10	Maxime Monfort (Bel) RadioShack-Nissan

 

Wine:  Pierre Gimonnet 04 Fleuron, disgorged May 2010.

From the importer:   If there’s a more interesting grower in this (or any) portfolio than Didier Gimonnet, I ain’t met him. Every visit I make here enriches me. His is a 25-hectare winery, therefore enough wine, which is good because it is VERY BEAUTIFUL WINE with great class and savor. And sensible prices! The wines are suave, creamy and refined, with a “soft” minerality dispersed through the fruit. Silky, stylish wines rather than vigorous, racy wines. These are very deliciously accommodating to the palate. I suspect some of it might be due to old vines, which impart a palpable creaminess. The majority of Gimonnet’s vineyards are more than 40 years old, the oldest parcel (in Cramant) is more than 80. The wines tolerate a very low dosage, 6-8 grams per liter for most Bruts. “For me, we must have concentration, but also balance, elegance and harmony,” says Didier.

Back in the 2010 catalog Terry said: "Pierre Gimonnet et Fils “Fleuron” Brut, 2004 +  Newly disgorged 1/10. If ‘04 has a case to make, it’s with wines like this. 39% Cramant,  41% Chouilly (more Grand Cru than usual for this wine) and 20% Cuis; this is how  Didier can mitigate some of the big-crop thinness of the vintage.  Hawthorne, sweet-  hay aromas; incipient nuttiness, with spices and apples; chalky brilliance aligned to
concentrated green-tea and spring onion." 

In the current catalog, he says about a different Gimonnet 04:
Pierre Gimonnet et Fils “Special Club” Brut 2004    ++ The best ‘04s get more and more amazing; the vintage will become a litmus test of how much one really loves Champagne-the-wine, because it isn’t “luxurious,” it is merely ravishing. All gauze and silk and cut and greenness and the unlikely length of the most brilliant “cool” vintage Blanc de Blancs. I’m not sure we have it to sell any more, but if you do, do yourself a favor and lay a few away just for yourself.

I say: This is a very sparkling Wines of the Tour de France for me, with many more to come. I'd find it hard to imagine that many, if any, of them will be more enjoyable than this one. Small bubbles. Creamy indeed.  Lots of bread and apple and some lemon on the finish.

TdF Stage 5: More Cider

http://www.letour.fr/2012/TDF/COURSE/us/500/etape_par_etape.html

From LeTour: The view of jean-françois pescheux

An awe-inspiring course

"I have already cited Jacques Anquetil, and now it is time to mention Jean Robic, since the stage will start at the foot of the Côte de Bonsecours, right where a stele commemorates his historic exploit. And what an exploit it was, with a 130 km breakaway to defeat Brambilla and take the yellow jersey in the last stage of the 1947 Tour de France! Having said that, today's stage to Saint-Quentin should play into the sprinters' hands. We expect the bunch to ride fast on an awe-inspiring course which is usually home to the Tour of Picardy. May I say that I am personally quite fond of this region?"


Well now, this is flat. If Mark Cavendish is feeling okay after yesterday's ugly crash, he has to be the clear pre-stage favorite. I was not the only one to pick Cav on the Podium Cafe Stage Predictor Game.  Of course, as we saw yesterday and many other times, one touch of wheels or miscalculation can change everything. So. . .off they go. And, hey look, a breakaway. And there is this:
inrng 5:10am via web

Storm warning issued by French weather agency for the last 30km of today's stage #tdf12

Followed by this:

TeamSky 6:36am via Web

Cavendish gets a good lead-out at the intermediate sprint to edge out Goss (OGE) and Renshaw (RAB) and take the 11 points #TDF12

And, then, at least the scenery was nice again because the racing was rather dull for many kilometers. At the end, for the second consecutive day the finale was marred by a large crash less than 3km from the finish. Andre Greipel  sprinted to victory for his second consecutive stage win. He took advantage of a flat and fast run in and swooped very late to deny Cavendish and the other sprinters.

Stage: Andre Greipel
GC:

	Fabian Cancellara (Swi) RadioShack-Nissan	24:45:30
2	Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling	0:00:07
3	Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
4	Tejay Van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team	0:00:10
5	Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling	0:00:11
6	Denis Menchov (Rus) Katusha Team	0:00:13
7	Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team	0:00:17
8	Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale	0:00:18
9	Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin - Sharp
10	Andreas Klöden (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan

Cider:  Julien Fremont Cidre Brut

 

From the importer:

Julien Frémont works in a breathtakingly beautiful farm in the Pays d’Auge, Calvados. This is Camembert and Livarot country, and of course cider and Calvados, a place where cows and apple trees have defined the landscape for more time than can be remembered. It is green, lush, softly hilly, the soil rich clay with silex, and the climate humid and mild.

Frémont says that he would gladly do without his cows, about 80 when you count the youngsters born each year, and just deal with apple trees and apples, and the cider he makes from them. But he knows that cows and trees take care of each another, that his trees would not grow and age the way they do, or his apples taste the same, without the cows.

The farm has 45HA of grazing fields, 12HA of which are planted with apple trees. The cows mow the grass, prune the trees in summer and eat the fallen apples, until it’s time for the harvest from late September until November. The apples are picked by hand in large baskets, then put into 50KG bags. The trees are a mix of old local varieties of acidic, late ripening apples.

The apples are washed and sorted, then pressed in the press Frémont ancestors built in 1765. Some juice is immediately bottled for apple juice, and the must for cider is put in large vats where fermentation starts. It is essential for fermentation to go slowly, mainly thanks to natural early winter cold, and racking. When the alcohol reaches about 4.5%, the must is bottled so that the secondary fermentation, creating the fizz, can start. This bottling is called Brut par nature.

A selection of apples comes from a particular orchard of old trees. Those are kept in the well-ventilated attic for several months, and passerillage occurs, where the apples dry out and the sugar levels concentrate. When these are pressed and fermented, they make a special bottling called Greniers (attics).

I say: Bone dry with sweet and bitter apples, unfiltered and cloudy. Earthy. A nice contrast to yesterday's Bordelet.

TdF Stage 4: Abbeville to Rouen

http://www.letour.fr/2012/TDF/COURSE/us/400/etape_par_etape.html

From LeTour:

Riders who regularly take part in the Tour of Picardy are familiar with the pitfalls that the region can hold in store for them. The experts of bordure formations may well take advantage of the wind that blows by the seaside during the whole first part of the stage, which will boasts very beautiful scenery. The favourite riders in the race will have to be extremely careful, as they know how hard it is to make up for lost time caused by their carelessness at the beginning of the Tour.

Abbeville - Rouen 214.5 km 
A sprint stage today. As usual cue the doomed break, today featuring Yukiya Arashiro,  David Moncoutie, and Anthony Delaplace. Interesting to see stats for the first hour of racing:

Distance travelled: 37.5km
Distance from finish: 177km
Average speed: 37.5km/h
Gap from leaders to peloton: 7:30

Screen shot found on Podium Cafe

Things continue along and with about 100km left, and the intermediate sprint roughly 25km away, the gap between the breakaway and the peloton is 6:15. Meanwhile, lots of gorgeous cliff top scenery and sites of historical interest. I've not been to Normandy and this stage makes me very much want to go. Much talk also of Benedictine and interior shots of a distillery. Clearly a sprint stage with little early drama on the road.





At the intermediate sprint point, Mark Cavendish took the win ahead of Matt Goss and Mark Renshaw, in another former teammates flashback. With 60 km to go, the breakaway lead was down to about 5 minutes and it was time for the peloton to pick up the pace, or miss catching them in time. And, hey, rain. Indeed they did speed up and with 40km left to go, the gap came down to under three-and-a-half minutes and at 25 km remaining it was under 2 minutes.
Comment of the day from twitter:
dwuori: Where does one get a job as @paulsherwen's chateau researcher?

 Why yes, it had been a long and uneventful stage. Until a big crash towards the end took out Mark Cavendish, among others. Luckily, it was within 3 km so no time lost, but it was not a happy sight. More to come about that in the cycling press for sure.


Stage: Andre Greipel
Yellow: Fabian Cancellara

Violet was curious.

Wine of the stage: Cider today: 
 Bordelet Sydre Agrelette 2010 
 $21.00  from Arlequin Wine in San Francisco

From the producer:

In 1992, Eric Bordelet, previously sommelier at Arpege Alain Passard's Restaurant in Paris took over the production of this family property in Normandy. Believing that cider and Poiré should be produced like wine he grows more than 20 varieties of apple and 15 varieties of pear. Connoisseurs admire his entirely artisan and apothecary style of working.His range includes several products, all worth the detour. He has dubbed his ciders"Sydre""Sidre", the former spelling of those words.  

Location :  Situated in the south of Normandy on the Armorican Massif,extending from Domfrontais to the outermost borders of the Mayenne and the Orne.
Terroir :  The property is situated on schiste,sedimentary rock dating back to the Precambrian era.This has produced silt and clayey-silt soil. Its 15 hectares property is divided up into 3 hectares 40-50 years old fruit orchard,a 7 hectares vineyard orchard planted in 1992 and trellised and 5 hectares pears orchard dating back to 1992.
Fruit varieties and orchard management : 20 varieties of apple at least (sweet, bitter, sour), 15 varieties of pear. All cultivated according to bio-dynamic agricultural practices,as they are better adapted to the production quality fruit.
Transformation : Hand-picked harvest in metre cube pallets which are then placed in a dry and aired location in vie of dehydrating the fruit for 3 or 5 weeks.The apples are ground and simply pressed. Pressing is followed by settling and racking several times in view of clarification and to slow down fermentation.
Filtration and bottling,with more or less residual sugar (no chaptalisation) depending upon the product,are carried out in view of natural fermentation.Bubbles develop within two weeks of bottling. The alcoholic content varies from 3-7°.

SYDRE ARGELETTE 4% by vol 

This prestigious offering combines 19 apple varieties, prepared according to an ancestral method of maceration.The nose exhales a mixture of fruity and mineral notes: stewed apple, apricot, lemon, honey and mile spices. Ample, balanced palate, boasting intense flavours, brought out by extremely small bubbles. A premium cider that can be served with a meal or offered as an aperitif and indeed Normand's cheese.Worth ageing.

I say: This is a gorgeous cider. I don't know what mile spices may be, but true apple and some citrus indeed. Much fresher and more tart than some ciders I have had. I like this one a lot.

TdF Stage 3 Orchies to Boulogne-sur-Mer

http://www.letour.fr/2012/TDF/COURSE/us/300/etape_par_etape.html

From LeTour The view of jean-françois pescheux 

Opening of hostilities: "We are now in France and ready to start from Orchies, a familiar place for classics specialists. One could be forgiven for thinking we have come for the cobblestones of Paris-Roubaix, but we are actually going to ride straight away from them towards the hills of the Boulonnais. Six big climbs in 100 kilometres, four of which in the last 16 kilometres. This could mark the opening of hostilities in the Tour. There is no way the sprinters will be there at the finish, which will be decided at the same place as the French Championships won by Chavanel. I think the bunch will be smashed to smithereens."

From twitter:  EuroHoody 4:18am via web

Gusting winds, cool temps and rain already spitting at the finish-line in Boulogne; 70% chance of afternoon showers, will make it muckier

EuroHoody 4:17am via web

Pure sprinters will not be getting up the final climb to challenge for the stage, way too steep + the climbs in run-in should thin pack

EuroHoody 12:43am via Twitter for iPhone

Will be some fireworks today; chance of rain, wind will make things even more int.; Gilbert; Valverde; Sagan could have chances vs sprinters

Orchies - Boulogne sur Mer 197 km 

 And they are off. To a day that should get interesting. For now we have our break of the day and Michael Morkov is once again in it, making it three days in a row. With just about 100 km to go the breakaway riders have a lead of 3'55" after starting their attack at the 5km mark.
And then, well, the crashes started leading to our first dnf of the race, Konstantin Siutsou, followed soon by Jose Joaquin Rojas.
With groups all over the road, Sylvain Chavanel surprised no one at all by attacking at the 5km mark.  Radio Shack responded, as did BMC, and he was caught with just about 1km left.
Peter Sagan then emerged from the lead group of riders on a steep slope, avoided a crash that held up half of them and a slick turn that took more riders to take the stage victory.
It was, in all, a chaotic day.


Stage: Peter Sagan
Yellow: Fabian Cancellara 
GC:

1. Fabian Cancellara, RSH
2. Bradley Wiggins, Sky, at 0.07
3. Sylvain Chavanel, OPQS, s.t.
4. Tejay Van Garderen, BMC, at 0.10
5. Boasson Hagen, at 0.11

Wine:
Ridgeview Fitzrovia English Sparkling Wine Rose 2009 (Sussex, England):

Price: $39.99 Franklywines

Then we zigged or zagged or some such thing. 
I was thinking beer for this stage, but Christy Frank from Franklywines in NY stepped in with an alternative.
 In her words "a little off beat, but what about an English sparkling wine? Those white cliffs of Dover are just across the Channel... at one point, they were France! And it's the closet wine producing area to that stage, as far as I can tell. And of course, I have one:"

How could I resist?

 The producer says:
In 1994 we planted our original site at the foot of the South Downs in Sussex. With advice from Epernay we selected 13 French clones of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier on three different root stocks. This way we can emulate “l’assemblage” of the Champagne Houses that combine together the vintages of small vineyards, thereby creating imaginative blends. We have expanded our production through the development of partnerships with a number of growers who are predominantly in or adjacent to the South Downs National Park.
“To me, it was obvious that sparkling wine was the way to go because what you get here in Sussex (and in Champagne) is fully ripe grapes with great flavour, but which aren’t high in alcohol, as this prevents fermentation, which creates fizz.  Because we get cold nights even in summer, English grapes have super-acidity – the hallmark of a good sparkling wine” 
Mike Roberts
The regions climate is semi-continental and, like the champagne region just 88 miles to the south, has cool nights which make it ideally suited for the growing of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier for traditional method sparkling wines. The cooler climate enables the grapes to retain high levels of natural acidity when they are fully ripe which is crucial to producing sparkling wines with fine flavours. 

Christy says: "Yes it's English wine, but don't be afraid. Those white cliffs of Dover... that's a continuation of the soil that you find in Champagne. Grapes...same. Production method...same. No, it's still doesn't have that something-something that the very best Champagnes have, but it's damn fine and costs a bit less. And we're suckers for an English accent."

TdF Stage 2: More Belgium and Cav!

http://www.letour.fr/2012/TDF/COURSE/us/200/etape_par_etape.html

From LeTour: The view of jean-françois pescheux "This pancake flat stage is tailored to pure sprinters. If Cavendish has missed out on a win the day before, this is the perfect place to make amends. This will be the third day straight that the Tour de France stays in Belgium. The stage will start from Visé, which is hosting the Tour for the first time. The bunch will visit the citadel of Namur halfway through the stage (km 82). We are sticking to tradition."

Ah, a sprint stage. Time to find out whether or not Mark Cavendish's Olympic prep and weight loss has really slowed him down or not.  Apparently, he's lost 4 kg/ 9 lb as he prepares for the Olympics in London later this summer so we'll see how that has affected his speed. I woke to this tweet:
MarkCavendish 1:14am via Twitter for iPad

Good morning people! 207km flat today. Should be the 1st bunch sprint of the Tour. Let's see what we can do...

Meanwhile a doomed break and some time to read about the stage on LeTour. My favorite bit of trivia for the day: The economy of Tournai, the finishing town is apparently focused on trade, tourism, and biscuits. In a related note, I am now craving a biscuit.
At the intermediate sprint point we have perhaps a preview of the stage finish or just a flashback to years past with Goss - Renshaw - Cav.

At the end, relief:
inrng 8:35am via Web

Mark Cavendish (Team Sky)wins Stage 2 of the Tour de France

Or in the words of his girlfriend:

petatodd 8:36am via Web

YEEEEEEEEEEES!!!! 25 BABY! #TDF

Stage: Mark Cavenidsh

Yellow: Fabian Cancellara

 

Wine: More Belgium, more beer:  
 

DUCHESSE DE BOURGOGNE

I confess, I bought this beer because I liked the label. Plus, the name. Google tells me that this is a Belgian top-fermented reddish-brown ale, a blend of 8 and 18 months old beers following the careful maturation in oak casks.

From the importer:
A traditional Flemish red ale. This refreshing ale is matured in oak casks; smooth with a rich texture and interplay of passion fruit, and chocolate, and a long, dry and acidic finish. After the first and secondary fermentation, the beer goes for maturation into the oak barrels for 18 months. The final product is a blend of younger 8 months old beer with 18 months old beer. The average age of the Duchesse de Bourgogne before being bottled is 12 months.

I say: Much less sour than the Rodenbach. Also, browner. I had this with a burger made from beef from my favorite: 4505Meats and it was an excellent pairing.  Fuller, richer and nuttier than the Rodenbach as well, and although goggle suggests that I should have found sour apples, I would say more balsamic and cherry.

TdF Stage 1: Rodenbach Grand Cru

  http://www.letour.fr/2012/TDF/COURSE/us/100/etape_par_etape.html

From LeTour: The view of jean-françois pescheux

Setting the tone: "This stage is no leg breaker, but it still is bumpy enough to dampen the hopes of pure sprinters. In other words, I do not think Cavendish will be among those fighting for the win. I hope I am wrong, but I think he will be dropped before reaching Seraing. The course is less demanding than in 1995, when Bruyneel and Indurain blew the race apart on the road to Liège, but it comes very close to the Ardennes and, at 198 km, the stage distance is nothing to sneeze at.  In short, we wanted to preserve the peloton's energy while setting the tone for the rest of the race. We will see..."

Today brings the first road stage of the tour--198 kilometers with a slight uphill finish that may spoil things for the sprinters.  Last year this would have been a course perfect for Philippe Gilbert, but his season has been disappointing so far. Perhaps instead Peter Sagan who dominated the Tour of California? Or will the sprinters hang on for a bunch sprint? Radio Shack has said they will defend Fabian Cancellara's yellow jersey, so we shall see.

Off they went with a breakaway forming almost instantly. Almost as quickly, the internet started complaining about Sky's yellow helmets. It turns out that in an attempt to highlight the current leading team, the tour has ruled that they will wear yellow helmets, a look that flatters very few, though I did enjoy the Lemonheads tweets from Nyvelocity. An explanation here from inrg.

Meanwhile on the road, there was an intermediate sprint, contest by most of the green jersey contenders, including Mark Cavendish. As much as I'd enjoy seeing him attempt to repeat in green, pre-Tour all indications were that he was focused on the Olympic race to come soon after the end of the Tour and not the green jersey points. Plus, as a teammate of one of the yellow jersey favorites, he has less support than he has had in the past.

With 63 km remaining the break was still 2:50 ahead. But, probably doomed. Indeed by 51 km left, it was already down to 1:40. Soon enough there was more urgency and a couple of crashes. And echelons (sort of)! A dull stage suddenly became much more exciting. With 8 km to go the break was absorbed and the jockeying for position began.

At the end, once again, the Fabian Cancellarar found himself in driving a winning break by himself, with nobody willing to lend a hand. With 800 metres to go, Cancellara attempted to wave Peter Sagan through, but the Sagan stayed on his wheel and let Cancellara tow him to the line.

Stage:Peter Sagan

Yellow: Fabian Cancellara

GC:

1	Fabian Cancellara (Swi) RadioShack-Nissan	5:05:32
2	Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling	0:00:07
3	Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Omega Pharma-QuickStep
4	Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team	0:00:10
5	Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling	0:00:11
6	Denis Menchov (Rus) Katusha Team	0:00:13
7	Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing Team
8	Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team	0:00:17
9	Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale	0:00:18
10	Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin - Sharp

Wine: No wine today as we are in Belgium.
Instead:  Rodenbach Grand Cru

From the importer: Award Winning* Rodenbach Grand Cru (Alc. 6% Vol.) is a blend of “young” beer (33%) and an older beer (67%) that has matured in oak vats. It is the high percentage of the older ripened-in-oak beer that gives it the complex and intense bouquet with a very long aftertaste like a Grand Cru wine. This is a complex beer with lots of wood and fruity esters, wine-like and with a balsamic vinegar aroma. A sharp taste, fruity, refreshing and with a balanced Madeira-like sweetness.
The late Michael Jackson bestowed upon this beer the titles of “World Classic” and “the Burgundy of Belgium.”


How to serve?
• Bottles should be kept at cellar or refrigerator temperature
• Serve between 6-8° C
• Always serve in its unique glass
• Hold the glass a slight angle and slowly pour the beer along the side of the glass until its is half full. Now straighten the glass and pour the remainder of the bottle from a slightly higher distance. To your health!

RODENBACH® GRAND CRU & FOOD
Ideally combined with foie gras, (fat contrasted with sour). One can also combine with sour dishes such as haring (herring?) or a cold fish salad (civiche) (ceviche?).

I say: This is the sort of beer that makes me sit up and and take notice, even though I did not serve it in its unique glass. Lots of cherry going on here from the color to the familiar (after my recent ryeing project) taste of sour cherries. Plus the balsamic mentioned above.