TDF 2019: Stage 11, Albi > Toulouse 17/07/2019 - 167 km *Spoilers*
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Albi > Toulouse 17/07/2019 - Stage 11 - 167 km
Following the first rest day, the Tour de France continues with stage 11 from Albi to Toulouse. The 167 kilometres route meanders through the south of France towards the backdrop of the Pyrenees. The roads are gently rolling though, so a bunch sprint is by far the most likely outcome.
Albi is the hometown of Lilian Calmejane, solo winner at Les Rousses in the Tour 2017. The Tour never goes far from Toulouse but it has not actually finished in the city since 2008. Following a rain-soaked race, the sprint teams finished off the escape at 3.5 kilometres out before Mark Cavendish sprinted to his second-ever stage win on the Tour de France.
The biggest hurdles on the way from Albi to Toulouse are situated in the first half of the race. And these are not exactly Alpe d’Huez material. One is 3.6 kilometres at 4.9% and the other 2.5 kilometres at 3.8%.
Toulouse was a Tour town in the first 'Grande Boucle' of 1903, then in 1908, Lucien Petit-Breton won a stage there before conquering his second Tour as did Gino Bartali in 1948.
The finish is near the Capitole de Toulouse in the city centre. As the route features only two moderate climbs in the first half of the course, the enormous building is likely to see a sprint finish at its doorsteps.
Favourites 11th stage 2019 Tour de France
The day after the rest day should be easy going. Arguably, it is one of the most straightforward stages of this year’s Tour de France. GC riders will be tested in the following days, while the Toulouse finish is the last sprinters’ opportunity for a week.
*** Dylan Groenewegen, Elia Viviani, Caleb Ewan
** Peter Sagan, Michael Matthews, Alexander Kristoff
* Giacomo Nizzolo, Mike Teunissen, Jasper Stuyven, Jasper Philipsen, Sonny Colbrelli
Albi
12 previous stages
Population: 51,153. 83,000 in the 17 municipalities of the agglomeration
Since the classification of the Episcopal City of Albi as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, the city's tourist attendance has increased by about 25% and allows the city to receive more than 1.2 million visitors a year.
The Episcopal City of Albi presents a complete and representative ensemble of this type of urban development in Europe, from the Middle Ages to the modern and contemporary times. Its monumental and urban elements are complementary and well preserved, in subtle agreements of tones and pace through the widespread use of the fairground brick. It bears witness to the simultaneously defensive and spiritual program implemented by the Roman bishops, following the eradication of the heresy of the Albigenses or Cathars in the 13th century. The Sainte-Cécile cathedral is the most remarkable monumental symbol, in a unique southern Gothic architectural style, completed in the 15th-16th centuries by a systematic painted interior decoration, a choir and a late-Gothic statuary. The exceptional value of the city is finally expressed by a well-preserved and authentically medieval landscape. (UNESCO notice)
Cod Cassoulet
Recipe by Chef Antoine Caramelli from Le Lautrec Restaurant
This cod cassoulet of Good Friday is a very old dish and typical of the region. It was served on lean days or days of funeral. Dried sea-fish (cod and herring) was often found (far from the sea shores) in the plate of peasants who could not afford the luxury of eating river fish. During Lent, the clergy recommended to abstain from eating meat. But fresh fish was expensive and peasants turned to salted cod.
Toulouse
26 previous stages
Prefecture of Haute-Garonne
Population: 487,170. 762,960. for the 37 municipalities of Toulouse Métropole.
The Tour has not actually finished in the city since 2008. It still landed twice in Blagnac, site of the city airport, in 2012 and in 2017. Or in Cugnaux in 2011 and in Muret in 2015, two cities located in the urban area of the “pink city”. 2008 was the year of the revelation of Mark Cavendish, who won i the second of his thirty victories on the Tour. The Mannish rider had opened his meter three days earlier in Chateauroux. The terrain is indeed favourable for sprinters, and it is not surprising to find the names of Rik Van Steenbergen, Andre Darrigade or Jacques Esclassan among the stage winners near Place du Capitole. But it was also in a bunch sprint that the most prestigious stage winner in Toulouse, Gino Bartali, won in 1948.
On the map of the inaugural Tour of 1903, the city had from 1909 been snubbed by the race for thirty years. Henri Desgrange was bored to death during the stage won in 1909 by Jean Alavoine and decided to ignore Toulouse and head for the Pyrenees to make the race more exciting! The idea paid off.
There are countless riders born in Toulouse, but the best known are probably Jean-Christophe Péraud, second in the 2014 Tour or Frederic Moncassin, winner of two stages in 1996. Sylvain Marcailllou, 5th of the 1937 Tour, as well as Christian Chaubet or Robert Forest in the 80s, also represented Toulouse on the roads of the Tour. In the current peloton, Toulouse's Anthony Perez made his debut in 2018.
Le Capitole
In Toulouse, no town hall, but a majestic Capitol! An emblematic building, it houses the town hall, a theatre and ceremonial rooms where the city's celebrities meet. The site of municipal power since its construction, decided by the Capitouls in the 12th century, transformed and embellished throughout history, the Capitol deploys its majestic neoclassical facade on the inevitable square of the same name. Its walls tell the great moments of Toulouse's history: from the Albigensian period to the creation of the Floral Games, from the counts of Toulouse to the city's siege. Upstairs magnificent reception rooms are adorned with the allegories of Love by Paul Gervais, ten giant paintings by Henri Martin, the most famous of then being Salle des Illustres (Room of the Illustrious), displaying paintings tracing the history of Toulouse and the busts of the personalities that marked the city.
Specialties: foie gras,
cassoulet, Toulouse sausage.
Violet (flower, candy, perfume). 5 starred restaurants.
Following the first rest day, the Tour de France continues with stage 11 from Albi to Toulouse. The 167 kilometres route meanders through the south of France towards the backdrop of the Pyrenees. The roads are gently rolling though, so a bunch sprint is by far the most likely outcome.
Albi is the hometown of Lilian Calmejane, solo winner at Les Rousses in the Tour 2017. The Tour never goes far from Toulouse but it has not actually finished in the city since 2008. Following a rain-soaked race, the sprint teams finished off the escape at 3.5 kilometres out before Mark Cavendish sprinted to his second-ever stage win on the Tour de France.
The biggest hurdles on the way from Albi to Toulouse are situated in the first half of the race. And these are not exactly Alpe d’Huez material. One is 3.6 kilometres at 4.9% and the other 2.5 kilometres at 3.8%.
Toulouse was a Tour town in the first 'Grande Boucle' of 1903, then in 1908, Lucien Petit-Breton won a stage there before conquering his second Tour as did Gino Bartali in 1948.
The finish is near the Capitole de Toulouse in the city centre. As the route features only two moderate climbs in the first half of the course, the enormous building is likely to see a sprint finish at its doorsteps.
Favourites 11th stage 2019 Tour de France
The day after the rest day should be easy going. Arguably, it is one of the most straightforward stages of this year’s Tour de France. GC riders will be tested in the following days, while the Toulouse finish is the last sprinters’ opportunity for a week.
*** Dylan Groenewegen, Elia Viviani, Caleb Ewan
** Peter Sagan, Michael Matthews, Alexander Kristoff
* Giacomo Nizzolo, Mike Teunissen, Jasper Stuyven, Jasper Philipsen, Sonny Colbrelli
Albi
12 previous stages
Population: 51,153. 83,000 in the 17 municipalities of the agglomeration
Since the classification of the Episcopal City of Albi as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, the city's tourist attendance has increased by about 25% and allows the city to receive more than 1.2 million visitors a year.
The Episcopal City of Albi presents a complete and representative ensemble of this type of urban development in Europe, from the Middle Ages to the modern and contemporary times. Its monumental and urban elements are complementary and well preserved, in subtle agreements of tones and pace through the widespread use of the fairground brick. It bears witness to the simultaneously defensive and spiritual program implemented by the Roman bishops, following the eradication of the heresy of the Albigenses or Cathars in the 13th century. The Sainte-Cécile cathedral is the most remarkable monumental symbol, in a unique southern Gothic architectural style, completed in the 15th-16th centuries by a systematic painted interior decoration, a choir and a late-Gothic statuary. The exceptional value of the city is finally expressed by a well-preserved and authentically medieval landscape. (UNESCO notice)
Cod Cassoulet
Recipe by Chef Antoine Caramelli from Le Lautrec Restaurant
This cod cassoulet of Good Friday is a very old dish and typical of the region. It was served on lean days or days of funeral. Dried sea-fish (cod and herring) was often found (far from the sea shores) in the plate of peasants who could not afford the luxury of eating river fish. During Lent, the clergy recommended to abstain from eating meat. But fresh fish was expensive and peasants turned to salted cod.
Toulouse
26 previous stages
Prefecture of Haute-Garonne
Population: 487,170. 762,960. for the 37 municipalities of Toulouse Métropole.
The Tour has not actually finished in the city since 2008. It still landed twice in Blagnac, site of the city airport, in 2012 and in 2017. Or in Cugnaux in 2011 and in Muret in 2015, two cities located in the urban area of the “pink city”. 2008 was the year of the revelation of Mark Cavendish, who won i the second of his thirty victories on the Tour. The Mannish rider had opened his meter three days earlier in Chateauroux. The terrain is indeed favourable for sprinters, and it is not surprising to find the names of Rik Van Steenbergen, Andre Darrigade or Jacques Esclassan among the stage winners near Place du Capitole. But it was also in a bunch sprint that the most prestigious stage winner in Toulouse, Gino Bartali, won in 1948.
On the map of the inaugural Tour of 1903, the city had from 1909 been snubbed by the race for thirty years. Henri Desgrange was bored to death during the stage won in 1909 by Jean Alavoine and decided to ignore Toulouse and head for the Pyrenees to make the race more exciting! The idea paid off.
There are countless riders born in Toulouse, but the best known are probably Jean-Christophe Péraud, second in the 2014 Tour or Frederic Moncassin, winner of two stages in 1996. Sylvain Marcailllou, 5th of the 1937 Tour, as well as Christian Chaubet or Robert Forest in the 80s, also represented Toulouse on the roads of the Tour. In the current peloton, Toulouse's Anthony Perez made his debut in 2018.
Le Capitole
In Toulouse, no town hall, but a majestic Capitol! An emblematic building, it houses the town hall, a theatre and ceremonial rooms where the city's celebrities meet. The site of municipal power since its construction, decided by the Capitouls in the 12th century, transformed and embellished throughout history, the Capitol deploys its majestic neoclassical facade on the inevitable square of the same name. Its walls tell the great moments of Toulouse's history: from the Albigensian period to the creation of the Floral Games, from the counts of Toulouse to the city's siege. Upstairs magnificent reception rooms are adorned with the allegories of Love by Paul Gervais, ten giant paintings by Henri Martin, the most famous of then being Salle des Illustres (Room of the Illustrious), displaying paintings tracing the history of Toulouse and the busts of the personalities that marked the city.
Specialties: foie gras,
cassoulet, Toulouse sausage.
Violet (flower, candy, perfume). 5 starred restaurants.
"Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
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Comments
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Thought you would have gone in heavier with the Cassoulet - my all time favourite and will make any drizzly cold night bearable
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Any forecast of wind?
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I really like the old shots. That photo has so much character, it looks like a challenge/adventure.0
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Gaillac has some very good wine.0
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Oh boy. That is cruel. I'm drooling. One of the few dishes I genuinely miss.SpecialGuestStar wrote:Thought you would have gone in heavier with the Cassoulet - my all time favourite and will make any drizzly cold night bearable0 -
OK, I am going to kill two birds with one stone here: cassoulet and some Gaillac rouge to wash it down with.
(although Madiran seems to be the vin de choix)
There is also a version made with porc noir de Bigorre, since Bagnes is up the day after.
"Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.0 -
Blazing Saddles wrote:
I could murder that right about now.
Hopefully it does not contain any of this handsome chap!
Or any of these come to think of it...
Correlation is not causation.0 -
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Not a cassoulet but I make a mean grown-ups baked beans with rookworst. The key is cinnamon and lemon juice.Correlation is not causation.0
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I don't like beans so...Above The Cows wrote:0 -
A sneak preview of the new horror film The Wicker CowAbove The Cows wrote:
Or any of these come to think of it...Twitter: @RichN950 -
ddraver wrote:Gonna say it...Cassoulet is massively overrated
Yes you do feel like you're set for a coronary after you've eaten it.0 -
“New York has the haircuts, London has the trousers, but Belfast has the reason!0
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Rick Zabel fails to start. I know I'm probably the only person that cares about this.0
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No hoper break goes and that looks to be it0
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Calmejane, Rossetto, Perez, A. de Gendt0
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{repeat post deleted}0
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This threatens to be v dull until 10 to go.
But Ned reckons there could be some more wind action in the stretch that heads almost due south either side of Lavaur.0 -
Someone ready the klaxon, just in case.0
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Armed and ready. Might be waiting a while0
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Correlation is not causation.0
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Pippa York pissing on Ned's chips
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Above The Cows wrote:
Who! How! How bigs the Break?0 -
Alan Ha Ha wrote:Pippa York pissing on Ned's chips
Ha, yeah. They are so soggy even a seagull wouldn't touch them! I think it's been good this year, last year seemed to be flat faux break after faux break.0 -
Yes I'm enjoying it. Now she's pissing on Alaphilippe's frites.Correlation is not causation.0
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Above The Cows wrote:Yes I'm enjoying it. Now she's pissing on Alaphilippe's frites.
I would never p1ss on an attacking riders chips! I don't think I've ever tasted p1ssed on chips, just sayin.0 -
Great helo-pass over Cordes-sur-Ciel there (amazing medieval bastide, if you're ever in the area).0
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I'll swear Pippa York has somehow managed to audibly roll her eyes when mentioning Movistar's multiple leader strategy.0
