TDF 2022:- Stage 9: Aigle to Châtel les Portes du Soleil 192.9Kms ***Spoilers***
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Stage 9: Aigle to Châtel les Portes du Soleil 192.9Kms
Start Time 12-30CET.
Almost entirely on Swiss soil, this 193-kilometer stage features two Cat. 1 climbs in the Alps along with an uphill finish into the French ski town of Chátel. The first Alpine stage is a tribute from the Grand Boucle to the UCI as Aigle is the headquarter of the international organization. And being the last stage before a rest day there could well be a battle between the GC contenders on the demanding finale.
While the Tour de Romandie is a regular visitor to Aigle, it’s a first for the Tour de France.
An early breakaway is sure to form on the opening 150-kilometer loop from the UCI headquarters in Aigle that heads west along Lake Geneva and then up through the Gruyère cheese countryside before crossing the easy Col des Mosses and stiffer Col de la Croix before a 20-kilometer-long plunge back to Aigle.
The riders tackle three intermediate climbs in the second half of the race before the finish runs slightly uphill.
The Climbs:
Final Kms.
Following the downhill and 15 kilometres on the flat the riders are approaching the finale. Le Tour re-enters France on the Pas de Morgins (15.4 kilometres at 6.1%) before a 6 kilometres descent takes them to the foot of the last uphill section of the day. Which is 3.5 kilometres long and rises at 4% before crossing the finish line in Châtel.
What to Expect:
Three relatively easy climbs in the first 100 kilometres. The riders then continue on the flat to the modest finish climb. Meaning, odds are that the GC riders will keep their powder dry, especially with a rest day following and what comes next.
Stage hunters will have free rein in stage 10.
Aigle
Population: 10,500
Specialities: papet vaudois (Swiss potée), saucisson vaudois, white wines from the Chablais.
AIGLE, A STORY
Capital of cycling... and of Chasselas
The cultivation of vines has been part of Aigle's identity since the 8th century, when the first mention of vines in the city of Aigle was made. Indeed, the vineyard has left its mark on the Aigle landscape, as the town is surrounded by a sea of vines. Those vines produce the most famous Swiss wine, Chasselas (a dry white wine). Aigle is considered to be the centre of the Chasselas triangle, a region between Geneva, Biel and Sion, which accounts for 75 pc of the world's Chasselas production (for wine-making purposes). Historians trace its origins to the Egyptians, a hypothesis confirmed by the discovery of grape seeds. Legend has it that in 1523 a diplomat brought some plants from Constantinople to France. Opinions are divided as to whether the origin of Chasselas comes from France or whether the Romans had previously imported it... it is certain, however, that Chasselas has found a favourite place in the Pays de Vaud and in Aigle. The best Chasselas in the world are elected in Aigle every year since 2012 during the Mondial du Chasselas which takes place at the Château d'Aigle.
Along the Route.
Km 63.8
GRUYERES (Pop: 2,200)
Castle of Gruyères
Foundation: 13th century.
History: mentioned for the first time in the archives in 1244, the castle is the main residence of one of the most important noble families of Western Switzerland in the Middle Ages, the Counts of Gruyère.
Gruyere cheese
Gruyere is a Swiss cow's cheese which takes its name from Gruyère, a region in the canton of Fribourg, where it originally came from. It has had a protected designation of origin since 2013. Its production area covers the cantons of Fribourg, Vaud, Neuchâtel, Jura, the Bernese Jura district and some municipalities in the Bernese canton. Alpine Gruyère cheese is only made in about fifty mountain pastures. The first mention of the word Gruyere to designate a cheese dates back to the 17th century.
Châtel Les Portes du Soleil
Population: 1,250
Specialities: Potato fritters, Polenta, cabbage sausage, diots in white wine, fondue, raclette, rissoles, apple Matafan (apple turnover cooked in a pan), fish from Lake Geneva (féra, perch, arctic char, trout), cheeses (AOC Abondance, vacherin, tomme and raclette), Berthoud (a dish made from Abondance cheese and white wine)
CHÂTEL AND CYCLING
The Tour stopped in Châtel in 1975 for a mountain stage won by Lucien Van Impe, who did not put the Yellow Jersey of Bernard Thévenet at threat. Much later on the Critérium du Dauphiné, the final stage in 2012 was won in Châtel by Dani Moreno, while Bradley Wiggins successfully defended his GC. The following year, the Tour de l'Avenir brought together young riders for two stage starts, won respectively by the promising Simon Yates in Morzine and Julian Alaphilippe on the Plateau des Glières. In the 2010 Tour de Romandie, it was Slovenian Simon Spilak who won the stage.
Apple Matafan
Berthoud
Start Time 12-30CET.
Almost entirely on Swiss soil, this 193-kilometer stage features two Cat. 1 climbs in the Alps along with an uphill finish into the French ski town of Chátel. The first Alpine stage is a tribute from the Grand Boucle to the UCI as Aigle is the headquarter of the international organization. And being the last stage before a rest day there could well be a battle between the GC contenders on the demanding finale.
While the Tour de Romandie is a regular visitor to Aigle, it’s a first for the Tour de France.
An early breakaway is sure to form on the opening 150-kilometer loop from the UCI headquarters in Aigle that heads west along Lake Geneva and then up through the Gruyère cheese countryside before crossing the easy Col des Mosses and stiffer Col de la Croix before a 20-kilometer-long plunge back to Aigle.
The riders tackle three intermediate climbs in the second half of the race before the finish runs slightly uphill.
The Climbs:
Final Kms.
Following the downhill and 15 kilometres on the flat the riders are approaching the finale. Le Tour re-enters France on the Pas de Morgins (15.4 kilometres at 6.1%) before a 6 kilometres descent takes them to the foot of the last uphill section of the day. Which is 3.5 kilometres long and rises at 4% before crossing the finish line in Châtel.
What to Expect:
Three relatively easy climbs in the first 100 kilometres. The riders then continue on the flat to the modest finish climb. Meaning, odds are that the GC riders will keep their powder dry, especially with a rest day following and what comes next.
Stage hunters will have free rein in stage 10.
Aigle
Population: 10,500
Specialities: papet vaudois (Swiss potée), saucisson vaudois, white wines from the Chablais.
AIGLE, A STORY
Capital of cycling... and of Chasselas
The cultivation of vines has been part of Aigle's identity since the 8th century, when the first mention of vines in the city of Aigle was made. Indeed, the vineyard has left its mark on the Aigle landscape, as the town is surrounded by a sea of vines. Those vines produce the most famous Swiss wine, Chasselas (a dry white wine). Aigle is considered to be the centre of the Chasselas triangle, a region between Geneva, Biel and Sion, which accounts for 75 pc of the world's Chasselas production (for wine-making purposes). Historians trace its origins to the Egyptians, a hypothesis confirmed by the discovery of grape seeds. Legend has it that in 1523 a diplomat brought some plants from Constantinople to France. Opinions are divided as to whether the origin of Chasselas comes from France or whether the Romans had previously imported it... it is certain, however, that Chasselas has found a favourite place in the Pays de Vaud and in Aigle. The best Chasselas in the world are elected in Aigle every year since 2012 during the Mondial du Chasselas which takes place at the Château d'Aigle.
Along the Route.
Km 63.8
GRUYERES (Pop: 2,200)
Castle of Gruyères
Foundation: 13th century.
History: mentioned for the first time in the archives in 1244, the castle is the main residence of one of the most important noble families of Western Switzerland in the Middle Ages, the Counts of Gruyère.
Gruyere cheese
Gruyere is a Swiss cow's cheese which takes its name from Gruyère, a region in the canton of Fribourg, where it originally came from. It has had a protected designation of origin since 2013. Its production area covers the cantons of Fribourg, Vaud, Neuchâtel, Jura, the Bernese Jura district and some municipalities in the Bernese canton. Alpine Gruyère cheese is only made in about fifty mountain pastures. The first mention of the word Gruyere to designate a cheese dates back to the 17th century.
Châtel Les Portes du Soleil
Population: 1,250
Specialities: Potato fritters, Polenta, cabbage sausage, diots in white wine, fondue, raclette, rissoles, apple Matafan (apple turnover cooked in a pan), fish from Lake Geneva (féra, perch, arctic char, trout), cheeses (AOC Abondance, vacherin, tomme and raclette), Berthoud (a dish made from Abondance cheese and white wine)
CHÂTEL AND CYCLING
The Tour stopped in Châtel in 1975 for a mountain stage won by Lucien Van Impe, who did not put the Yellow Jersey of Bernard Thévenet at threat. Much later on the Critérium du Dauphiné, the final stage in 2012 was won in Châtel by Dani Moreno, while Bradley Wiggins successfully defended his GC. The following year, the Tour de l'Avenir brought together young riders for two stage starts, won respectively by the promising Simon Yates in Morzine and Julian Alaphilippe on the Plateau des Glières. In the 2010 Tour de Romandie, it was Slovenian Simon Spilak who won the stage.
Apple Matafan
Berthoud
"Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
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Twitter @3pistescycle
INSTA @tourclownunder
Fuglsang is a potential pick now he's dropped some time
@DrHeadgear
The Vikings are coming!
- @ddraver
Twitter @3pistescycle
INSTA @tourclownunder
Asgreen also out. Knee knack.
@DrHeadgear
The Vikings are coming!
3 minutes 33
- @ddraver
@DrHeadgear
The Vikings are coming!
- @ddraver
@DrHeadgear
The Vikings are coming!