TDF 2023: Stage 4:- Dax to Nogaro Circuit, 182km ***Spoilers***

blazing_saddles

Stage 4:- Dax to Nogaro Circuit, 182km

Tuesday, July 4
Start Time: 12-10pmBEST.

Stage 4 is the last stage start in the Basque Country. The riders clip into their pedals in spa town Dax to travel to Nogaro. The race is 181.8 kilometres long and finishes on Circuit Paul Armagnac, also known as Circuit de Nogaro. Even though the course leads over hilly terrain, the last kilometres and also the finale are made for the very fast men. The Circuit Paul Armagnac offers perfect conditions for a high-speed sprint.



The majority of the route travels towards the East, so potentially with a tailwind. Gently undulating roads lead the riders away from the Atlantic Coast. The route goes as far east as Vic-Fezensac before returning westwards with almost 40 kilometres to go. Crosswinds could factor in the second half of the stage.



Final Kms.

The last 3 kilometres take place on the motorsport race track before the fast men are likely to have it their way. In 2017, Tom Scully won a stage in the Route du Sud on this racing track.







What to Expect:

There is only one classified climb and it’s hardly a climb at all. Côte de Dému goes up for 2 kilometres at 3.5%. The ‘summit’ is situated 27.4 kilometres before the line in Nagaro. Consequently, the teams with a sprinter will be all over this stage. Unless they then enter into a self destruct game of chicken, the breakaway has zero chance of survival.
So expect the breakaway to be small in number and almost exclusively French.

Dax

Stage town for the 7th time
Population: 21,000

Dax is a commune in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France, sub-prefecture of the Landes department. It is known as a spa destination, specialising in mud treatment for rheumatism and similar ailments. Dax is also known for its tauromachy culture, especially during the August ferias, one of the most crowded festival events in France with 800,000 people attending over five days. It is also a market town, former bishopric and busy local centre, especially for the Chalosse area.



DAX AND CYCLING

Dax has hosted the Tour de France six times between 1951 and 2006, with three-time world champion Oscar Freire winning the third of his four stage victories in the race. Dax is also historically important for Dutch cycling, as it was here in 1951 that Wim Van Est won the stage from Agen and became the first Dutchman to wear the Yellow Jersey. This jersey did not bring him luck because, the next day, between Dax and Tarbes, Van Est crashed on the descent of the Aubisque and was forced to retire.



Gastronomy.

Madeleines de Dax

Les Madeleines de Dax have been made since 1906 by the same family of confectioners, the Cazelles, according to a recipe whose secret the house jealously guards. Considered to be one of the oldest shops in the town, the Madeleines de Dax shop has become a must for food lovers looking for a culinary souvenir.



Landes tourtière.

It is an apple cake which first originated in the Landes de Gascogne. Its origin can be traced back to Ancient Rome where it was called “crustata”, in Latin.
It is a cake with a host of fine layers of buttery, caramalized pastry, with apples flavoured with Armagnac delicately placed underneath the fine layers. Legend has it that the pastry should be spread so finely as possible so that it is totally transparent. This is why this pastry is also known as “bride’s veil”. The cake is then cooked in the oven.



Nagaro.

First time stage city
Population: 2,100.

Circuit Paul Armagnac also known as Circuit de Nogaro is a motorsport race track located in the commune of Nogaro in the Gers department in southwestern France. The track is named in honor of Nogaro-born racing driver Paul Armagnac who died in an accident during practice for the 1962 1000 km de Paris at the Montlhéry circuit. The track is relatively flat, the circuit features several long straights coupled with tighter twisty sections at each end.



NOGARO AND CYCLING

Nogaro is closely linked to the memory of Luis Ocana, who owned a property in Caupenne-d'Armagnac, 6 km away. It was on this farm that the 1973 Tour de France winner took his own life in 1994. The Luis Ocana Trophy has been organised several times on the Nogaro racetrack, which also hosts an endurance event, the Six Hours of Nogaro. It is this circuit, frequented by F2, F2 and GT championship cars, that has made its sporting reputation, but the town has also seen cycling racers pass through. In 1974, Nogaro organised the Critérium des As, the prestigious race that brought together, from 1921 to 1990, the best riders of the year at the end of the season. Eddy Merckx of course won that year, one of the few times the event was not held in the Paris region.



Gastronomy.

Confit de Canard.

This French classic is made by slow-roasting duck meat in its own fat. The meat is typically seasoned with salt, pepper, and fresh herbs and spices such as thyme, garlic, shallots, and bay leaves.
Traditionally, duck confit is cooked in a copper pot over a fire for up to 24 hours, in order for the fat to render and cover the meat.



Floc de Gascogne

Floc-de-Gascogne is a liqueur wine made by mixing grape must and young Armagnac. Inherited from a 16th century recipe, it has been recognised since 1990 as an AOC and produced in a large part of the Gers, Landes and Lot-et-Garonne departments. It takes its name from flòc, which means "bunch of flowers" in Gascon and comes from an old peasant recipe (2/3 grape juice, 1/3 armagnac, for 16 to 18% alcohol) reserved for family consumption. In Nogaro, which has some of the most famous armagnac and floc cellars, floc is celebrated in the middle of August since 2019.

andyp

The Wim Van Est story is well worth a read. This is an excerpt on it from Wikipedia:

The next day, in defence of his position, Van Est was chasing the leaders on the descent of the Col d'Aubisque. He was following Fiorenzo Magni on the descent, a very strong rider who had already won two Giro's as well as two Tour Stages, who had superior descending skill. Due to a flat tyre (according to Van Est himself), in conjunction with snow melt and many loose stones on the road he lost control of his bike and went over the cliff. He instinctively kicked his bike away as he fell and of the riders, officials and fans, Belgian rider Roger Decock was the only person to see him go over the ravine.

The ravine was approximately 1,000 feet or 300 meters deep, and much of it was steep enough that a falling person would continue falling all the way to the bottom. Van Est fell about 200 feet or 70 meters trying to grab at the saplings growing on the mountainside to break his fall. Fortunately he slowed and was able to grab hold of a small tree nearby a one meter wide outcrop, which he then made his way to. Even if he wanted to he could not climb back up or down, despite the fact he did not suffer any major injury.

As Van Est precariously sat overlooking a several hundred foot drop he began screaming for help. Fortunately Decock stopped when Van Est went over, giving up his 5th place in the overall standings dropping to 17th by the end of the Tour as a result of the 25 minutes he lost assisting the Dutchman.[4] When the Dutch team car arrived and were told what happened they screamed down the mountain for him for several minutes hearing nothing but echoes. After a few minutes they were able to find his approximate location. It took the team quite some time to tie together every single tire tube they had in order to make a rope that they hoped would reach him. After a great deal of time their 75 meter "rope" reached Van Est and he was able to use the tires to rig together a hoist which he put around his chest under both arms.

Helped by spectators and his manager, he managed to get back to the road. Van Est wanted to continue, but was persuaded to go to the hospital because he had just crashed down a 200 foot ravine.

At home, Van Est's fame grew even more when Belgian watchmaker Pontiac, which had supplied watches to the Dutch team in the Tour de France, started an advertising campaign "Seventy meters deep I dropped, my heart stood still but my Pontiac never stopped".[5]

andyp

I'm sure I read that the Dutch team had to abandon afterwards, as all the tubular tyres were stretched and unusable from being used to pull Van Est out, and the rules at the time meant they could only use the tyres the team had at the beginning of the race.

Pross

He’d probably have been kicked off the race for getting outside assistance if he’d continued!

jimmyjams

Where can I buy a Pontiac?

kingstongraham

It never feels right finishing on a motor racing circuit (or airport). At least its straight I suppose.

Pross

kingstongraham said:

It never feels right finishing on a motor racing circuit (or airport). At least its straight I suppose.

No roundabouts, what will the commentator have to worry about? Maybe a gnarly chicane.

mrb123

kingstongraham said:

It never feels right finishing on a motor racing circuit (or airport). At least its straight I suppose.

I always think it makes it look like they're going really slowly.

takethehighroad

andyp said:

The Wim Van Est story is well worth a read. This is an excerpt on it from Wikipedia:

The next day, in defence of his position, Van Est was chasing the leaders on the descent of the Col d'Aubisque. He was following Fiorenzo Magni on the descent, a very strong rider who had already won two Giro's as well as two Tour Stages, who had superior descending skill. Due to a flat tyre (according to Van Est himself), in conjunction with snow melt and many loose stones on the road he lost control of his bike and went over the cliff. He instinctively kicked his bike away as he fell and of the riders, officials and fans, Belgian rider Roger Decock was the only person to see him go over the ravine.

The ravine was approximately 1,000 feet or 300 meters deep, and much of it was steep enough that a falling person would continue falling all the way to the bottom. Van Est fell about 200 feet or 70 meters trying to grab at the saplings growing on the mountainside to break his fall. Fortunately he slowed and was able to grab hold of a small tree nearby a one meter wide outcrop, which he then made his way to. Even if he wanted to he could not climb back up or down, despite the fact he did not suffer any major injury.

As Van Est precariously sat overlooking a several hundred foot drop he began screaming for help. Fortunately Decock stopped when Van Est went over, giving up his 5th place in the overall standings dropping to 17th by the end of the Tour as a result of the 25 minutes he lost assisting the Dutchman.[4] When the Dutch team car arrived and were told what happened they screamed down the mountain for him for several minutes hearing nothing but echoes. After a few minutes they were able to find his approximate location. It took the team quite some time to tie together every single tire tube they had in order to make a rope that they hoped would reach him. After a great deal of time their 75 meter "rope" reached Van Est and he was able to use the tires to rig together a hoist which he put around his chest under both arms.

Helped by spectators and his manager, he managed to get back to the road. Van Est wanted to continue, but was persuaded to go to the hospital because he had just crashed down a 200 foot ravine.

At home, Van Est's fame grew even more when Belgian watchmaker Pontiac, which had supplied watches to the Dutch team in the Tour de France, started an advertising campaign "Seventy meters deep I dropped, my heart stood still but my Pontiac never stopped".[5]

The Cycling Podcast did an episode of Kilometre Zero about him a couple of years ago that was very enjoyable

takethehighroad

Pross said:

kingstongraham said:

It never feels right finishing on a motor racing circuit (or airport). At least its straight I suppose.

No roundabouts, what will the commentator have to worry about? Maybe a gnarly chicane.

A kerblet

No_Ta_Doctor

takethehighroad said:

Pross said:

kingstongraham said:

It never feels right finishing on a motor racing circuit (or airport). At least its straight I suppose.

No roundabouts, what will the commentator have to worry about? Maybe a gnarly chicane.

A kerblet

Track limits infractions

kingstongraham

Powless needs to rest up today to make sure he can get in the breakaway tomorrow.

Mad_Malx

Does a (presumably) hazard-free finish make it more or less likely for Cav?
I'd guess more likely to favor a decent leadout.

No_Ta_Doctor

My guess is that big broad heavy tarmac race track finishes favour the big boys with big trains. There's less leeway for making a cheeky move and outsmarting them when they can use the whole road

blazing_saddles

Zero interest in getting into the breakaway.

Pross

Are we commentary free on GCN or have I accidentally switched to ambient?

kingstongraham

Pross said:

Are we commentary free on GCN or have I accidentally switched to ambient?

Stick with it.

kingstongraham

They should all stop behind and leave a break by default.

Pross

Someone has had a word and told the teams to at least try to form a break. Alpecin and Jayco of all teams make a half-hearted attempt but soon give up. This is going to be a snoozefest and possibly a bit crashy as they all doze off. I can't remember seeing a stage with no break but must have done I guess.

poweredbyidris

No break? No roundabouts?

What's Carlton gonna do?

Pross

kingstongraham said:

Pross said:

Are we commentary free on GCN or have I accidentally switched to ambient?

Stick with it.

I had gone ambient by accident, I think I might go back it was quite relaxing.

This reminds me of one race I did where the commissaire gave us a bollocking and said he'd cancel the race if we didn't make an effort.

No_Ta_Doctor

And they're off.
They're almost going backwards as they try and avoid accidentally getting into a break. Wonder which naive young neo pro is going to get suckered into it?

kingstongraham

Pross said:

Someone has had a word and told the teams to at least try to form a break. Alpecin and Jayco of all teams make a half-hearted attempt but soon give up. This is going to be a snoozefest and possibly a bit crashy as they all doze off. I can't remember seeing a stage with no break but must have done I guess.

Wasn't there one in last year's Giro?

drhaggis

No_Ta_Doctor said:

And they're off.
They're almost going backwards as they try and avoid accidentally getting into a break. Wonder which naive young neo pro is going to get suckered into it?

Someone from an invited team, and with no TT pedigreee in the junior ranks would be my guess.

Pross

4 stages now with no real fight to get into breaks. Surely this is part of the deal for the wildcard teams?

mididoctors

ABSOLUTELY NO ONE HAS ATTACKED

TheBigBean

Does anyone else have no commentary on Discovery+?

mididoctors

alpecin attack

mididoctors

Pross said:

4 stages now with no real fight to get into breaks. Surely this is part of the deal for the wildcard teams?

.

ASO used to instruct wildcard teams on this

TheBigBean

TheBigBean said:

Does anyone else have no commentary on Discovery+?

There's an option to turn it on and off. Just discovered.

gsk82

Why attack when Jumbo will just mow you down?