TDF 2023: Stage 7:- Mont de Marsan to Bordeaux, 170km ***Spoilers***

Stage 7:- Mont de Marsan to Bordeaux, 170km

Friday, July 7
Start Time: 12-15pmBST.

The Tour visits Bordeaux for the 82nd time. Until recent times, it was one of the regular Tour towns. It’s the 57th time since 1947 that the biggest cycling contest in the world finishes in Bordeaux. However, the last time Bordeaux was a stage finish was in 2010 – and some guy called Mark Cavendish won it back then. Maybe a good omen for Tour stage win no. 35?



The 169.9 kilometres long race heads North and features one easy climb with almost 40 kilometres to go. The rest of the parcours of stage 7 is flat. So there's little doubt that the fast men will have it their way in the streets of Bordeaux.



Final Kms.

The two-kilometre finishing straight along the quayside will allow stage contenders to stake their claim for victory in the high-speed dash to the finish line near the Place des Quinconces, hailed by the people of Bordeaux as the biggest in France.





What to Expect.

A small, desperate breakaway, which will probably form inside the first couple of kms. Several sprinter teams will keep the gap to within a couple of minutes until the time comes for the GC teams to try to place their leaders at the head of the bunch and the dangerous stuff begins. After the 3km mark, the sprint trains will battle it out for the win.

Mont de Marsan

Stage ton for the 5th time
Population: 30,000

Mont-de-Marsan is a commune and capital of the Landes department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. The Festival Arte Flamenco international festival was established 1989 in Mont-de-Marsan by the council of the Landes department and is the largest Flamenco festival outside of Spain.

MONT-DE-MARSAN AND CYCLING

For cycling fans, Mont-de-Marsan is above all linked to Luis Ocana, who revealed himself there at the beginning of his career and achieved his first successes in town. Son of Spanish emigrants settled in Gers, a department with which he kept links all his life, the young Luis became a citizen of Mont-de-Marsan in 1963 when, spotted by the president of the local club, Pierre Cescutti, he donned its yellow and black colours. He turned professional in 1968 with Spanish team Fagor and chose to keep his original nationality. His first successes came the following year and from 1970, when he won the Vuelta, he asserted himself as one of Eddy Merckx's main rivals. The 1971 Tour de France established his legend: Yellow Jersey after having relentlessly harassed the Cannibal, Luis Ocana was caught in a collective crash on the descent of the col de Menté and was forced to abandon. Bad luck was often part of his life, but the "Spaniard from Mont-de-Marsan" finally clinched his greatest victory in 1973 by winning the Tour in the absence of his Belgian rival.



Gastronomy.

Landes farm duck
The Landes farm duck is one of eight products to be awarded the Landes Quality label. It is raised in the open air for more than 102 days. Since April 2003 and for the first time, the Label Rouge has been extended to cooked products, a guarantee of quality processing. Fed on whole grain corn from the South-West, it is reared with the greatest respect for tradition and follows a very strict set of specifications. It can be eaten in a thousand different ways: duck breast, aiguillettes, foie gras, confits.



Pastis landais

Pastis landais is a traditional French pastry. It's made with a combination of eggs, butter, flour, yeast, and powdered sugar. The pastry is typically flavored with vanilla, rum, and orange blossom water. Once baked, pastis landais is golden yellow in color and its exterior is crunchy because it's sprinkled with large pieces of sugar on top.



Bordeaux

Stage town for the 82nd time
Population: 260,000 (994,000 in the urban area).

Prefecture of the Gironde. Prefecture of the New Aquitaine Region, Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in southwestern France. It’s known for its Gothic Cathédrale Saint-André, 18th- to 19th-century mansions and notable art museums such as the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux. Public gardens line the curving river quays.
Bordeaux is a world capital of wine: many castles and vineyards stand on the hillsides of the Gironde, and the city is home to the world's main wine fair, Vinexpo. Bordeaux is also one of the centers of gastronomy.

BORDEAUX AND CYCLING

With 81 stages, Bordeaux is, after Paris, the city that has hosted the Tour de France most often, but the race has shunned the capital of wine for thirteen years, since the last winner in town (a sprinter, as tradition dictates), was none other than the greatest of them all, Mark Cavendish. Before him, finishers like Rik van Looy, André Darrigade, Walter Godefroot, Marino Basso, Freddy Maertens, Jan Raas, Eric Vanderaerden, Jean-Paul van Poppel, Djamolidine Abdoujaparov, Tom Steels or Erik Zabel had also won here.

Gastronomy.

Entrecôte à la bordelaise
There are two ways to prepare a fine cut of steak Bordeaux style — as entrecôte bordelaise, without a wine sauce (the traditional way), and as entrecôte à la bordelaise, with a wine sauce (also known as entrecôte marchand de vin). The key to success is choosing an excellent cut of meat.



Bordeaux cannelé
The cannelé, also written canelé, is a small cake in the shape of a fluted cylinder, with a soft and tender pastry, flavoured with rum and vanilla, and baked in a mould originally made of copper, which gives it a thin caramelised crust.







"Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
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Comments

  • No_Ta_Doctor
    No_Ta_Doctor Posts: 14,649
    Can't believe it's been that long, it's crazy. It was always there.

    Shame it's not the finish from back then though, Cav's crazy memory would have helped
    Warning No formatter is installed for the format
  • mooro
    mooro Posts: 483
    Dear Mr Saddles…
    I’m a long time lurker on here and occasionally following during stages but have to say how mint your intros are.

    Thank you :smile:
  • mididoctors
    mididoctors Posts: 18,908
    Stop the cringe bus
    "If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm
  • mididoctors
    mididoctors Posts: 18,908
    4 riders off the front but one can't be bothered and sits up
    "If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm
  • Munsford0
    Munsford0 Posts: 678
    Ooh that steak looks tasty!
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 22,725

    Stop the cringe bus

    Use the multi audio option.
    They didn’t miss the start of the stage as no studio chin waggery.
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • mididoctors
    mididoctors Posts: 18,908
    Break is so soft they all say up bar one from arkea
    "If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 22,725
    Almost a repeat of the last sprint stage.
    Surely viewing figures will suffer on such stages. In which case, can we expect fewer in future editions?

    4 breakaway riders now down to just one reluctant participant.
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 22,725
    Total dawdle
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • JimD666
    JimD666 Posts: 2,293
    I'm guessing a fairly quiet couple of stages before the MTF on Sunday. Handy really have loads of catching up to do with Ladies Giro and some MTBing
  • ddraver
    ddraver Posts: 26,695


    Surely viewing figures will suffer on such stages. In which case, can we expect fewer in future editions?.

    That would be like cutting out the middle of a football pitch because people only watch the goals...

    (so, judging by the UCI...probably yes)
    We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
    - @ddraver
  • takethehighroad
    takethehighroad Posts: 6,820

    Almost a repeat of the last sprint stage.
    Surely viewing figures will suffer on such stages. In which case, can we expect fewer in future editions?

    4 breakaway riders now down to just one reluctant participant.

    Depends what the point of these stages is. In my opinion, it's a necessary evil to allow riders a rest to then go hard on other days.

    Do we get the 2 hard days in the Pyrenees if we don't have the de facto rest day to Nogaro?

    See the Giro, which had very few flat days "off", but was derided for a lack of interest from the GC
  • Here comes Carlton to list the potential winners...
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 22,725
    Takes Kirby all of 2 minutes after arriving to start reading out the startlist of possible stage winners.
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • DeVlaeminck
    DeVlaeminck Posts: 9,104
    I don't know if we need quiet days to have hard days. If everyone is shattered does that mean boring conservative racing or are domestiques too fatigued to really control and we get chaotic open racing ?

    I do think it's interesting that we aren't seeing small teams putting men in the break just for exposure - we were always told that was a big part of why they did it - and with longer coverage you'd think there would be more exposure now.
    [Castle Donington Ladies FC - going up in '22]
  • N0bodyOfTheGoat
    N0bodyOfTheGoat Posts: 6,054
    Today's the day then for win #35!
    ================
    2020 Voodoo Marasa
    2017 Cube Attain GTC Pro Disc 2016
    2016 Voodoo Wazoo
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,462

    Takes Kirby all of 2 minutes after arriving to start reading out the startlist of possible stage winners.

    Flares are the new roundabouts for him recently.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    pitch at 3-4pm so very happy they are going slow today.
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,462
    Talk of possible crosswinds in about 7-8km.
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,462
    The lone breakaway seeing an opportunity to get caught as the peloton wind up for the intermediate sprint. Lead down to 41”. Girmay showing some form ahead of tomorrow’s uphill finish.
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,462
    These roads look horrible to race on, long straights and just draggy looking.
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,462
    Anyone explain Latour and his mate trying to bridge to a doomed solo break? It’s not like they’ll even be in contention for combativity.
  • mididoctors
    mididoctors Posts: 18,908
    Pross said:

    Anyone explain Latour and his mate trying to bridge to a doomed solo break? It’s not like they’ll even be in contention for combativity.

    It's not a bad gamble compared to being in the days break ...lone guy goes out or smallish break . Sprinter teams still.have to ride all day .... Use the sprint to jump across slingshot by sprinters team who pause to regroup ... Bam your a min up the round with 2 fresh riders ...chance of success minimal but higher than attacking km 0
    "If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm
  • mididoctors
    mididoctors Posts: 18,908
    Got yo.takr me ailing mum to the health centre miss the end ... hopefully that will.mean.cab wins
    "If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm
  • Got yo.takr me ailing mum to the health centre miss the end ... hopefully that will.mean.cab wins

    We've got team radio on the forum now?
  • mididoctors
    mididoctors Posts: 18,908

    Got yo.takr me ailing mum to the health centre miss the end ... hopefully that will.mean.cab wins

    We've got team radio on the forum now?
    Right side of the roundabout
    "If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm
  • N0bodyOfTheGoat
    N0bodyOfTheGoat Posts: 6,054
    edited July 2023
    Breakaway win with tailwind? Unlikely, but you never know, maybe...

    That would really hurt if Cav won the bunch sprint for third!
    ================
    2020 Voodoo Marasa
    2017 Cube Attain GTC Pro Disc 2016
    2016 Voodoo Wazoo
  • focuszing723
    focuszing723 Posts: 8,137
    Cav Cav Cav Cav Cav Cav, Cav, Cav Cav.

    Cav!
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 22,725
    ITV commentary highlighting the effect of the tailwind and the fact that sprinter teams are already having to use up domestiques, just to hold the break.

    Meanwhile Kirby is reading out half the startlist as possible stage winners……for the third time this afternoon.
    Ffs.
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 28,119
    edited July 2023

    ITV commentary highlighting the effect of the tailwind and the fact that sprinter teams are already having to use up domestiques, just to hold the break.

    Meanwhile Kirby is reading out half the startlist as possible stage winners……for the third time this afternoon.
    Ffs.

    I changed over and Millar is describing the u turn in the finish that Eurosport just told us had been taken out.