Hallo once again meh hearties! Today is Stage 15 as the riders make their way from Samatan to Pau. This is a relatively flat stage with plenty of scenic farmland and some gentle hills.
The coverage today begins at the sprint at Maubourguet. No one was really sprinting here on the sprint straightaway, as the six leaders trundled along through the sprint.
Cool colorful mask sculpture in the center of a roundabout! A pack of six riders is about five minutes ahead here.
Now the six leaders have pulled ahead as the rest of the peloton is slacking off and just cruising along as they please. Nothing wrong with that!
OK, now the leaders are picking up the pace. As they approach the finish, two riders as Pierrick Redrigo and Christian Vande Velde battle it out for the finish! Redrigo has taken the lead with Vande Velde right on his tail. Can he keep his lead? Aaaannnddd……… it’s Redrigo! Nicely done!
Pau is a very charming large town, with a beautiful, well-maintained château in the middle of town, complete with formal, tree-lined gardens. Coolies!
Fredrick Kessiakoff is the lucky recipient of The Bulge of the Day for his impression of a camel toe while on the podium for the overall climber! Looks like he has a camel toe cup on – LOL!
Wiggo retains his Yellow Jersey yet again while Sagen retains his White Jersey for Youthful Rider. Nicely done!
Since we are still in the general area of the Limoux AOC, the Wine of the Day is Red Limoux! It can be made Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache, Malbec (under the name Cot), Syrah, and Carignan. The wine must be a blend containing a minimum of three varieties, with no two varieties together exceeding 90% of the blend. Furthermore, Merlot must make up a minium of 50%, Grenache, Malbec, Syrah and Carignan must together make up a minimum of 30%. However, from the 2010 harvest, Carignan may not exceed 10%. Got that? No worries, there won’t be a quiz on this! For now, just drink it tram!!! Wheeeees!!!
Red Limoux can be difficult to find in the States, but that may change since some large wineries are looking into expanding their operations into this region for the production of red wine, so it must be good in order for Chateau Mouton Rothschild to look into it.
Tomorrow is a rest day, so I will see you all back here on Wednesday as the Tour starts up again in Pau and travels towards the center of France in Bagneres-de-Luchon! Wheeees! Have fun and stay safe out there!