Tour de France/Tour de Fleece 2022 Stage 21 - Paris la Défense Arena to Paris Champs-Élysées

Stage 21 of the Tour de France, the last day and the big finale and it is a 115.6km long flat race that starts in Paris la Défense Arena and ends in Paris Champs-Élysées.

The Map

Sights and points of interest along the route

The race starts at one of the largest arenas in the world.  It should have had a retractable roof but has a permanent roof instead because too much noise in terms of decibels would have escaped during concerts and disturbed the lives of so many people who live in the vicinity.

Inside the arena, set up for an event

I'm pretty sure most people are familiar with most of the sites of Paris, even if they have never been to Paris themselves but today's route goes out toward the suburbs before turning back toward the main central part of the city.   Paris is in the Ile-de-France region, with Ile-de-France being a breed of sheep from the area.  

Along the route today they will pass Puteaux, Suresnes, Nanterre, Rueil-Malmaison, Saint-Cloud, La Celle-Saint-Cloud, Noisy-le-Roi, Villepreux, Fontenay-le-Fleury, Bois-d'Arcy, Saint-Cyr-l'Ecole, Versailles, Chaville, Sèvres, Meudon, Issy-les-Moulineaux with the race ending Paris, usually with a couple of circuits around a specific route within the city before a final sprint along the Champs-Élysées to the finish line.

Basilique du Sacre-Coeur on Montmartre Hill in Paris

Who Won the Stage and Who Won What Jersey

The Stage winner is Jasper Philipsen for Alpecin-Deceuninck/BEL.

The Yellow Jersey won by Jonas Vingegaard for Jumbo-Visma

The Green Jersey won by Wout van Aert for Jumbo-Visma.

The Polka Dot Jersey won by Simon Geschke for Cofidis/FRA.

The White Jersey won by Tadej Pogacar for UAE Team Emirates.

Combatif Award won by Wout van Aert for Jumbo-Visma.

Leading team: Ineos-Grenadiers

This concludes the 2022 Tour de France and the overall winner is Jonas Vingegaard.

The Challenge: Here we go everyone!  This is your last chance to catch your goal (or smash it), so let's gather the remainder of our spinning strength and grab that yellow jersey... or in our case, fluff!  As is traditional, use any yellow fibre or blend to carry you over the finish line.

Suggested Fibre:  It's yellow, it's glittery and we love it, Tale as Old as Time.

What I did

I knew we would have to have yellow at some point and when the shopping list was distributed a few weeks ago and I saw the suggested yarn I knew that I wouldn't need to buy any yellow this year as I have some beautiful Merino/Mulberry Silk that fits the bill.

Again, another simple spin by splitting the fibre into two equal halves, pre-drafting it and spinning singles then plying.  It is really really soft and beautiful and is 80% Organic Merino, 20% Mulberry Silk.  The fibre doesn't have a colour name so I am going to call it Lemon Sorbet.

The final yarn is sport weight and 100g/321m which in terms of the TdF length calculations is 963m - 2 singles plus the plied length = 3 x finished yarn length.

The total length of yarn that I have spun for TDF2022, the length of 2 singles plus the ply length, pre-wash measurements is 12,804m.  We always submit the pre-wash measurements as this is what you have actually spun as when you soak/wash and set the twist in the yarn you always encounter an amount of shrinkage, which varies depending on the fibre, the type of spin etc. 

The total length of yarn that I have spun for TDF2022, the length of 2 singles plus the ply length, post-wash measurements is 12,357m, which is a loss of 447m overall across 3 measurements, which in real terms of actual finished yarn length loss is 149m across 18 skeins, which isn't bad really when you average it out to 8m per 100g skein.

I've enjoyed watching the cycling, cheering on certain cyclists, feeling sorry for those that got in a breakaway in the hopes of winning a stage and then only to have it snatched away from them right at the end.  I've enjoyed my spinning, for the most part, there were one or two that I wasn't so happy with but they are done now so that's that fibre that I don't have to avoid when selecting fibre from my stash.

In a last minute decision some of the team have decided to carry on with the spinning for the Tour de France Femme.  I won't be able to do that as I am having a break away with the family for the week, first holiday since summer 2019 due to Covid-19 Lockdown.

Tour de France/Tour de Fleece 2022 Stage 20 - Lacapelle-Marival to Rocamadour

Stage 20 of the Tour de France and it is a 40.7km Individual Time Trial that starts in Lacapelle-Marival and ends in Rocamadour.

The Map

Sights and points of interest along the route

The start town has not yet ever participated in the Tour, until now.  Is is a small town but has a 13th century castle which houses an impressive collection of paintings of all the presidents of the French Republic since the second Republic.  There is the 16th century Church of the Assumption of the Holy Virgin and the fortified church of Saint-Martial de Rudelle.

Lacapelle-Marival Castle

Today's route is very short, it's a time trial before the big finale tomorrow in Paris.  The riders will travel through or past Anglars, Aynac with an interesting Château, Saignes with a medieval castle, Bio which is part of a regional nature park, Lavergne and then Gramat.  There is an animal park at Gramat which specialises in the protection of certain threatened species with some being re-introduced into their wild habitat.  There is also a section of the park designated to the conservation of primitive breeds of domesticated farmyard animals to preserve the diversity of breeds.

Couzou is home to La Pannonie Castle and Saint-Cyr-et-Sainte-Julitte Church and then the time trial ends in Rocamadour, which is a first time Stage town.  It is a medieval town built on a rocky hillside and has a lot of history surrounding religion and pilgrimage with a sanctuary, Notre-Dame Chapel, Saint-Sauveur Basilica, Chapel of Our Lady, The Holy Way and Staircase and a Cave of Wonders. 

Rocamadour

Who Won the Stage and Who Won What Jersey

The Stage winner is Wout van Aert for Jumbo-Visma.

The Yellow Jersey won by Jonas Vingegaard for Jumbo-Visma

The Green Jersey won by Wout van Aert for Jumbo-Visma.

The Polka Dot Jersey won by Jonas Vingegaard for Jumbo-Visma.

The White Jersey won by Tadej Pogacar for UAE Team Emirates.

Combatif Award wasn't won by anyone today as its an individual time trial.

Leading team: Ineos-Grenadiers

The Challenge: In the penultimate stage of this year's race the cyclists will take on their second time trial. So guess what were doing... Today's stage will end in Rocamadour, an ancient town with cave drawings dating back to the Bronze Age. Get your timers out - you've got 10 minutes to spin as much as you can!

Suggested Fibre:  We've suggested Humbug Jacob for today; these multi-tone tops never spin the same way twice and give a lovely even spin.

What I did

I don't have Humbug Jacob but I do have Humbug Merino from the Advent Calendar.  Once again, nothing technical, just simply find the middle of the length of fibre (by holding both ends together and running it through my hands), pull apart in the middle and pre-draft then spin each piece and ply together.  If the colours blend so be it, if the colours create a barber-pole yarn so be it, I don't mind either way.

The final yarn is double-knit weight and is 100g/219m which in terms of the TdF length calculations is 657m - 2 singles plus the plied length = 3 x finished yarn length.

Tour de France/Tour de Fleece 2022 Stage 19 - Castelnau-Magnoac to Cahors

Stage 19 of the Tour de France and it is a 188.3km long flat race that starts in Castelnau-Magnoac and ends in Cahors.

The Map

Sights and points of interest along the route

The start town is situated on a castral mound that once had a 13th century castle sat on the top and at the time of its formation there was a phenomenon whereby people spread across the local countryside were grouping together at the foot of castles to gain protection from the local lord.  There is a memorial and museum dedicated to the Pommiès Corps Franc, a clandestine unit sponsored by the Army Resistance Organisation that operated during WWII, especially noted for sabotaging the Hispano-Suiza (Alstom) factory and thereby saving locals from an air bombardment.  There is also the 15th century Collegiate Church of the Assumption.

Castelnau-Magnoac

As they get on the road today they pass through Chélan, Masseube, Ornézan with its 13th century church, Orbessan with a 17th century castle and then onto the city of Auch, with many of the building being built by Louis XV and you will find the Museum of the Americas and 15th century St Mary's Cathedral.  They leave the city and onto Preignan, with 18th century Testère Castle, Sainte-Christie with a population of 550 and then onto Fleurance, which hosts an annual Astronomy Festival for the first 10 days of August and has 14th century St Laurent Church.  Saint-Clar is next along the route quickly followed by Saint-Créac and then Marsac, with its 12th century castle.

Marsac Castle

At 86km along the route is Poupas, with a population of just 90 it has 15th century St Christopher's Church and the ruins of a 17th century castle.  Lachapelle with St Peter's Church being built in the 13th century.  Lamotte Castle, also built in the 13th century is in the village of Bardigues, with the castle now being used to host exhibitions and has a shop selling local products.  Auvillar has been listed as one of the most beautiful villages in France.  During the 18th and 19th centuries it was one of the largest earthenware producers and the museum exhibits almost 500 pieces.

Auvillar

The town of Valence d'Agen was founded in 1283 by King Edward I of England and is home to some 5,200 people.  Further on the route is Goudourville which has a 12th century castle and the 15th century Saint-Julien-de-Brioude Church, which is plain looking from the outside but has two ceiling paintings representing the resurrection of Lazarus and the burial.  

24km further along the riders reach Lauzerte which has some 15th century houses and 13th century Saint Bartholomew's Church.  The place of note is Montcuq-en-Quercy-Blanc, which was popularised in the 1970s by a French TV show and was the home of Nino Ferrer, a singer of Jazz and Blues, although I myself have heard of him but then I'm not into Jazz and Blues music.

The finish town today is Cahors, famous for its wine and the 14th century Valentré Bridge which has eight arches and three towers and each end was protected by a small castle but these have since disappeared. Since 1995 it has been a pedestrian only bridge.  Other sites include St Etienne's Cathedral, medieval Cahors prison and 22 secret gardens designed in 2002 to enhance unused spaces and offer various themes such as the Herbularium which is a garden of medicinal plants and the Witch and Dragon garden is themed on demonic plants and legends.

Valentré Bridge 

Who Won the Stage and Who Won What Jersey

The Stage winner is Christophe Laporte for Jumbo-Visma

The Yellow Jersey won by Jonas Vingegaard for Jumbo-Visma

The Green Jersey won by Wout van Aert for Jumbo-Visma.

The Polka Dot Jersey won by Jonas Vingegaard for Jumbo-Visma

The White Jersey won by Tadej Pogacar for UAE Team Emirates.

Combatif Award won by Quinn Simmons for Trek-Segafredo/USA.

Leading team: Ineos-Grenadiers

The Challenge: Ooh look!  It's a flat bit.  After the uphill push yesterday, it is time t take a step back and get back in to our normal rhythms - no need to rush or zoom today! (Unless you're actually cycling the Tour de France, in that case keep going!).  The final destination today is Cahors, homme to a bridge with an interesting story.

Spin something you wouldn't normally spin.  This can be a different preparation (e.g. tops, batts, roving) or a different fibre type.  If you're a woolly wonder, why not try a plant fibre.

Suggested Fibre:  Gourami is our suggested fibre for those who want to give a pure bamboo yarn a go.

What I did

I already knew that I would be spinning today's choice on this TDF as carded slivers was on the shopping list but I had some in the Advent Calendar.

I wasn't able to pre-draft in the way that I am used to but I was able to open it up.

It was a tricky spin for me as I always do short-forward draw, where you keep the twist away from the draft zone and only allow the twist in once you moved your hand holding the fibre backwards revealing the small group of fibres that the twist will be added to and then allow the twist in and I always spin from either commercial top or hand combed top.  For me to be able to spin this and also to spin it fairly fine and even I had to venture into new territory for me and do some kind of short-forward-longdraw mash up, so allowing the twist into the draft zone and pulling the fibres back to thin out and even out the yarn.  Not my best spinning and not my favourite spinning, I found it quite stressful but I do love the end result, especially the colour.

The finished yarn is double-knit weight and 100g/201m which in terms of the TdF length calculations is 303m - 2 singles plus the plied length = 3 x finished yarn length.

Tour de France/Tour de Fleece 2022 Stage 18 - Lourdes to Hautacam

Stage 18 of the Tour de France and it is a 143.2km long mountain race that starts in Lourdes and ends in Hautacam.

The Map

Sights and points of interest along the route

The race starts in Lourdes, most famous today due the Marian Apparitions allegedly seen by Bernadette Soubirous in 1858 and now visited by religious pilgrims.  The town has been occupied since prehistoric times and in the second half of the 19th century the remains of walls, parts of a citadel, necropolis and a Pagan temple dedicated to the Gods of Water were found after the demolition of the parish of Saint-Pierre.  So the sites to see today are the Sanctuary of Notre-Dame de Lourdes and the Torchlight Procession, every evening at 9pm between April and October thousands of pilgrims and tourists take part in the procession from the grotto of the apparitions to the esplanade of the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary.  

There is also medieval Lourdes Castle, which now houses a museum of art and local history.  Other local interests are the Christhi Museum (calligraphy and ancient imagery), Pyrenean Museum, Lourdes Market Hall and Pic du Jer, which is a viewpoint of the city with the summit being 1,000m and accessed by a funicular railway that is more than 100 years old.  There is also a 18 hole golf course and The Gaves Green, Way, which is built on a disused railway line and accessible by all, including wheelchair users.

Lourdes

The first place of note on today's route is Saint-Pé-de-Bigorre which has an 11th century abbey of the same name and is currently a place for pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostela.  Next is the 14th century bastide of Montaut and then, some 23km along the route, is Louvie-Juzon, followed quickly by Izeste, Gère-Belesten and Laruns, the latter being known for its sheep's milk cheese and a cheese fair which takes place the first weekend of October every year.

Laruns

Back to the route and Eaux-Bonnes, which is made up of several small hamlets and then onto Béost, which has a 15th century Abbey/Castle.  The cyclists now tackle the climb of the Aubisque mountain pass (1,709m), which has featured in the tour 73 times.  Spandelles Pass (1,378m) is next and is featured in the tour for the first time before they reach Argelès-Gazost with a population of 3,400 and it has the Abbey of Saint-Savon.  Towards the end of the race is Beaucens, which has a 10th century castle clearly visible on the top of a hill surrounded by woodland.  The castle, now in ruins, is also home to a zoological park which specialises in birds of prey.  Today's race ends with a climb up the mountain to the ski resort of Hautacam.

Hautacam

Who Won the Stage and Who Won What Jersey

The Stage winner is Jonas Vingegaard for Jumbo-Visma.

The Yellow Jersey won by Jonas Vingegaard for Jumbo-Visma

The Green Jersey won by Wout van Aert for Jumbo-Visma.

The Polka Dot Jersey won by Jonas Vingegaard for Jumbo-Visma.

The White Jersey won by Tadej Pogacar for UAE Team Emirates.

Combatif Award won by Wout van Aert for Jumbo-Visma.

Leading team: Ineos-Grenadiers

The Challenge: The roads from Lourdes to Hautacam mark the last mountain stage of this year's Tour de France, it is all downhill from here!  But first, the riders need to scale their final challenge - the Pyrenees, home of the highest waterfall in France and one of the highest roads in Europe!

Push yourself to finish something you have started. Spinning a braid, plying, winding, balling or biscuits.

Suggested Fibre:  Whatever you fancy!  If you've got some Botany left, you can always dip in to it to make the final push.

What I did

I decided that I would up one of the monthly subscription fibres from a supplier that I used to use to get it out of the way. I chose "Peterloo" from August 2019, which is 50% Shetland, 25% Linen, 25% New Zealand wool.  The inspiration for the fibre can be found here.

I split the fibre into two equal parts, pre-drafted it and spun two singles and then plied them together.

The finished yarn is sport weight, 100g/231m which in terms of the TdF length calculations is 693m - 2 singles plus the plied length = 3 x finished yarn length.

Tour de France/Tour de Fleece 2022 Stage 17 - Saint-Gaudens to Peyragudes

Stage 17 of the Tour de France and it is a 129.7km long mountain race that starts in Saint-Gaudens and ends in Peyragudes.

The Map

Sights and points of interest along the route

The race starts in Saint-Gaudens, where in 1989 two priceless Aubusson tapestries were stolen and not seen until 7 years later when they went on sale at Sotherby's in New York. One was "The Triumph of Faith", which is a copy of a painting by Reubens and the other was the Martyrdom of Saint-Gaudens which recounts the legend of the saint beheaded by the Visigoths. A long FBI investigation took place, the good faith of the seller was established and the tapestries recovered and returned their rightful owners, no doubt money was involved to solve the issue, but the original thieves have never been caught.  There is also the Saint-Pierre Collegiate Church, an Arboretum, the Monument of the Three Marshalls and a museum dedicated to Valentines Porcelain.

Saint-Gaudens

The first village is Labarthe-Rivière followed by Labroquère and Valcabrère, in the latter there is the Basilica of Saint-Just-de-Valcabrère and then quickly arrive at Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges, which was once a Roman city with a very impressive St Mary's Cathedral.  At Aventignan is the Cave of Gargas, one of the most famous decorated caves of the Upper Paleolithic in Europe.  Just over 31km along the route is La Barth-de-Neste with its 11th century Château and then the fortified village of Sarrancolin, famous for its marble used at Petit Trinon in Versailles, the Paris Opera House and The Empire State Building.  St Ebons church is located here.  The cyclists then come to Arreau before arriving at Aspin Pass which is a climb of 12km long and an average gradient of 6.7% and has featured in the Tour de France 74 times and will take them in the vicinity of Lake Payolle.

Lake Payolle

The cyclists then travel the Hourquette d'Ancizan, a mountain pass, before reaching Guchen an historic village with beautiful old buildings and a population of just 380.  An even smaller village of Bourisp and then onto the ski resort of Saint-Lary-Soulan before Val-Louron-Azet Pass at 110km on today's route.  Génos and Loundenvielle, two small villages before and even smaller Loudervielle (I bet those two are easily confused) with just a population of 54 before the race ends in Peyragudes, a ski resort.  Peyragudes featured in the opening scenes of Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies, starring Pierce Brosnan.  There is the 11th century church of Saint-Aventin and 12 century Saint Anne's Church amongst all the winter sports activities.

Peyragudes

Who Won the Stage and Who Won What Jersey

The Stage winner is Tadej Pogacar for UAE Team Emirates.

The Yellow Jersey won by Jonas Vingegaard for Jumbo-Visma

The Green Jersey won by Wout van Aert for Jumbo-Visma.

The Polka Dot Jersey won by Simon Geschke for Cofidis/FRA.

The White Jersey won by Tadej Pogacar for UAE Team Emirates.

Combatif Award won by Brandon McNulty for UAE Team Emirates..

Leading team: Ineos-Grenadiers

The Challenge: It is back in to the mountains today as the cyclists climb from Saint-Gaudens to the ski resort of Peyragudes... not that there will be snow here at the moment!  Saint-Gaudens sits along the Garonne River. 

Take a white fibre and jazz it up with a bit of colour, this could come from effect fibres, other wools or you could chuck it in a dye pot!

Suggested Fibre:  We took our natural tweed and added some sari silk to take us "off-piste" with this challenge.

What I did

I didn't buy the second special TDF2022 fibre "off-piste" as I have two braids that are very similar to it but not quite the right colours to look like water.  Instead, I chose a fibre that was blue and sparkly and has a water related name "Shimmering Cascade".  It is 87.5% Corriedale, 12.5% Nylon.

Another simple and straight forward spin, simply split the fibre into to equal halves, pre-draft and spin a nice even single and then ply.  The finished yarn is fingering weight and is 100g/239m which in terms of the TdF length calculations is 717m - 2 singles plus the plied length = 3 x finished yarn length.  Those "white fibres" in the yarn are actually sparkly fibres and its lovely and soft.

Tour de France/Tour de Fleece 2022 Stage 16 - Carcassone to Foix

Stage 16 of the Tour de France and it is a 178.5km long hilly race that starts in Carcassone and ends in Foix.

The Map

Sights and points of interest along the route

The race starts in Carcassone, which I blogged about yesterday and so there is nothing more to add about that here so lets just get on the road with the first village of Leuc with its 14th century castle and then onto Saint-Hilaire which has the 8th century Abbey of Saint-Hilaire and abbey church, a former fortified Benedictine monastery that closed its doors in 1748 following devastation from the Hundred Years War, plague and famine.  It is currently used to host regular painting, sculpture and photography exhibitions as well as classical music concerts.  The next town is Peusse, which used to have a castle but that is now mostly destroyed with remaining structures being converted into living accommodation.  Limoux is a large town on today's route and is famous for its wine and there is the Petiet Museum where you can view paintings and also a Piano Museum.

Limoux

The town of Chalabre has pretty corbelled houses and was active in producing hats in the early part of the 20th century.  There is Chalabre Castle, built in the 13th century but now the Knights of Kercorb (an association) run workshops that allow visitors to step into history and become actors in the life of the castle.  They also have jousting shows and medieval dances and other such like activities.

At 60km along the route is the village of La Bastide-sur-l'Hers and then Lavelanet, which used to be a textile town but now has a museum that shows weaving, spinning and vegetable dies and runs workshops for people to touch and experiment with them. Mercus-Garrabet and the Devil's Bridge which has many legends attached to it and there is also 12th century Saint-Louis Church.  Tarascon-sur-Ariège is a very old town that has seen much war and destruction throughout many centuries and has a river running through it and there is the local Eastern Pyrenees Regional National Park, which is a very large green space with lakes, ponds and peat bogs and also rivers that run through it.

Tarascon-sur-Ariège

At 103km along the route is Niaux, with its huge decorated cave which has more than 200 entrances, the "Cathedral Hall" which is as large as Notre-Dame in Paris and 4km into the cave tunnels is the hall of the "Empire of Satan", which is three to four times larger.  The caves were used by priests during the revolution to hide in.  The next towns are Val-de-Sos, Port de Lers, Massat, Mur de Péguère, the later of which has a pass that is a bit of a climb, an average of 7.9% but the final part is almost 12%.  Serres-su-Arget is 170km along the route and it is here that a Benedictine Abbey was formed in 1991 by taking over former agricultural buildings.

Today's race ends in Foix, dominated by the 11th century medieval castle which has recently undergone a major restoration and rehabilitation project costing 9 million Euros and has created a museum within the now restored castle.  Locally there is also the 12th century Abbey of Saint Volusian, the Underground River of the Labouiche where you sit in a boat and see the city from below with rooms and galleries along the 4km route.  The 13th century Devil's Bridge with the legend that the architect made a pact with the Devil and could only finish building the bridge in exchange for the first soul to cross it.  Being smarter than the Devil the architect made a cat cross it

Foix Castle

Who Won the Stage and Who Won What Jersey

The Stage winner is Hugo Houle for Israel-Premier Tech/ISR.

The Yellow Jersey won by Jonas Vingegaard for Jumbo-Visma

The Green Jersey won by Wout van Aert for Jumbo-Visma.

The Polka Dot Jersey won by Simon Geschke for Cofidis/FRA.

The White Jersey won by Tadej Pogacar for UAE Team Emirates.

Combatif Award won by Hugo Houle for Israel-Premier Tech/ISR

Leading team: Ineos-Grenadiers

The Challenge: Carcassone inspired the popular game where you compete against other players to score points by building roads, cities and fields.  In Team Wow we don't really compete during TDF, but we do encourage you to blow you own trumpet and celebrate your own victories - however big or small.

Spin something you love and share a proud picture of your work!

Suggested Fibre:  Anything that you enjoy working with.  We're going to have a go with some of our grey BFL

What I did

It has been far too hot to spin today, high 30's, hitting 40 in some parts.  I did do a little bit of wool combing but it was really too hot to do that for too long.  It's supposed to be going cooler now, although we are still waiting for that to happen, certainly doesn't feel any cooler now that it's dark than it did earlier.   

Tour de France/Tour de Fleece 2022 - Day 18 - Rest

Day 18 is a rest day but last year we still had optional challenges set.

The Challenge:  The stunning fortified city of Carcassonne is where the cyclists will rest today, so let's follow suit.  There probably isn't a safer place to relax when you consider that it has two protective walls totalling 3km in length, a moat, a drawbridge and over 50 defensive towers.

If you're using today to catch up with your goals, don't overdo it!  If you're going to have a day off , enjoy!

What I did: Same as last week really, just a good catch up with measuring the yarns I've spun this past week, photography to make sure I have nice pictures, costing the yarns, adding them to my database of supplies and adding the information to the draft blog posts that I had already prepared regarding the route so that they now include race winner information, the team challenge and what I did.

Tour de France/Tour de Fleece 2022 Stage 15 - Rodez to Carcassone

Stage 15 of the Tour de France and it is a 202.5km long flat race that starts in Rodez and ends in Carcassone.

The Map

Sights and points of interest along the route

The race starts in Rodez, an ancient city with the ruins of an ancient city fortress still strongly present in the form of ramparts.  It was founded by the Celts and and later taken by the Romans who called the city Segodunum, with "Sego" meaning Strong and "dunum" meaning Hill put that together and it becomes strong hill / high hill / stronghold which is the at the heart of the Gaulish name of Rodez.  The city is home to the Soulages Museum and Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Fenaille Museum and Jourery Hotel as well as House of Armagnac.

Rodez

As the cyclists get on the road they pass Luc-la-Primaube, then Calmont, once renowned for its hemp cultivation (I hope that means they grew it for fibre production and not for recreational drug purposes).  The ruins of the 15th century castle keep dominates the skyline.  At Comps-la-Grand-Ville with its population of 620 is the Abbaye Notre-Dame de Bonnecombe, founded in 1162 by Cistercian Monks.  Cassagne-Begonhes is next on the route followed by Requista, a town that holds the festival of the ewe every first Sunday of June and there is even a statue of a ewe and lamb in front of the town hall.

The sheep statue in Requista.  Sheep are the symbol of the city.

The pretty town of Ambialet is perched on an isthmus, formed by the river Tarn.  The church of St Gilles was burnt down in 1568 and not restored until the mid 1990's.  The riders approach 13th century Villefranche-d'Albigeois and 20km further along they comes to Realmont followed by the medieval village of Lautrec and owes its name to the Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa family.  Nearby is the Château de Malvignol and the Windmill of La Salette, which still produces flour.  

Vielmur-sur-Agout is the birthplace of Jean-Louis-Etienne, who skied to the north pole alone in 1986.  He is currently 75 years old. At 128km along the route is Puylaurens with 13th century Notre-Dame-du-lac Church and at 142km is the largest bastide in France, Revel.  A bastide is a medieval village or town laid out to a definite geometric plan.  There is a wood and marquetry museum with a Xylotheque that lists the characteristics of hundred of species and there are workshops that can be attended that offer an introduction into the craft.  On a personal note, wood is probably the other major natural material, besides wool, that I understand and appreciate the difference of different types of wood in terms of the strength, the grain, the colour, the texture and I would totally get it if someone created a marquetry piece of furniture, a table for instance, using different wood types with each "block" having the name of the wood pyrographed in one corner, maple, sycamore, oak, beech, pine, etc etc

Revel

Saissac is at the foothills of the Montagne Noire and the castle ruins are quite imposing.  The race ends in Carcassone, which from the photograph looks very much like a sprawling fairytale castle.  It is in fact a medieval oppidum, a fortified city protected by two concentric enclosures.  It has 52 towers and and 3km of ramparts.  It has undergone a lot of reconstruction and preservation to make it look how it looks today.  The aerial view is absolutely spectacular.  Wow, just wow!

Carcassone

There is a cinema inside the medieval part of the city, the cinema was built in 1908.  In this area cloth-making was the trade in the 17th century and in the 19th century wine was the big trade item and due to the wealth there are several mansions with fabulous architecture.

Carcassone, the medieval old town inside the ramparts with newer buildings outside.

Who Won the Stage and Who Won What Jersey

The Stage winner is Jasper Philipsen for Alpecin-Deceuninck/BEL.

The Yellow Jersey won by Jonas Vingegaard for Jumbo-Visma

The Green Jersey won by Wout van Aert for Jumbo-Visma.

The Polka Dot Jersey won by Simon Geschke for Cofidis/FRA.

The White Jersey won by Tadej Pogacar for UAE Team Emirates.

Combatif Award won by Nils Politt for Bora-Hansgrohe/GER

Leading team: Ineos-Grenadiers

The Challenge: Welcome to Rodez, the starting point for today's flat stage.  The older buildings are made from both grey and pink sandstone giving it a very warm and welcoming feel and with the cathedral itself a towering example of the pink stone. In July temperatures averages 24°C with an average of 10 hours of sunshine!.

We're going pink!  Go bright, go pastel or go blended!  (Alternatively, if you're not a fan of pink, how about using some greys and tonal shade to get a stone effect?)

Suggested Fibre:  If you're in team EVERYTHING IS PINK, try Whisper.  Alternatively, a nice and easy option is Granite, or even Sandstone.

What I did

Having already being aware that I would need something pink or grey I had had a bit of time to think about this one and had already decided to spin the 50g or thereabouts of pink/grey/white blend "Sugar & Spice" which was the free gift in the Advent Calendar.  I had a rummage through my "ingredients cupboard", where I keep all the smaller amounts of fibre from botany waste bags, mixed bags, sample amounts and such like and I had thought I had got some pale pink fibre but I hadn't so I just picked out two different grey fibres which together totalled around 50g, one is definitely Shetland and the other I think might be Merino.

Sugar & Spice, the unknown and Shetland

I pre-drafted the two grey fibres together as best as I could so that they kind of blended as I spun and that made one single and the Sugar & Spice spun up as the second single.

I plied them together to create a double-knit weight yarn that is 84g/128m which in terms of the TdF length calculations is 384m - 2 singles plus the plied length = 3 x finished yarn length.  The pink is very subtle but it is there, although it is very difficult to see in the photos of the finished yarn.

Tour de France/Tour de Fleece 2022 Stage 14 - Saint-Étienne to Mende

Stage 14 of the Tour de France and it is a 192.5km long hilly race that starts in Saint-Étienne and ends in Mende.

The Map

Sights and points of interest along the route

Saint-Étienne was the finish town yesterday and there's nothing new to say about that, I covered it in yesterday's blog post so we might as well just get going on the route and the first town is Roche-la-Molière, which has a fortified castle of the same name.  A little way on the route is Firminy and it is quite a way before they reach La Séauve-sur-Semène with its 12th century La Sauve-Bénite Abbey, which was sold during the French Revolution and became a textile factory before becoming housing about 50 years ago.  The next towns on the route are Grazac, Yssingeaux and then Rosières, the later of which has a canyon of multicoloured clay called Corboeuf Ravines.

Corboeuf Ravines

At around 75km along today's route is Lavoûte-sur-Loire where there is Lavoûte-Polignac castle, a former medieval castle built with local stone and was the Polignac family's resting place, whereas Château de Polignac, some 11km further along today's route, was a fortress and the Polignac family's place of war.  Le Puy en Velay is famous for it's green lentils and also for it's lace and lace is still made there today at the National Lace Conservatory Workshop.  At 97km the riders reach Saint-Christophe-sur-Dolaison with the 12th century church of Saint-Christophe.  The volcanic lake of Le Bouchet and then onto Saint-Haon, which has a church that has 4 bells, all bearing the name of a child of the village.

Le Bouchet Lake

Saint-Bonnet-Laval is next on the route and it only has a population of 250 and then another village, but a bit larger, is Grandieu that has a 12th century church, Saint-Martin Church, built entirely from granite.  Chateauneuf-de-Randon used to have a medieval castle but all that remains is a tower and then yet another small village is Pelouse and then Badaroux, birthplace of Joseph-Antoine Chaptal, a chemist who invented Chaptalization, which is a process that increases the alcohol content of wines by sugaring.

The final town is Mende, which once had a exceptionally large bell in the tower of the cathedral, .  It was 3.25m diameter, 2.75m high and 33mm thick and was said to have weighed 25 tons.  It was known as "non pareille", which means "like no other", and had rumours attached to it which included people with weak hearts taking refuge in cellars when it rang, mothers keeping children away from it in fear of bursting their eardrums and the clapper was said to make women fertile if they touched it.  The clapper was 2.2m long and weighed 470kg and is the only part of the bell that still remains after the bell itself was destroyed during the Wars of Religion in 1579.

Mende

Who Won the Stage and Who Won What Jersey

The Stage winner is Michael Matthews for Team Bikeexchange-Jayco/AUS.

The Yellow Jersey won by Jonas Vingegaard for Jumbo-Visma

The Green Jersey won by Wout van Aert for Jumbo-Visma.

The Polka Dot Jersey won by Simon Geschke for Cofidis/FRA.

The White Jersey won by Tadej Pogacar for UAE Team Emirates.

Combatif Award won by Michael Matthews for Team Bikeexchange-Jayco/AUS.

Leading team: Ineos-Grenadiers

The Challenge: A hilly stages sees the cyclists finishing in Mende; a city that has been populated since 200BC and that, at one point, re-developed its industry wholly around sheep and wool.  We approve!  The colourful history also includes terrifying tales of the Beast of Gévaudan!.

We love a good story; now is your chance to regale everyone with your favourite legend/tale/piece of folklore.

Suggested Fibre:  Keeping with the theme we suggest something from our Folklore range.

What I did

I have two choices for my fibre today as I have both Charm and Riddle from the Folklore range.  Charm is in the purple range and Riddle is in the green range.  I couldn't decide so I put the names, one in each hand, mixed them up behind my back and had my youngest choose a hand.  Charm it is for today.

The Folklore range is 33.33% Merino, 33.33% Bamboo and 33.33% Tweed blend.

I simply broke the length of fibre in half across its length, pre-drafted and spun a single from each piece.  Unfortunately I forgot to take photos of the pre-drafted fibre so I don't have any nice photos of it.  The final yarn is fingering weight and 93g/247m which in terms of the TdF length calculations is 741m - 2 singles plus the plied length = 3 x finished yarn length.