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.