Tour de France/Tour de Fleece 2022 Stage 4 - Dunkerque to Calias (France)

Stage 4 of the Tour de France and it is a 171.5km long hilly race that starts in Dunkerque (Dunkirk) and ends in Calais, France.

The Map

Sights and points of interest along the route

Seeing as todays race starts in Dunkerque, or Dunkirk as most people are more familiar with, I guess that we start with a little bit of history of its WWII involvement, something that I am not particularly familiar with myself to be honest.  I certainly didn't learn anything about it during my time at school. I've also written a little about Dunkirk in 2022 and leading the way in eco-friendly and green energy, my kind of thing.

With the German army making headway in Northern France in early 1940 and pushing French and British troops towards the Channel, effectively trapping them, the only way out would be a rescue mission from the sea.  The obvious place would be Dunkirk and so Operation Dynamo was put into place to rescue the British Expeditionary Force as well as thousands of French soldiers and get them to the safety of Britain.  Between 26th May and 4th June some 338, 226 British and allied soldiers escaped Dunkirk making it the largest evacuation operation in military history.  The rescue mission was hailed a great success in the midst of an humiliating defeat.  Almost all of their equipment was abandoned and approximately 16,000 French soldiers and 1,000 British Soldiers died during the evacuation and approximately 68,000 soldiers from The British Expeditionary Force lost their lives in the French campaign.

Dunkirk is France's 3rd largest port and has taken a lead for green energy.  Verkor, a new company set up in 2020 that manufacturers low-carbon batteries for electric vehicles, are in the process of building a giant factory which should be completed by 2024. 

Grain de Sail is also based in Dunkirk.  Set up in 2010 by twin brothers who are experts in renewable energy, they set up a coffee roasting facility in 2013 and a chocolate factory in 2016, both using organic products from Central America and the Caribbean.  They also sell organic wines from France. Work began on constructing a cargo sailboat in 2018, which was completed in 2020 and there are plans to increase the fleet.  With organic products and predominantly wind-powered transport, it really is a green company.

The world's largest steel manufacturer, ArcelorMittal, is launching an ambitious project to replace coal with hydrogen in it's manufacturing process of steel and this will reduce the companies CO2 emissions by almost 40% by 2030. 

Jean-Bart Square is named after a pirate of Dunkirk who his famous for his exploits under Louis XIV and the Roman Catholic Church of Saint-Éloi was first built in 1443 with only the Belfry surviving following war.  It was rebuilt on a site just across the street between 1559-1567, where it still stands today.  The sacristy of Saint-Éloi hosts the remains of pirate Jean-Bart (1650-1702) who became famous for the Battle of Texel, Texel being the name of a breed of sheep.

The Belfry, with church in the background on the right hand side and then the church as seen from the top of the Belfry.  Images ©Claus Ableiter

There are remains of The Atlantic Wall in Dunkirk that were built by French workers under the watchful eyes of the Germany Army and Luftwaffe between 1942 and 1945 to protect itself from Allied attacks.  Fort de Dunes Museum was built between 1878 and 1880, with its buildings under the sand and was used during the battle of Dunkirk and was at the heart of Operation Dynamo and the evacuation of 338,000 Allied soldiers. It now hosts exhibitions and guided tours.

Fort des Dunes

Belfry of Bergues was first was built in 1112, blown up with dynamite by the Germans on 16 September 1944 and rebuilt in 1961.  The building currently also houses the Tourist Office, the Espace Beffroi and art and music schools.  The town of Wormhout and Esquelbecq Castle built in the 18th century.

Esquelbecq Castle

Cassel is a small town built on a hill overlooking French Flanders that pre-dates the Romans and in 2018 it won a TV show to find France's favourite village. Collegiate Church of Notre-Dame de la Crypte and a hill, comprising of limestone with a very hard ferruginous rock cap (consisting of iron oxides) rises to 577ft above sea level.  During the French Revolution it is said to be the hill where the Grand Old Duke of York marched his 10,000 men before marching them down again.  It is true that Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany did command an army during the Flanders Campaign in 1793 and was probably in the vicinity the link is dubious because the nursery rhyme appears to pre-date the Revolution. 

At the top of the hill is Castle Windmill, moved here from Arnèke in 1947 as a replacement for the original 16th century windmill destroyed by fire 30th October 1911.  There used to be 20 windmills in the area but this is the only survivor.  

Saint-Omer with the ruins of Saint-Bertin Abbey, the site around the ruins is now a large landscaped park.  

St Bertin Abbey Ruins

There is also Notre-Dame de Saint-Omer Cathedral, an Olympic standard BMX track at Lumbres and the small town of Alquines, the town of Licques, the town of Rinxent and an area of natural beauty and parklands which includes the cliffs of Cape Blanc-Nez and Cape Gris-Nez, hiking trails and the dune massifs of Slack and onto the small seaside resort of Sangratte with its 8km long fine sand beach at approximately 153km along the route.

The first aviator to cross the Channel, Louis Blériot, took off from the hamlet of Les Baraques at sunrise on 25th July 1909 and he landed at Dover 37 minutes later at the controls of the Blériot XI.  The Daily Mail, who were behind the challenge, handed him 25,000 gold francs.  A monument to him was inaugurated on 15th July 1911 at Les Baraques, which after a decision by the Sangratte Municipal Council on 9th August 1936, was renamed Sangratte-Blériot-Plage

The race ends in Calais today with a Town Hall and Belfry, built in 1925.

Calais Town Hall and Belfry

The Monument of the Burghers of Calais celebrates the collective sacrifice of six prominent citizens who surrendered themselves at the gate of the city, with nooses around their necks and carrying the keys to the gate and the castle, on the demand of the victorious English King Edward III after the Battle of Crécy in 1347 during the Hundred Year's War. The Burghers were expected to be executed but their lives were spared by the intervention of the English queen, Philippa of Hainault, who persuaded her husband to exercise mercy by claiming that their deaths would be a bad omen for her unborn child. 

Who Won the Stage and Who Won What Jersey

The Stage winner is Wout van Aert for Jumbo-Visma

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

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

The Polka Dot Jersey won by Magnus Cort Nielsen for EF Education-Easypost/USA.

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

Combatif Award won by Anthony Perez for Cofidis/FRA

Leading team: Jumbo-Visma

The Challenge: Today the race is starting in Dunkerque and finishing in Calais.  We checked this distance on the map and it is only 27 miles, what a doddle!  Someone in the Tour de France map department must have decided that this was far too easy and has directed the race on a rather hilly detour.  

Today we are pulling on the very fine threads of Calais' lace making history.  Your challenge is to spin as fine a yarn as possible with 10g of fibre.  We suggest using something with a very low micron if you're being competitive.

Suggested Fibre:  To really push the fineness scale we'd use 14.5mic Ultra Fine Merino

What I did

As I am so unwell I did absolutely nothing but I did watch the race today and watched them cycle over that long section of cobblestones, ouch!  I also watched in awe as Wout van Aert took that last mountain climb section and then carried on the rest of the race about 25 seconds in front of the peleton and won the stage, waving his arms like a flying bird as he crossed the line.  I also saw Jasper Phillipsen who came in second reacting as if he had won the stage, either forgetting that Wout van Aert as up ahead or totally unaware that he was.  

I do have a braid of pure white 14.5 micron Ultra Fine Merino from the Advent Calendar as well as a trio of braids that form a gradient pack but there is no way that I am well enough to spin and certainly not something so fine as if any of the fibres decide to go float, as they often do with really fine fibres, then I could really choke on it and I am already coughing and choking as it is.  Hopefully I will be well enough tomorrow to be able to do some spinning.