Stage 6 of the Tour de France and it is a 219.9km long hilly race that starts in Binche (Belgium) and ends in Longwy (France)
The Map
Sights and points of interest along the route
The town of Binche, formerly Bincium, was formed in 1120 during the reign of Yolande of Guelders, Countess of Hainaut. The ramparts of Binche have been magnificently preserved in almost their entirety It has almost 30 towers and 6 gates.
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Binche Ramparts
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There are also traces of the former shelter provided by the Abbey of Bonne Espérance, now known as Caves Bette, was acquired by Monks in 1380 who turned it into a refuge to be used at times of war and to stock provisions. The International Carnival and Mask Museum, Belfry of Binche which is an integral part of the town hall built in the 14th century. Le Fuseau Arts Crafts and Lace Centre, Binche lace is characterised by the extreme fineness of the thread (never cut) used by the lace makers. The "snow background" thus gives the works a fairytale appearance. Victor Hugo himself made a large echo of it in Les Misérables. It is said that the "Binche point" is the most difficult in the world to knit.
The remains of the Palace of Mary of Hungary. Erquelinnes and 14th century Castle of Solre-sur-Sambre, the town of Beaumont famous for its macaroons and 11th century Salamander Tower. Eau d'Heure lake and the Plate Taille Dam. The town of Chimay were the 96 year old Princess Elisabeth de Chamay resides in Chimay Castle, built in the 11th century. Lake Virelles and Notre-Dame de Scourmont Abbey
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Chimay Castle
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Continuing along the route and back into France is Rocroi, Secheval, Charleville-Mezieres with an old mill built in 1626. Donchery and Sainte-Onésime Church then onto Sedan with its 17th century Dijonval Royal Cloth Factory which is now luxury accommodation. There is also the medieval castle of Sedan, with seven floors and walls of 25m thick in places.
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| Sedan Castle |
Bazeilles, with Château de Lamecourt and Château de Montvillers, amongst several castles in the area. The towns/villages of Margut and Thonelle, Basilica of Notre-Dame D'Avioth and the village of Marville with its aerodome being a former air base and Saint- Nicholas Church. Onto Longuyon, which is close to the Belgium and Luxemborg borders with Sainte-Agathe Church, the original building dated back to before 634. Cons-la-Grandville Castle in the town of the same name.
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| Cons-la-Grandville Castle |
The riders then reach the town of Réhon, birthplace of cartoonist Jean-Marc Reiser (1941-1983). The final town is Longwy with its Vauban Fortress and what is left of its old medieval castle. Other notable places include St Dagobert Church and the Church of Mont Saint-Martin
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| The Fortress and castle of Longwy |
Who Won the Stage and Who Won What Jersey
The Stage winner is Tadej Pogacar for UAE Team Emirates
The Yellow Jersey won by Tadej Pogacar for UAE Team Emirates.
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 Wout van Aert for Jumbo-Visma.
Leading team: Ineos-Grenadiers
The Challenge: As the cyclists leave Binche in Belgium we thought we'd follow up yesterday's challenge with something more sedate. Tomorrow is world Chocolate Day and you rarely think of Belgium without jumping to some sort of chocolate!
Take a picture of your favourite treat. Be creative! If you want to spin today, we'd suggest a chocolate-y fibre to dig in to.
Suggested Fibre: Our recommendation is Alpcalypse; it reminds us of a chocolatiers selection box
What I did
I had a good look through my stash and whilst I do have a couple of brown fibres, specifically dark brown Yak and a brown Alpaca that were both in the Advent Calendar, I don't want to spin those as they are, I feel that they might need putting with other fibres. I decided to look to chocolate packaging, no Cadbury purple in my stash so do I go red/white to represent Maltesers packet? What colours do I have that fit this challenge? I settled on two different lots of Botany Waste. One was a 50g bump of blue from the Advent Calendar and the other was a combination of two different lots of white from a white Botany Waste pack that I bought last year and I drafted the two whites side by side to ensure the fibres mixed all the way along the single as it spun. I have no idea what the actual fibre content is other than that the white is a medium wool with lots of bounce but not particularly soft and the blue has sparkles in it and is maybe various shades of merino or Corriedale.
The finished yarn is a double-knit weight and is 99g/203m which in terms of the TdF length calculations is 609m - 2 singles plus the plied length = 3 x finished yarn length.
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