Taste of the Tour: Legendary mountains, miracles at Lourdes
In Lourdes, where villager Bernadette Soubirous said she had visions of Mary while gathering stones back in the 19th century, Chris Froome will need a miracle heading into the Pyrenees' final stage of the Tour de France.
The site in southern France near the Spanish border annually draws pilgrims, including sick and disabled believers hoping for a cure from the famed spring water in the Lourdes grotto.
A four-time Tour champion, Froome is trailing his Sky teammate and race leader Geraint Thomas by 2 minutes, 31 seconds, with time quickly running out before the race reaches Paris on Sunday. Thomas has been in superb form since the start and Froome has given up any hope of overturning his deficit.
Stage 19 takes the peloton to the town of Laruns for a mammoth 200.5-kilometer (124.6-mile) trek in high altitude featuring legendary passes including the Aspin, the Tourmalet, and the Aubisque.
Here's a gastronomic, sporting and cultural glance at the route for Stage 19 on Friday:
BAGUETTE AND BUTTER
Friday's stage is the last chance for rivals to try and knock Thomas off his perch, though not literally. The route takes in the 1,490-meter Col d'Aspin, 2,115meter Col du Tourmalet and 1,709-meter Col d'Aubisque, with a steep descent to Laruns providing a challenging finish for riders still competing for the yellow jersey.
PLAT DU JOUR
La Garbure. Very popular in the region, it's a centuries-old stew with cabbage, beans, leeks, turnips, carrots, onions, potatoes. Confit duck, lard rubbed with garlic and confit ham are added, depending on the recipe. It is traditionally served with rye bread.
VIN DU JOUR
Jurancon dry and sweet white wines from the west and south of Pau are made from Manseng grapes, a local variety resistant to the cold Pyrenean climate, with fruit growing high on the vine, protecting it from spring frosts.
CHEESE
The Ossau-Iraty. Made in the Pau area and in the Basque Country from sheep's milk. Enjoy it with black cherry jam and a glass of robust red wine.
CULTURE
The Bareges valley, located 119 kilometers into the stage route, once was a small independent republic with its own customs and inhabited by mountaineers who proudly defended their freedom. The town's thermal baths have reputed healing properties.
STAT OF THE DAY
63.5 — In kilometers per hour, the speed of Arnaud Demare in the last 500 meters of Thursday's stage to Pau, where he became the first French sprinter to post a stage win on two different Tours de France since Jean-Patrick Nazon in 2003 and 2004. It's the equivalent of just under 40 mph.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"We're expecting the worst, hoping for the best. It's the last mountain stage and I think guys will try to take every opportunity they can." — Geraint Thomas, about Stage 19.
NEXT ORDER
The only individual time trial of this year's Tour. Stage 20 between Saint-Pee-Sur-Nivelle and Espelette is not particularly long — just 31 kilometers — but the route in the Basque Country features many ups and downs and some technical sections, making it difficult especially after several exhausting days in the Pyrenees. year, had time to celebrate as he crossed the line with his arms wide open ahead of fellow Frenchman Christophe Laporte.
Alexander Kristoff of Norway crossed third in the same time.
After two grueling days in the Pyrenees, Thomas was able to enjoy his seventh day in the yellow jersey during the less challenging 171-kilometer (106-mile) leg from Trie-Sur-Baise to Pau, which featured only two minor climbs and a flat finish.
Thomas remained 1 minute, 59 seconds ahead of Tom Dumoulin with the Welshman's Sky teammate and four-time champion Chris Froome third, 2:31 behind.
Only two challenging stages remain — a lengthy leg through the Pyrenees on Friday including three major climbs, then a technical individual time trial on Saturday — before the mostly ceremonial finish on the ChampsElysees in Paris on Sunday.
Stage 19 starts in the pilgrimage town of Lourdes and takes the peloton over legendary climbs like the Col du Tourmalet and Col d'Aubisque.
"We're expecting the worst, hoping for the best . ... It's the last mountain stage and I think guys