Stage 9 Preview
SUNDAY, JULY 13TH – STAGE 9 – 170km
Tour de France Says:
What will the state of affairs be like in Grardmer? It takes a smart person to answer this question. We will be past Yorkshire’s rolling landscapes, the cobblestones, La Mauselaine and, why not, splits near Verdun… Quite a few riders, including some big names, may have lost ground by now. Will they join forces with the breakaway specialists, who will no doubt be out in force? We have drawn a typical Vosges stage for them, with long rather than steep climbs. With the next day’s fierce battle looming on the horizon, this stage should give us an interesting insight into where each man stands.
Mountain passes & hills Grardmer / Mulhouse 170KM
- Km 11.5 – Col de la Schlucht (1 140 m)
8.6 kilometre-long climb at 4.5% – category 2
- Km 41.0 – Col du Wettstein
7.7 kilometre-long climb at 4.1% – category 3
- Km 70.0 – Cte des Cinq Chteaux
4.5 kilometre-long climb at 6.1% – category 3
- Km 86.0 – Cte de Gueberschwihr (559 m)
4.1 kilometre-long climb at 7.9% – category 2
- Km 120.0 – Le Markstein (1 183 m)
10.8 kilometre-long climb at 5.4% – category 1
- Km 127.0 – Grand Ballon
1.4 kilometre-long climb at 8.6% – category 3
Intermediate sprint Grardmer / Mulhouse 170KM
- Km 105.0 – LINTHAL
Last km Grardmer / Mulhouse 170KM
Start: Grardmer
In terms of cycling, Gerardmer is deeply linked to the Tour de l’Avenir that has stopped there five times. It was on that Vosges stage in 2009 that Romain Sicard had taken command of the race, distancing the likes of Tejay Van Garderen, Rafael Vals Ferri and Sergio Henao. A few years before, in 2001, the future Green Jersey of the Tour, Baden Cooke, had captured one of his first successes.
Stage town for the 2nd time
Capital City of Vosges (88)
Population : 9,250 inhabitants (Gromois). At its peak around 30,000 people visit the area in the summer
Economy : trade and crafts, Business enterprise centre (enabling the creation and development of business), linen production that contributes hugely to tourism in the town.
Culture : three theatre companies, Music hall, Performing Arts Centre (concerts, theatre, the arts), media library, Institute for mountain promotion, exhibitions and fairs (food, cars), Tower Observatory in Mrelle. Graines des
Toiles Youth Film Festival
Sport : water activities (walks on the lake, bathing, sandy beaches), water sports (rowing clubs, canoeing-kayaking, sailing, diving), Sports Complex (bowling), outdoor activities (hiking, cycling, mountain biking)
Sustainable Development : Local Agenda 21, participation in the Sustainable Development Week, green lanes for cycling and walking, control of energy consumption in municipal buildings
Label : 3 flowers, Famille Plus (recognised to cater well for families)
Proverb : The town owes its nickname of the Pearl of Vosges to Abel Hugo, Victor’s brother
Finish: Mulhouse
The biggest automobile museum in the world, the Cit de l’Automobile, is set in Mulhouse. And the same goes for the train museum, Cit du Train that offers one of the most impressive railway collections. But the city also has quite a few great cycling stories to tell. Indeed, at the end of the first stage of the 1926 Tour, winner Jules Buysse captured the Yellow Jersey, eventually won in Paris by? Lucien Buysse. There is actually only one other example of brothers, also Belgian, to have carried the Yellow Jersey in the same edition of the Tour: Romain and Sylvre Maes, in 1939.
Stage town for the 16th time
Sub-prefecture of Haut-Rhin (68)
Population : 113,000 inhabitants (Mulhousiens), 263,000 inhabitants in the 34 communes of Mulhouse Alsace Agglomeration
Economy : University of Upper Alsace, higher education in four faculties, two IUT, two National Graduate Schools (Chemistry and South Alsace Engineering). One of the global textile capitals (textile printing, fi rst Indian printing established in 1746)
Culture : La Filature National Stage, Symphonic Orchestra, Rhine National Opera, la Kunsthalle (contemporary art centre), diverse architectural heritage. Events : toffes de Nol (Christmas market), Car Festival, Street theatre.
Sport : 23,000 members of 150 clubs (ranked by l’Equipe in the top ten of French sporting towns)
Specialities : The golden onion, the ‘Mulhousienne’, beer brewed with Mulhouse’s water, la moricette (a type of Alsatian bread), little Christmas cakes called bredalas
Sustainable Development : Territorial Climate Plan Energy, Green City (parks and gardens between the waters of the River Ill and the Doller), 3 tram lines, 240 self-service bicycles
Labels : City of Art and History, 2010 Sustainable Development ribbon, 3 fl owers, Famille Plus (caters well for families)
Proverb : Mulhouse the creative Alsace
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