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THE WINE The riders raced north to a sprint finish in Moulin today. The sprint finish was spicy, like a well-aged Beaujolais Cru wine. The grape is Gamay. The AOC is Moulin-A-Vent. The entire wine region is the Beaujolais, just south of Burgundy. Beaujolais is known worldwide for Beaujolais Nouveau, a very young, light, fruity wine released in November of the harvest year, but Beaujolais is so much more than that. Try a Beaujolais Cru, a wine from Moulin-A-Vent with a bit of age. These wines are well-priced and well-regarded by critics. Wines in Beaujolais made in the Burgundian style are usually a great value, meaning it drinks better than its price. A Beaujolais Cru will use a bit of oak, creating rich and beautifully structured wines with elegant tannins. Enjoy these wines with roasted meats, fall stews, and a rich fish dish. Tomorrow the race will be in a different part of Beaujolais. More great wine!!  Glass of Beaujolais Cru red wine. by Lisa Kolick THE RACE Leaving CLERMONT-FERRAND, we find the race still in the area around the Puy de Dome. The race started, and 3 riders took off straight away, but the peloton kept the lead out within 2-3 minutes all day. While they call this a flat sprint stage, there were category climbs in the first third of the race, then small hills and flatter but more narrow roads to finish the day. The race experienced head, tail, and crosswinds through the fields and hills; there was a bit of rain with 40km to go. This type of hilly stage and the team tactics employed, allowed many riders to recover energy, even though the peloton was racing at about 25 mph all day. The recovery comes from the tempo being constant throughout the race. The accelerations and higher speeds make riders exert much more energy. The last 40km of the race was hilly with riders and teams setting up for the final sprint for the stage win. The last 1km really was the race for the finish with a bunch sprint rather than a lead-out sprint. In this last kilometer, each sprinter was moving through the bunch, drafting for a position, with about 150m to the finish, riders are hitting speeds over 65kph. Dylan Groenewegen is leading the sprint, then Jasper Philipsen accelerates past and wins the stage. The standings for the race remain the same for the top 5 riders. Tomorrow will find the race riding through more of the Beaujolais wine region and the race will go through one of my favorite wine regions, The Northern Rhone. They will be racing from ROANNE to BELLEVILLE-EN-BEAUJOLAIS, categorized as a hilly stage. Enjoy a Moulin-A-Vent Beaujolais red wine. Sante  Stage 12 race profile. by LeTour Comments are closed.
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