Cycling in Yorkshire
Cycling in Yorkshire
Stage
10 | Stage
11 | Stage
12
Stage 11 of the Tour de France 2023 is a 179.8km flat stage from Clermont-Ferrand to Moulins.
Christian Prudhomme says there are plenty of leg-breaking climbs along the route, but the 1,300m straight in Moulins should be ideal for sprinters.
These are video highlights of Stage 11 Tour de France 2023.
This is the Stage 11 TDF 2023 Blog.
Race Details | Poll | Map & Profile | Timings | Videos | Food & Drink | Route Notes | Favourites
| Date | Wednesday 12th July 2023 |
|---|---|
| Stage classification | Flat |
| Distance | 179.8km |
| Intermediate sprint | Lapeyrouse |
| Climbs | Côte de Chaptuzat-Haut (Cat. 4) Côte du Mercurol (Cat. 4) Côte de la Croix Blanche (Cat. 4) |
This is a map of the route of Stage 11, Tour de France 2023.
This is the profile of Stage 11 Tour de France 2023.
| Caravan | Fast Schedule | Slow Schedule | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start Time (départ fictif) | 1105 |
1305 |
1305 |
| Start Time (départ réel) | 1125 |
1325 |
1325 |
| Côte du Mercurol Climb | 1236 |
1429 |
1436 |
| Intermediate Sprint | 1306 |
1457 |
1506 |
| Finish Line (179.8km) | 1542 |
1719 |
1742 |
This is a video of the route of Stage 11.
Wine is made in the Allier département, notably at Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule. What percentage effort do they put into their wine-making? Saint-Pourçain (100%).
Since I can't find any very local wines for sale, and as we're nearing the Loire valley, I'm recommending a case of Sancerre.
Cullinary specialities in Moulins include boeuf charolais du Bourbonnais, agneau du Bourbonnais, and bleu de Laqueuille blue cheese.
Stage 11 starts in Clermont Ferrand (départ fictif).
Clermont-Ferrand is a city of 147,000 people. It is the capital of the Puy-de-Dôme département.
It is surrounded by a chain of volcanoes, the Chaîne des Puys, including the Puy de Dôme.
It was known by the ancient Greeks as the capital of the Avernie tribe. In the C1st BC it developed as a Gallo-Roman settlement under the name Augustonemetum. The Roman forum was on Clermont mound, the site of the present-day black lava stone Cathedral.
Clermont suffered Barbarian attacks as the Roman Empire crumbled. Later, there were Viking raids in the 800s as Charlemagne's Empire weakened.
Clermont was the starting-point of the First Crusade, in which Christendom sought to free Jerusalem from Muslim domination. Pope Urban II preached the Crusade in 1095 at the Second Council of Clermont.
The 'Ferrand' part of Clermont-Ferrand came out of disputes between the Counts of Auvergne and the Bishops of Clermont. The Counts founded a rival city to Clermont on a mound next to Clermont's walls; they called it Montferrand.
Clermont and Montferrand were joined as one city, Clermont-Ferrand, by edict in 1630.
Clermont-Ferrand is home to tyre company Michelin.
In 2023 Clermont-Ferrand hosts both the men's and the women's Tour de France.
There's a long neutralised section starting from Place de Jaude.
The riders head to Jardin Lecoq, then north on Cours Sablon/Boulevard Trudaine, north east on Avenue de la République/Boulevard Vincent Auriol/Boulevard Georges Pompidou.
Then it's north past the Michelin tyre factory, north east on
Boulevard Charles de Gaulle, and north on the Boulevard François
Mitterand.
The départ réel is on the Boulevard François Mitterand at Gerzat, a northern suburb of Clermont-Ferrand.
The race heads out of town on the D210 to Saint-Beauzire, Chappes and Ennezat. The riders stay on the D210 to Thuret, before forking off to the left towards Aigueperse.
Aigueperse means something like 'sparse water'.
Stage 11 passes through Chaptuzat and tackles the first categorised climb of the day, the Côte de Chaptuzat-Haut.
The climb to Chaptuzat-Haut is 1.9km at an average gradient of 5%. The height at the top is 490m after 31.8km raced.
On the way up, the race passes the Château de la Roche at Chaptuzat, which was built between 1250 and 1270 by the Dukes of Montpensier.
The race continues to Saint-Agoulin.
The Stage 11 route crosses the autoroute, A71. There are twists and turns on the D207 as the riders see the last of the Volcans d'Auvergne and descend to Ebreuil, on the river Sioule.
(I think the photographer's name, Yvon Toucassé, is a joke. It sounds like ils vont tout cassé, meaning 'they're going to break everything').
Ebreuil has been classed as a 'little city of character' for tourism purposes.
Its name comes from the Gaulish eburo-ialon, meaning clearing among yew trees. York's name also comes from yew trees, Eburakon meaning place of yew trees.
Inhabitants of Ebreuil are called Fiolants. This comes from a little bottle, a fiola, which local people filled with wine or brandy, and carried with them when they were working among the vines.
Ebreuil is in a linguistic zone called le Croissant (because of its geographical shape). It sits between the traditional southern dialect, the lange d'oc, and the northern area where the langue d'oïl was spoken.
Ebreuil was home to monks from the 850s, as they fled raids by the Normans and brought the relics of Saint Maixent and Saint Léger to Ebreuil. In 1080, their monastery was designated a Benedictine Abbey dedicated to Saint Léger. The abbey was replaced by a hospital in the late 1700s, and all that now remains of the abbey is the abbey church
At Ebreuil, the riders leave the Puy-de-Dôme and enter the Allier département.
The climb out of Ebreuil is the Category 4 Côte du Mercurol. It's 2.9km at an average gradient of 4.6% to a height of 457m after 49.5km raced.
Stage 11 continues north west to Wolframines, where there's a museum on a unique geological site, La Bosse à Echassières. Lots of different minerals have been mined here, including kaolin, cassiterite (tin ore) and wolfram (tungsten ore).
The museum combines information about the volcanic history of the region, mining, and ecology.
Echassières comes soon after Wolframines, then the road descends to the Ruisseau de Bioles. The road rises again towards Lapeyrouse.
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The intermediate sprint takes place at the small village of Lapeyrouse, after 70.5km raced.
Then it's down towards Commentry.
The next town of significance is Commentry. Presumably it's the home town of Ned Boulting and David Millar, because they do they commentry.
In the 1800s, coal-mining took place in Commentry, and the population swelled from 1,000 to 12,000. There were also foundries and forges.
Then it's on to Néris-les-Bains and Montluçon.
Néris-les-Bains gets its name from the thermal spring there, which the Celtic people named after the god Nérios.
The Romans called this place Aquae Nerii. They built two luxurious bath houses and used the waters for therapeutic purposes. The Roman 8th Legion was stationed here in the 1st century AD, and the Roman municipal facilities included temples and an amphitheatre.
The thermal spring at Néris became popular again in the 1800s, when it became fashionable for royalty and aristocrats to visit spa resorts.
Montluçon is a town on the river Cher and in the Allier département.
It dates to the Middle Ages (1000s), and belonged to the Dukes of Bourbon. It became part of France in 1529.
Montluçon expanded in the 1800 and early 1900s due to coal mining and iron forging. There were coal seams at nearby Commentry, and Montluçon had transport links including a branch of the Canal de Berry (1830) and the railway (1864).
There is a Dunlop tyre factory here, and during World War II the Germans exploited it to make tyres for their aircraft. Because of this, Montluçon was bombed by the Allies in September 1943.
Dunlop still makes tyres here.
After Michelin tyres in Clermont-Ferrand and now Dunlop tyres in Montluçon, this is wheely the tyre stage.
Montluçon was the scene of the last Cofidis stage win before 2023.
The race heads north out of Montluçon in the valley of the Canal de Berry and the river Cher. It reaches Vaux then Reugny, then crosses the canal and the river and veers east. Climbing away from the river, the riders tackle the next categorised ascent.
The Côte de la Croix Blanche climb is 1.6km at an average gradient of 5.4%, to a height of 292m after 118.5km raced.
The race continues to Cosne-d'Allier and Souvigny. Souvigny is on the approach to Moulins.
The riders cross the river Allier on the pont Régemortes, built from 1753-63 by the engineer Louis de Régemortes. It was the first bridge to withstand the high water/flooding events that the Allier experiences from time to time.
They turn right at the far end of the bridge, onto the Avenue d'Orvilliers. Then the race route is Rue Baudin to the Quai d'Allier/Boulevard de Nomazy, which takes the riders all the way to the finish line, which is by the Jeux des Champins.
Moulins is a town on the river Allier. It dates back to at least 990. The name Moulins means mills, and this refers to water mills on the banks of the Allier.
It was the seat of the Dukes of Bourbon from 1327 to 1523.
The story goes that one of the Bourbon dukes got lost after a day's hunting and took refuge in a water mill. There he fell in love with the miller-girl, and took to visiting frequently. He built a hunting lodge on the site of the current Dukes Palace as cover for his visits to the miller-girl. A town developed around the hunting lodge.
Moulins was confiscated by the King, François 1er, after a Constable of Bourbon had betrayed the King.
Industry in Moulins died in the 1980s and 1990s, with the closure of factories producing shoes, locks and electronics. Now its economy is largely based on administrative work/paper-shuffling.
At age 18, Coco Chanel went to a boarding house for Catholic girls in Moulins.
Stage 11 of the Tour de France 2023 will almost certainly end in a bunch sprint.
Candidates could include Fabio Jakobsen, Wout van Aert, Caleb Ewan, Phil Bauhaus, Jordi Meeus, Mads Pedersen, Matthew Dinham, Corbin Strong, Dylan Groenewegen, Mark Cavendish, Alexander Kristoff and Jasper Philipsen.
Who do you think will win Stage 11?
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