Stage 18 - Cavendish Storms Into Brive

Mark Cavendish (Sky) exploded past the final two escapees in the last 300 yards to claim his 22^nd stage win over a 6-year Tour de France Career. Yellow jersey Bradley Wiggins, in a role reversal, led Mark under the 1 Km banner. You can’t really say Wiggins Froomed him, since there was no sacrifice for Wiggins, but it was a nice symbolic gesture. It adds to the domination mystique of Team Sky.

Sprinters Matt Goss (Orica GreenEdge) and Peter Sagan (Liquigas) collected the next points, but they never threatened to match Cavendish’s winning burst. Sagan increased his strangle-hold on the green jersey by adding 20 points to his margin over André Greipel (Lotto-Belisol).

Tyler Farrar also contested the sprint and finished in 6^th place for the stage, with the same time as Cavendish. This nudged him up one more place away from the Lanterne Rouge in the overall standings. Jimmy Engoulvent (Saur-Sojasun) finished the stage almost 9 minutes back, and slipped below Jan Ghyselinck (Cofidis) to claim the red lantern "honor," by 45 seconds (after 87 hours of riding!).

Alexandre Vinokourov (Astana) energized the breakaway all day long, and won the most combative award. The other two escapees whose dreams of stage victory were snuffed-out by Cavendish only at the very last second were Nicholas Roche (AG2R) and Luis-Leon Sanchez (Rabobank).

Team Sky won the team prize for the stage, but Team RadioShack was only 4 seconds behind, and maintains its 14-minute margin for that prize.

If you watched today’s race on television, you saw some beautiful scenery and picturesque villages or historic sites. Brive would be an ideal staging base for an extended vacation in France. In one direction are the volcanic mountains of Auvergne. In another, the pre-historic art cave of Lascaux. Medieval Sarlat lies to the southwest, and quaint Collonge la Rouge to the southeast. Amazing Rocamadour clings to the cliffs a half-hour south of Collonge la Rouge.  Enjoy the outdoor marché in Terrasson, west of Brive. Shop for a beautiful teapot at Limoges, an hour north of Brive. Or enjoy a scrumptious home-cooked meal in Brive itself if you are hosted by dear French friends as we were. We definitely have fond memories of our visits to Brive!

The outdoor marché in Terrasson (near Brive) features vendors on the bridge, in the town square, and along several central streets.  Very quaint.  Very French.

The midieval village of Sarlat (SW of Brive) provides a delightful walking stroll back in time.

While the ladies were shopping inside this road-side antique shop near Brive, . . .

I wandered around back, and discovered these barnyard animals calling at the backdoor, to remind the proprietors that it was lunchtime!

The rustic village of Collonge la Rouge (SE of Brive) draws its name from the red stone used in the construction of all the buildings.  Another pleasant walk through a by-gone era.  A perfect spot for a casual picnic with friends--a fresh baguette, some flavorful local cheese . . .   This is the way to see France!

Rocamadour (south of Brive) clings precariously to the cliff.  The Tour de France broadcast for Stage 18 featured several aerial views of this amazing little village.

Finally, when the day of sight-seeing (or biking) comes to a close, what could be better than a delicious French-style meal?  This one was hosted by our friends Valérie & Lahouari Allal in Brive.  Don't fill up on the first course or two!  They traditionally serve each item as a separate course.  You will have plenty of time to savour each one and to engage in lively conversation with your hosts.  In this way, you will discover the REAL France!