Tour de France Tour: Stage 5: Beauvais to Caen
July 6th 2006 08:46
Bonjour tout le monde!!
(Hi guys)
Well, action in the Tour de France overnight has seen more Aussie success!!!! I reported yesterday that Michael Rogers was second overall and three Australians were in contention for the “maillot vert.” In some great news, Aussie Robbie McEwen (from the Davitamon-Lotto team) won Stage 4, reclaimed the green jersey and is now placed 6th overall for the yellow jersey. Exciting stuff!!! I think as “Australians” we really need to support our fellow athletes just like we did for the Socceroos.
But now, the riders face the challenge: Stage 5. It may not be as challenging as some of the other climbs, but Stage 5 has four Category 4 climbs (and the usual 3 intermediate sprints). Today’s journey takes us from Beauvais to Caen in northern France and is about 225 kilometres in length.
Beauvais is the capital of the Oise department in northern France and lies about 90 kilometres north of Paris. It was originally known by the Romans as Caesaromagnus and takes its present name from the Bellovaci, a Belgian tribe. It can be found at the foot of forest-covered hills on the left side of the River Thérain.
Beauvais has many attractions. It has a great history involving bishops from the Catholic Church who resided there. (Sounds a little like Avignon if you ask me) Below are a few must see attractions:
-: The Cathédrale de Saint-Pierre – according to Wikipedia is the “most daring achievement of Gothic architecture.” (from Beauvais article found here) Apparently, the roof stretches about 45 metres in the air.
Caen is the giant dot (this pic is licensed under the GNU agreement and can be found at wikipedia.org)
Caen is the administrative capital of the Calvados department. It can be found in the Basse-Normandie. Caen is famous for its historical buildings (why this doesn’t apply to all of France, I don’t know). Some of its buildings were built in the time of William the Conqueror and, surprisingly enough, it was the site of the Battle for Caen during the Battle of Normandy in 1944. Caen has been ravaged by war several times: 600 years before World War Two, English king King Edward the Third put Caen under siege. Allied forces landed at Caen on D-Day (June 6 1944).
Caen is actually a place of high humidity and the River Orne flows through its centre. It is located about 10 kilometres from the Channel. Some of the attractions include:
-: Château de Caen – one of the largest medieval fortresses in Western Europe.
-: The city’s two abbeys – Abbaye aux Hommes and the Abbaye aux Dames – perhaps an early attempt at gender equality. They were built in 1063 and 1060 respectively.
-: The Saint Pierre church
-: The Memorial pour la Paix (The Memorial for Peace) established in 1988, which commemorates the events of D-Day and has exhibitions of Nobel Peace Prize winners and Conflict Resolutions.
-: The Saint Étienne abbey church
-: Parc Festyland – an amusement park…found to the west of Caen.
The Men's Abbey at Caen (this picture is licensed under the GNU Agreement and can be found at wikipedia.org)
An interesting fact: Caen is well known for its innovative and controversial tram system.
That’s it for Stage 5. Go Australia!!!! Let’s get excited
À demain
Melinda
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