Sancerre, especially Chavignol: late October 2006

Following on from yesterday's post of some photos of Pouilly-sur-Loire taken on a visit to the region in late October 2006, here is a selection of Sancerre taken at the same time. With the autumn colours – making it easy to recognise at a distance blocks of Sauvignon Blanc (golden) and those of Pinot Noir (red tinged).

Views of the village of Chavignol

There are times during the year, particularly during the winter, that Chavignol is shrouded in mist – even fog – but not on this occasion. Arnaud Bourgeois will dispute Chavignol's propensity to mist but he is mistaken...........

The cemetery in Chavignol and les Monts Damnés beyond

White van among blocks of Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir

View from Sancerre towards Verdigny

From Sancerre towards Chavignol and the hills that encircle the village.
The soil in the closest vineyards is cailliottes while the hills are terres blanches (argile calcere/marnes kimmeridgian)

From Sancerre looking over Saint-Satur, just to the north, and its vines


Night sky and the hills of Sancerre

Pouilly-sur-Loire: some views

Less obviously striking than Sancerre and its vineyards, there are nevertheless some very attractive parts of Pouilly-sur-Loire and its vineyards. Photos mainly taken late October 2006.

Looking across the Loire towards Pouilly-sur-Loire

Pouilly-sur-Loire: closer view

Looking upstream (I think!) from the bridge across the Loire

Much of the centre of Pouilly is pretty faded – echoes of the glory days when the N7 used to run through the small town – the firmly closed La Bouteille d'Or has long lost its lustre.

Across to Sancerre

La Loire near Les Loges

Entrance to the small village of Les Loges: Jacques Marchand to the left, Jean Pabiot to right

The steep descent into Les Loges from the vines above

Looking north from the vineyards above Les Loges

Up towards Saint-Andelain – approximately as high as Sancerre – with the Domaine Didier Dagueneau buildings and winery on the right hand side at the top of the ridge

Château de Tracy: the pearl of the appellation?

Château de Tracy: the pearl of the appellation?

Le Tour in the Central Vineyards and list of all time stage winners

Coverage in La Nouvelle République of yesterday's passage of the Tour through the Central Vineyards here.

Also, following Mark Cavendish equalling Barry Hoban's record of stage wins for a British rider with his win yesterday in Saint-Fargeau, here is a list of riders who have won most stages over the history of the Tour:

I assumed that it would be easy to find a list of the leading stage winners in the Tour de France. Although this exists for the top eight or so, there doesn't appear to be one that goes beyond that, so, using Wikipedia, I have put together a draft list. I may well have missed some well-known riders and I can't promise that all the information is correct.

However, I think it does underline what Cav has already achieved and underlines what a record Barry Hoban set for a British rider. There are plenty of very famous names who have won fewer stages.

Please let me know if there are riders I have missed.

The most Tour de France stage victories
The top 12:
34: Eddy Merckx (Bel)
28: Bernard Hinault (Fra)
25: André Leducq (Fra)
22: André Darrigade (Fra) (sprinter)
22: Lance Armstrong (USA)
20: Nicolas Frantz (Lux)
19: Francois Faber ( Lux)
17: Jean Alavoine (Fra)
16: Jacques Anquetil (Fra)
16: Charles Pelissier (Fra)
16: Rene Le Greves (Fra)
16: Freddy Maertens (Bel) *


Others– selected names
13: Philippe Thys (Bel)
12: Mario Cipollini (It)
12: Miguel Indurain (Esp)
12: Erik Zabel (Bel)
11: Louison Bobet (Fr)
10: Charly Gaul (Fr)
10: Walter Godefroot (Bel)
10: Antonin Magne (Fr)
10: Jan Raas (Hol)
10: Joop Zoetemelk (Hol)
9: Djamolidine Abdoujaparov (Uzb)
9: Gino Bartali (It)
9: Ottavio Bottecchia (It)
9: Fausto Coppi (It)
9: Lucien van Impe (Bel)
9: Sylvère Maes (Bel)
9: Luis Ocaña (Esp)
8: Rudi Altig (Ger)
8: Mark Cavendish (UK)
8: Barry Hoban (UK)
8: Ferdinand Kübler (Hev)
8: Marco Pantani (It)
7: Federico Bahamontes (Sp)
7: Laurent Fignon (Fr)
7: Raphaël Géminiani (Fr)
7: Jan Janssen (Hol)
7: Lucien Petit-Breton (Fr)
7: Raymond Poulidor (Fr)
7: Jan Ullrich (Ger)
7: Richard Virenque (Fr)
6: Tom Boonen (Bel)
6: Firmin Lambot (Bel)
6: Felice Gimondi (It)
6: Thor Hushovd (Nor)
6: Greg Lemond (US)
6: Thierry Marie (Fr)
6: Jean Robic (Fr)
5: Phil Anderson (Aus)
5: Sean Kelly (Irl)
5: Hugo Koblet (Swi)
5: Julio Jiménez (Esp)
5: Herman van Springel (Bel)
4: Fabien Cancellara (Hel)
4: Pedro Delgado (Esp)
4: Laurent Jalabert (Fr)
4: Rik Van Linden (Bel)
4: Gastone Nencini (It)
4: Michael Rasmussen (Den)
3: Chris Boardman (UK)
3: Claudio Chiappucci (It)
3: Alberto Contador (Esp)
3: Maurice Garin (Fr)
3: Luis Herrera (Col)
3: David Millar (UK)
3: Robert Millar (UK)
3: Stan Ockers (Bel)
3: Stephen Roche (Irl)
3: Tony Rominger (Den)
3: Alexander Vinokourov (Rus)
2: Sergei Ivanov (Rus)
2: Johan Museeuw (Bel)
2: Eddy Planckaert (Bel)
2: Willy Planckaert (Bel)
2: Bjarne Riis (Den)
2: Brian Robinson (UK)
1: Sean Yates (UK)

Only Charles Pelissier, Eddy Merckx and Freddy Maertens have won eight stages in a single Tour.

• Freddy Maertens was (still is?) a great collector of fine Bordeaux.