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Reims
153.5 km
Wednesday 7 July
This is a traditional stage, without major difficulties, and the first entirely French stage of this year’s Tour. It is very short, but during the three previous days, we will have travelled a long way and encountered many difficulties. It is a time to tend the wounds. Whilst the fighters will try and strike out in breakaways, the sprinters’ teams will want to ensure that the pack reaches the finish in a group. Wind may have been a factor if this race had taken place earlier in the season, because the roads are more open to the elements in northern France. However, at this time of year, with a fairly bumpy finish, it will not have much of an influence.
Windows of the Town-hall of Cambrai boasting the colours of shield of the stage towns of the 2004 Tour@ Studio Déclic - Vincent Bertin
• Once a stage town
• Population: 33,500
• Sub-prefecture of Nord (59)
Cambrai will be a stage town on the Tour de France for the second time. In 2004, the northern city hosted the start of a sixty kilometre long team time-trial that finished in Arras. The US Postal team dominated proceedings and Lance Armstrong seized the Yellow Jersey, donned by Australian rider Robbie McEwen the day before.
Cambrai (34,000 inhabitants) is situated in the Escaut Valley, bordered by the Hainaut and Artois plateaux and the vast rolling plains typical of the region. The gateway to northern France, its privileged location made the town a centre of trade and influence. A sub-prefecture, a university town and the heart of the local agglomeration, Cambrai is the urban centre of the south-west of the département. It boasts some remarkable architecture, the legacy of a history spanning more than seventeen centuries. Its fortifications, religious monuments, town houses and art-deco style buildings bear witness to its past and create a sense of continuity between yesterday and today. Cambrai is a pleasant place to live, with lots of green areas, rich culinary traditions, and a range of festivals and events. The town is building its future on the foundations of its established expertise, in areas such as textiles and agro-food. To mark the arrival of the Tour de France, the windows of the Town Hall will be decorated with photos of the “Marianne” statues from all of the stage towns in the 2010 event.
• 10 times a stage town
• Population: 192,000
• Sub-prefecture of Marne (51)
Ten times already in the past the Tour has had occasion to celebrate with champagne here in the land of champagne production. Celebrations were almost every time in honour of a sprinter. The most recent winner was Robbie McEwen, in 2002, and this was merely the second of the Australian’s twelve stage victories. Prior to this, Cyrille Guimard, Francis Castaing and Djamolidine Abdoujaparov also triumphed in Reims.
Reims is known as the city of Champagne and the former coronation site of French kings. Bordered by the prestigious slopes of the Montagne de Reims, it is home to many famous champagne houses. The coronation site (in memory of Clovis’ baptism by Bishop Rémi in 489) of French kings (with three exceptions) from 1027 to 1825, Reims is proud of its cathedral, dating back to the 12th century and a symbol of the gothic period at its height. Since 1991, Notre-Dame cathedral has been a UNESCO world heritage site, as has the Palais du Tau, the former palace of the city’s archbishop, the Basilica of Saint-Rémi and the royal abbey of the same name which housed the Holy Ampulla (Sainte Ampoule) used for royal coronations. Every year, 20,000 students attend the city’s universities, colleges and institutes. The opening of the TGV high-speed train line in 2007 has cut the journey time to Paris to just 45 minutes and links the city to around ten international destinations. The new tramway line scheduled for completion in 2011 will transport its citizens around the city.
