Tour De Brew - Stage 12

They set out to complete the task, and despite the atrocious weather at the end of the stage, they did it. Team HTC were soundly beaten in stage 10, having been on the back foot after a sustained attack by Phillipe Gilbert, and struggled to organise the now familiar Cavendish lead out train.

Stage 11 provided redemption. Lars Bak and Danny Pate drove the pelton hard all day to finally catch the breakaway with just 3km to go. Substitute lead out train members Van Garderen, Peter Velits and Bernie Eisel took it up in the lead out as Matt Goss was in all sorts, over the past few days has been donating food reserves to the roadside on numerous occasions.

It was HTC versus Garmin-Cervélo coming into the final 300 meters, but it was Geraint Thomas of Sky who opened the sprint in an attempt to set up Edvald Boasson Hagen for his second stage victory. But once Mark Renshaw took over with Cavendish on his wheel, it was game over for his competition. Cavendish went early, but easily held on to his lead against the charging Greipel, who was looking to pull off another upset win but had to come from sixth wheel to do so. Cavendish pulled on the green jersey for his effort and will now where it into the Pyrenees.

Stage 12: Cugnaux Luz-Ardiden 211 km

We here we go. Strap yourself in, this is were the real games begin. Without any introduction we hit the Pyrenees with full gusto, with stage 12 containing 2 hors categorie climbs in what will be a terribly difficult stage. This will bring an end to the phony war between the favourites for the yellow jersey. Preceding the final climb is the first-ever ascent of the narrow road that winds up through the trees to the Hourquette d'Ancizan, followed by the Tourmalet from the La Mongie-side. Coming off there, the race heads straight onto the final climb.

Its Bastille Day, so French riders will be putting on a show for the sponsors. It's too big a day and I'm not sure if any are good enough to win. By the end of it, we'll have a clear idea of the top contenders and we'll definitely know who can't win the Tour.

Beer for the stage: Mountain Goat Hightail Ale. What better way to kick off the mountains for 2011 with a namesake beer. Hightail ale is an English inspired amber ale that has has a robust, fruity flavour and floral-hop aroma with a well rounded, rich malt body and lively on the palate. 4.5% ABV.

Back in 2003 Lance Armstrong reportedly saw a Hightail ale in a spectators hand on the final climb today, Luz-Ardiden, and stopped suddenly to try to take a swig along with Iban Mayo. Jan Ulrich took offence at not being offered a sip and promptly took off up the road. Video

Bière locale: Nothing produced locally in the mountains, so best to grab a few bottles of Cerveza, stuff them into the backpack, start the accent of one of the climbs only to sit down in the sun later and enjoy the amber fluid. Just don’t have too many or you’ll end up riding like Jose Beloki in 2003.

Cheers

Tour De Brew - Stage 11

Andre Greipel beat his former teammate and bitter sprint rival Mark Cavendish but their head to head sprint was only the closing act of a thrilling finale to Carmaux that saw both Thomas Voeckler and Philippe Gilbert on the attack.

Breakaways have often formed as soon as race director Christina Prudhomme drops the start flag but today the 178 riders left in the race rolled along quietly for a few kilometres, A crash in the peloton after 11km then helped a breakaway of six go clear and set the pattern for the fast stage. Cancellara, and Leipheimer were caught up in the crash, while Gesink and Juan Antonio Flecha were also delayed and forced to work together to chase back to the peloton.

Gilbert used the short but painful final climb to attack the peloton. He got away with Voeckler and others as the green and yellow jersey wearers laid down their panache. Gilbert was riding for the stage victory and more precious green jersey points. It didn't quite come off but his final last dig cost HTC-Highroad dearly and helped Greipel in the sprint.

Cavendish tried to look after himself after Tony Martin led the peloton the final kilometre, letting Daniele Oss (Liquigas-Cannondale) lead out the sprint, but Cavendish then went a little early. Greipel was on him and had the speed to come past him before the line.

Stage 11: Blaye-les-Mines Lavaur 167.5 km

Halfway already? This stage marks the halfway point of the Tour but the sprinters will have already past most of their winning opportunities. After today, the only two stages where they will be expecting to get a look-in are in Montpellier and 11 days down the line on the Champs-Elysées. Consequently, it will be a surprise if they allow this stage to elude them. Most of the GC guys will be looking to have fresh legs for tomorrows first mountain stage so will look to take it easy today. With Bastille day tomorrow, a french rider like Sandy Casar or Jerome Pineau could make a hero of themselves in a breakaway that unless they can solidify their advantage, a bunch finish is the most likely. Flat finish, HTC and Cavendish to make up for last stages' narrow loss.

Beer for the stage: Red Hill Brewery Imperial Stout. Jet Black and one to be savoured. The mouth feel is silky smooth, the nose has roasted malt and a touch of caramel. A rich deep mocha and coffee flavour, is accentuated with caramel and smoky flavours. Willamette and Goldings hops were used in 3 additions to create a ale with a big bitterness and an assertive hop character. Another beer on the UCI banned substances list, but that didnt stop Katusha's Alexandr Kolobnev testing positive for it in the first week of the Tour, following an empty bottle of Imperial Stout being found in the team hotel minibar.

Bière locale: Brasserie Des Vignes. Located in Graulhet at just over halfway into the stage, they produce interestingly a range of Belgian style beers. Not exactly within spitting distance of the Belgian border and a lack of website leads me to believe one of two things; 1 - The brewer is a Flemish Ex-pat or 2 - They really like belgian styles of beer (but who doesn't). A couple of Gueuze, a Lambic, Biere de Garde, Belgian Strong Dark ale and Belgian Pale ale are what they churn out. In reality, sounds like a good spot to drop by to have a beer and spot the peleton for 30 seconds.

Cheers

Tour De Brew - Stage 10

Stage 9 provided perhaps to most action packed stage of the tour so far. A couple of very serious crashes resulted in the withdrawal of some of the team leaders and better known riders in the peleton, again. This years race has been robbed of some of its "show" riders within the first 9 days of the event, something that hasnt happend for a long time.

The first happened as the bunch descended the second climb of the day, the Pas de Peyrol, a number of riders went down, both on the road and into the ditch and woods on the right-hand side of it. The most seriously affected were Omega Pharma-Lotto GC leader Jurgen Van den Broeck and teammate Fredrik Willems, who both broke a collar bone, Astana leader Alexandre Vinokourov, who broke an elbow and his femur, and Garmin-Cervélo's Dave Zabriskie, who broke a wrist. All were forced to abandon, although Zabriskie did briefly attempt to continue.

More controversial was a crash in the breakaway group of five just 36km from the finish. As the riders sped down a descent, a car from French TV attempted to pass them going partly down the grass verge on the left-hand side of the road. The car driver swerved back into the road and the riders to avoid a roadside tree, hitting Team Sky's Juan Antonio Flecha and sending him cartwheeling down the road. The Spaniard clipped Vacansoleil-DCM's Johnny Hoogerland, who was sent somersaulting onto a barbed wire fence on the other side of the road. How on earth the dutch pornstar Johnny Hoogerland not only survived, but got back up to finish the stage and pull on the polka dots is phenomenal.

(click on the photo to view the video of the crash)

The rest day provided so much needed R & R for both the riders, crews and spectators. 1am - 2am finished certainly take it out of you, and I was grateful to gain a full nights sleep last night.

Stage 10: Aurillac - Carmaux 161KM

A short stage follows the rest day as the race continues south through the Cévennes. Although rolling, there are no outstanding difficulties on today's route and that should benefit the sprinters.

One factor that might come into play is the intense heat that can affect this region, although the forecast is for clear skies and 23C for stage 10. Another might be the growing desire for teams that have not made an impact so far to do so on one of the two remaining stages before the race reaches the Pyrenees. Regardless of the heat of both the day and the competition, this should be a day dominated by the green jersey contenders, if they can eventually chase down the breakaways. Tom Boonen won in nearby Castres in 2007, but I'm guessing he'll struggle to get up for this stage.

Beer for the stage: Stone & Wood Pacific Ale. Utilising Galaxy hops, Pacific Ale is cloudy and golden with a big fruity aroma and a refreshing finish. Its a beer full of tropical fruit taste and aroma, sweet and refreshing. Nationally recognised as one of Australia's' great beers, this beer is ideally suited to all year round enjoyment, preferably on the coast somewhere, post surf.

Bière locale: Les Frères Brasseurs in the finishing town of Carmaux producing a blonde and and amber. The translation of their amber is as follows;

"Tolosa is a beer of character, loyal to the rebellious spirit of our ancestors, it brings back da Midi-Pyrenees ns flourishing tradition of regional beers. This is a beer that has the tannin, the power structure, ideal to finish off a meal quality."

Cheers

Tour De Brew - Stage 9

Stage 9: Issoire - Saint-Flour 208KM

The final stage before the first rest day fulfills race director

Christian

Prudhomme's desire for unpredictability.

That the last winner in Saint-Flour was Richard Virenque back in 2004 says a good deal about what the riders are up against today. There's very little riding on the flat, just frequently steep ups and downs. At almost 1600m, the Pas de Peyrol is the highest road pass in the Massif Central. Following it are the not-insignificant Perthus and Prat de Bouc passes before the road drops irregularly towards Saint-Flour. The finish is uphill too and could well result in a breakaway rider finishing alone.

These rolling stages are virtually impossible to predict a winner, particularly given how many falls have occurred in the first week. People associate the Alps and Pyrenees with the brutality of the Tour, but days like this are generally much, much harder. They will be full gas for 150km, and lots of strong riders will be targeting it.

Beer for the Stage: Epic Pale Ale. A deep amber colour holds a hop note that is ringing with citrus, grass and pine. An imposing dry hop character creates an impress back-palate bitterness. Almost certain to "wake you up" in preparedness for the stage ahead, this APA is for the serious hophead and a great ale for any occasion. NZ rider Julian Dean (Garmin-Cervelo) gets a mechanic to open one of these prior to each stage in order for him to inhale the Humulus lupulus aroma, similar to a boxer utilising smelling salts.

Bière locale: Not a brewery within sight of this stage.

Tour De Brew - Stage 8

Last nights stage saw the unfortunate withdrawal of two of the pelotons better known riders in Tom Boonen and Bradley Wiggins. Boonen

was one of several big names to crash on Wednesday, when he finished over 13 minutes off the pace after battling through the pain barrier to reach the line.

Wiggins crashed heavily during stage 7, with the pile-up also catching out a number of big-name riders, including Astana's Roman Kreuziger, RadioShack trio Levi Leipheimer, Chris Horner and Yaroslav Popovych, and the promising Canadian Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Cervelo). They finished in a group of 80 riders which rolled in more than three minutes behind winner Cavendish.

Cavendish proved too strong for his rivals and took the bunch sprint ahead of Alessandro Petacchi (Lampre), Andre Greipel (Omega Pharma-Lotto) and Romain Feillu (Vacansoleil).

Cavendish repeated his win in the same town from 2008, in what was a textbook lead out by HTC, with 5 HTC riders inside the last 2.5km setting the pace.

Stage 8: Aigurande Super-Bresse Sancy 190 km

This stage will be a test for Thor Hushvod to retain yellow. Whilst he's looked pretty strong over the past week, especially of the steeper finishes, the yellow jersey could still change hands at the end of this stage. The final ramps are steep enough to split the field and to ensure all the yellow jersey favourites will be working hard. Whilst Cadel could make a case for gaining the yellow jersey, I think it would be smart for him to let someone like David Miller (Garmin-Cervelo) at +8 secs to take it one so that he doesn't have to defend the jersey as soon as they enter the Pyrenees.

Should be a good stage to view, especially the second half as the GC guys stake their claim and try to exert some pressure on opposition teams.

Beer for the stage: Holgate Temptress Chocolate Porter. A beer to be sipped and enjoyed, velvety smooth and flowing with dark malty characters, softened to perfection with a delicate touch of vanilla bean. At this time of night, its perfect as a dessert in itself or to compliment anything based around chocolate. On the UCI list of banned substances due to its performance enhancing capabilities. Floyd Landis may have had one in 2006, yet to be verified however.

Bière locale: 2 local breweries, both about 20km off route. Ferme brasserie des Sagnes in

Les Sagnes produce an Amber and a Blonde, whilst Brasserie de la Creuse is in Felletin make a Blonde and Amber (both 5.5%) and a Brune (4.5%). Both breweries produce a limted range, but very much in keeping with the styles of beer successfully produced and enjoyed in the local area. As the tour rides its way into the mountains, there will be more and more picturesque spots to enjoy a local beverage, and no doubt share with a few local characters.

Tour De Brew - Stage 7

The weather tried to get them, but the peloton rode away, then the rain came back, and then went away. No-one knew whether to take off the vest and arm warmers or keep them on. The decisions of a pro rider. FDJ and VCD again placed a man in the break away, with Moviestar missing out. In reality a pretty boring stage, apart from some of the stunning vistas from the chopper shots, and the persistent showers and spray the riders had to put up with. Voekler again put in a massive performance inside 2km to try to do it solo, but was eaten up by the group. Id suspect he'll try it again at some stage in the next 2 and a half weeks. In the end

Matt Goss almost got there for a stage victory in his 1st TDF, but was piped by SKY rider

Edvald Boasson Hagen.

Stage 7:

Le Mans

Châteauroux

215KM

The transition down to the Pyrenees begins with this relatively flat stage and something a lot more straightforward and typical of what almost every first-week stage at the Tour used to look like.

There is nothing to concern anyone as the race starts to turn south, so expect lots of sunflower shots, a long and probably fruitless breakaway and the sprinters going elbow to elbow at the finish. Mark Cavendish will have particularly happy memories of Châteauroux, as he claimed his first Tour stage win in the town back in 2008. Winner of four stages that year, this is one of just half a dozen opportunities he'll get in this edition.

Beer for the stage: Moo Brew Dark Ale. Representing a classic

American Brown Ale, this dark ale pours beautifully with a deep sherry-red hue. The palette has caramel and chocolate and a lightly roasted finish. Hop bitterness and aromatic character are balanced and pleasantly textured. The new brewery at Moo Brew is pumping out some fantastic beers, including limited releases and seasonal one-offs. Not suitable for bogans.

Bière locale:

Brasserie de la Pigeonnelle sits bang on the route for the stage around the 120km mark. Interestingly they do two styles of beer, a Blonde and an Amber, and they do a variation of each style producing four beers in total, varying in ABV from 5.5% to 8.5%. What better way to enjoy the tour than with a fresh beer, sitting in the sun (if the weather clears) right on the tour route.

Tour De Brew - Stage 6

Stage 5 was a great stage to watch. An early break-away was manditory and they held it

together to within 40km of the finish and this was followed by

a late attack at 33km launched by French pair

Jeremy Roy, and

Thomas Voeckler, who was only caught with 1.8 km to go. The peleton were droping like ten pins, with

Alberto Contador, Britain's Bradley Wiggins and Dutchman Robert Gesink all surviving crashes to go on and continue their bid for overall victory. Mark Cavendish finally gathered a win for 2011 with a come from behind bunch sprint.

His HTC-Highroad team defied the difficult conditions on the coast road leading to Cap Frehel before successfully chasing down Voeckler and delivering their man to the line. Hushovd will again wear yellow, and rumors are rife that he will agian enjoy and Bridge Road Brewers Beechworth Pale Ale to help him sustain his time in yellow.

Stage 6: Dinan Lisieux 226 km

This is by some distance the Tour's longest stage, taking in undulating roads. There are no big hills as such, just constant up and downs taking a toll, the sort of stuff Robbie McEwan would hate. Even though you would expect the sprinters to be in control in this region, there is sure to be a late twist on the short, sharp rise towards the basilica in Lisieux, little more than a kilometre from the finish. Any riders who gain seconds there are likely to dispute the finish between them. Thor Hushovd has shown great stamina in the last couple of steeper finishes, and this stage would not be beyond him. Or will Philippe Gilbert have his name written all over it?

Beer for the stage: Mountain Goat Steam Ale. R

eplacing the Goats Pale Ale, this beer..."

is a crisp, certified organic ale. We incorporate some wheat malt in the grist make up and ferment it cool. We use Hallertau and Citra hops along with a light dose of Galaxy flowers at the end. This is a conservatively hopped beer that comes in at about 28 IBU’s,

4.5% ABV

." Mountain Goat don't do things in halves, this is a cracker of a beer, and if you can get your hands on some, a great one to see in the new day. A favourite of Thomas Voekler and Matt Goss, fact, check it on wiki.

Bière locale: Le Brewery. A producer of traditional ales in the Normandy region. Established in 2001, they produce a wheat, pale, dark, milk stout, old ale and a strong IPA at 10% ABV. Bernard Hinualt was a regular patron at Friday afternoon knock of drinks until cycling got in the way, he now acts as a global ambassador for the "brand".

*some facts may be slighty incorrect, blame the beer