It’s a Tour de France catch-22 situation: When you’ve discovered a gem of a lodge with a knockout restaurant along the race direction, do you greedily keep the valuable deal with yourself? Then again, the pride shared is doubled, and Le Viscos in the image-postcard village of Saint-Savin — skirted by the Tour on its 2d weekend — is virtually a pride.
Hollywood actors Kirk and Michael Douglas and late French rocker Johnny Hallyday have made the pilgrimage for the belt-busting nice delicacies of chef Jean-Pierre Saint-Martin. His son, Alexis, has now taken the reins in the kitchen from his 70-12 months-old dad. The motel dates back to 1840. While it was a stop for travelers to strong their horses, it has been of their own family for seven generations.
Alexis, 39, sees himself as a parent of the circle of relatives culture of presenting hospitality and as a culinary inventor who is not hidebound by that long lifestyle.
His amazing dessert eclairs, full of tangy stewed strawberries and cream as mild as a cloud, neatly encapsulate his philosophy. Topped with nuggets of mild biscuit that crack among the tooth, his introduction is a surprising and welcome modern-day reboot of the traditional custard-stuffed choux-pastry found in all French patisseries.
“As the 7th technology, it is our responsibility to hold onto this way of life and, I desire, pass it to the 8th,” Alexis says. “My process may be taught, but it is first and foremost an ardor.”
BREAD AND BUTTER: When one French rider begins to vanish, any other involves the fore at what’s shaping up as the most exciting Tour in the latest reminiscence. One way or the opposite, France might be on the path to its first winner, given that Bernard Hinault in 1985.
Furious racing on Stage 15 from Limoux to Foix noticed French rider Thibaut Pinot profit from the primary signs of weak points in the excessive mountains from French race leader Julian Alaphilippe.
Pinot edged closer to the yellow jersey inside the overall standings with a display of climbing energy on the ultimate uphill finish within the Pyrenees, signaling that he’ll be a primary contender to win the Tour in what guarantees to be a pivotal very last week inside the Alps.
British rider Simon Yates won the level, his second at this Tour. Pinot turned into second, greater than a minute quicker than Alaphilippe, who ground on grimacing to area eleventh on the pinnacle, nevertheless in yellow but with a smaller cushion over his opponents for the race lead.
CULTURE SLICE: The 185-kilometer (a hundred and fifteen-mile) trek swept past a ruined fort perched on a rock overlooking the village of Montsegur in which more than 230 people were burned at stake in the 13th century after their surrender in 1244 following a nearly year-long siege.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “If I crack, I hope he will bring the torch for the French” — Alaphilippe, expressing hopes that Pinot will win if he can’t.
STAT OF THE DAY: 1:32. The amount of time in minutes and seconds that Pinot has clawed back from Alaphilippe in days, on Stages 14 and 15. From 7th, he has vaulted to fourth.
NEXT ON THE MENU: The Tour is exquisitely poised, entering its closing rest day Monday earlier than attacking the Alps. Four riders—Alaphilippe, defending champion Geraint Thomas, Dutch rider Steven Kruijswijk, and Pinot—are all within minutes of the pinnacle of the standings.
