This article was translated by John R. Bopp

The 2018 Tour de France that once again rode through The Land of the Basques just finished with a tough timed run between two very special points in Basque geography: Sampere, the place where they celebrate the Herri Urrats each year, and Ezpeleta, the town that gave its name to a unique variety of pepper local to our land.  And it also just so happens that this was the second-to-last stage, taking place just before the final one that ends on the Champs-Élysées in Paris.

We were sure that this stage was going to show off our colors, those of the ikurriña, and we were not disappointed: we, and the whole world, got to see it.

The “pic of the day” on the Organization’s official Twitter feed was:

Fans from around the world were able to enjoy more information about the geography and culture of our area, thanks especially to the helicopters and television stations.

Of all the reports we’ve collected about this cycling fest through the Basque Country (though we can’t say how sorry we are to no longer see the Basque Cycling Club in the Tour), there are two reports which caught our attention that we’d like to share with our readers.

One is from Ciaran Fahey for the Associated Press and which was published in several media.  It’s a noteworthy summary of somem of the most interesting gastronomic and cultural points in that part of our country, which is “a region that is so different to the rest of France”.

The other was penned by Spencer Powlison for Velonews about how the Basque Country extends on both sides of the Pyrenees and how a Basque company from south of the mountains, Etxeondo, came to specialize in cyclist clothing and then managed to manufacture and deliver, in less than five hours, a suit for Tom Dumoulin, who had just noticed that morning that the one he needed for the timed race had gone missing.  A Basque miracle that helped him win the race!

Fox News – 28/7/2018 – USA

TASTE OF THE TOUR: Pan-seared squid in the Basque Country

The Tour de France’s penultimate stage is a time trial in the Basque Country, where pan-seared squid with Espelette peppers washed down with deep red wines contribute to the locals’ bonhomie. Artisan chocolates, long a specialty of the area, also keep spirits high in this region of green mountains shrouded in mist or cloud, where small agricultural villages dot the landscape.

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Velonews – 28/7/2018 – USA

Lost skinsuit, timing confusion — no problem for Dumoulin

The reigning world TT champion Tom Dumoulin might have found his normal routine out of order before Saturday’s stage 20 time trial at the Tour de France. That didn’t stop him from blazing the fastest time on the 31-kilometer course, averaging a shade over 45kph on the hilly route through French Basque country.

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Last Updated on Dec 20, 2020 by About Basque Country

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