Stage 4 Tour de France 2027

Food and Drink to Accompany Stage 4 Tour de France 2027

Stage 4 starts and finishes in Cherbourg.

Buy a bottle of Calvados (affiliate link).

Cherbourg

Cherbourg was previously part of the Commune of Cherbourg-Octeville, but since 1st January 2016, the Commune is called Cherbourg-en-Contentin.

It is a port on the English Channel, accommodating freight services, and ferries (for example to Poole, Portsmouth, Southampton, Rosslare, Guernsey, and Jersey). The port also has a terminal for cruise ships. Cherbourg has the largest artificial harbour in the world.

Cherbourg may have originated as a settlement of the Celtic Unelli tribe, called Coriallo. It hosted a Roman garrison during the late Roman Empire. The Vikings developed a port here in the 800s. It changed hands, between the French and the English, many times during the One Hundred Years War. In 1864, there was an engagement off the coast of Cherbourg between the Confederate ship CSS Alabama, and the Unionist ship USS Kearsarge.

In the second half of the C19th, shipping companies operated between Cherbourg and the east coast of the USA. The Titanic stopped in Cherbourg on 10th April 1912.

Cherbourg surrendered to Rommel in June 1940. After the Normandy landings, it was the primary objective of the American troops who came ashore on Utah Beach. After fighting from 21st to 26th June 1944, the Germans surrendered the city. It then became the busiest port in the world, as Liberty ships supplied the Allied armies. It was returned to France on 14th October 1945.

Cherbourg's economy is largely based around its port - a military port, a fishing port, a commercial port, and a marina. There's shipbuilding too, and a salmon farm. The Cherbourg School of Engineering is on the heights of Octeville, and there are two branches of the University of Caen in Cherbourg.

The local dialect is a variant of Cotentinais Normand, which was widely spoken until WWI. Cherbourg is called Tchidbouo in Cotentinais Normand.

Attractions in Cherbourg include la Cité de la Mer, a maritime museum, where you can visit the nuclear submarine le Redoutable.

Cherbourg is twinned with Poole, on the south coast of England.

Cherbourg has hosted the arrival of the Tour de France sixteen times, including in eleven consecutive years, from 1919 to 1929.

Skiing Made Easy

Skiing Made Easy is a practical guide to learning to ski based on many happy seasons of ski teaching.

It takes you through the beginner's progression from snowplough to parallel turns, starting at the very beginning and not assuming any prior knowledge.

The book suggests relevant exercises to develop and improve your skills. Common faults are identified, along with the best ways to correct them.

'By the way' sections contain information about many of the little things that people assume you just know, but you may not.

'This is the book I wish I'd had when I started skiing' - reviewer on Amazon.

How to buy:

• get the paperback direct from the author at ValThorensGuide (cheapest paperback option)
• order the paperback from Amazon
• order the ebook from Amazon

Skiing Made Easier

Skiing Made Easier is the follow-up to Skiing Made Easy, and picks up from where the first book left off.

The first chapter is Refining Your Parallel Turns.

The chapters on ski technique beyond basic parallel turns are Carving, Short Turns, Bumps and Off Piste.

There are then further chapters on Avalanche and Mountain Safety, Ski Psychology, Physical Preparation, Ski Servicing and Alpine Wildlife.

As in Skiing Made Easy, common faults are identified and exercises suggested to correct them and to develop your skills.

'By the way' passages contain bits of skiing knowhow that could otherwise take years to pick up.

How to buy:

• get the paperback direct from the author at ValThorensGuide (cheapest option)
• order the paperback from Amazon

The Amazon URLs are affiliate links.

Finish Town

The Stage 4 finish town is the same as the start town - Cherbourg-en-Cotentin.