Tour heads towards hills

Associated Press

The climbs, high-speed descents and hairpin turns on tap for Stage 9 of the Tour de France will be enough to make even spectators watching at home dizzy.

Fortunately, the culinary offerings available as the race enters the Alps today are gentler on the stomach.

Starting in Nantua, near Geneva, the peloton will scale three “hors categorie” — beyond rating — climbs before concluding with a serpentine descent into the Savoie town of Chambery.

Here’s a gastronomic, sporting and cultural glance at the 181.5-kilometer (113-mile) stage:

BAGUETTE AND BUTTER: Climbs with average gradients near 10 percent are fairly rare in the Tour. Yet there are three of them in this stage. First up is the Col de la Biche with its remarkable views of Mont Blanc, followed by the unprecedented and fearsome side of the Grand Colombier, known as the Directissime, which features gradients of up to 22 percent. Then only the fittest should be in contention up the Mont du Chat, which hasn’t been on the Tour map since 1974.

PLAT DU JOUR: Quenelles de Brochet. Pike cakes with Nantua sauce are an integral part of lyonnaise cuisine. While recipes differ from one town and chef to the next, traditionally the cakes are made by forming a “panade” of milk, butter, egg and flour, mixing in the fish and poaching the quenelles in salted water. The cakes are then doused in Nantua sauce made of crayfish butter and baked before serving.

CULTURE: The Musilac festival in picturesque Aix-les-Bains (located on the other side of Bourget Lake from the stage route) each July is a multi-genre event ranging from rock to electro and pop to reggae.

VIN DU JOUR: AOC Roussette du Bugey. This highly aromatic white wine made with the Altesse grape variety feature flavors of citrus, herbs and even olives sometimes.

HISTORY: The origins of Mont du Chat’s (Mount Cat) name are a source of debate. Theories for the naming range from a wildcat haunting the 1,504-meter (5,000-foot) summit to an animal killed by the knights of King Arthur, who obtained in exchange the estates of Chambery and Montmelian.