Notre-Dame-des-Cyclistes: The Chapel of the Champions' Jerseys
Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France
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Notre-Dame-des-Cyclistes: The Chapel of the Champions' Jerseys
200 + 100 XP
On 18 May 1959 Pope John XXIII granted the wish of the abbé Joseph Massie, priest of the neighbouring Armagnac parishes, and made the old chapel of Géou the national sanctuary of cycling and cycle touring under the name Notre-Dame-des-Cyclistes. Massie had had the idea on 22 August 1958, when rain forced him to say mass at Géou instead of Mauvezin. Champions came and left their jerseys: those of Anquetil, Bobet, Poulidor, Merckx, Hinault, Ocaña, Tom Simpson and many more hang there, and Lance Armstrong's was taken down on 26 October 2012 after the UCI stripped his titles. The chapel stands two kilometres from Labastide-d'Armagnac, a bastide founded in 1291 by Count Bernard VI of Armagnac.
Required Activities
1
of 4
Among the jerseys hanging in the chapel, pick out Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Tom Simpson, and find the space left when Lance Armstrong's came down on 26 October 2012
2
of 4
Ride the two kilometres out from the place Royale of Labastide-d'Armagnac to the chapel in the Géou quarter, the road the champions take on the Pentecost pilgrimage
3
of 4
On the arcaded place Royale at Labastide-d'Armagnac, compare the couverts around it — wood and stone with no shared form or material — and notice that the façades facing the square carry no gables while those on the streets behind do
4
of 4
Inside the chapel, find the modern stained-glass window designed by Henry Anglade, the former Tour de France rider, and the bicycle used in Alex Joffé's 1968 film Les Cracks
Among the jerseys hanging in the chapel, pick out Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Tom Simpson, and find the space left when Lance Armstrong's came down on 26 October 2012
Ride the two kilometres out from the place Royale of Labastide-d'Armagnac to the chapel in the Géou quarter, the road the champions take on the Pentecost pilgrimage
On the arcaded place Royale at Labastide-d'Armagnac, compare the couverts around it — wood and stone with no shared form or material — and notice that the façades facing the square carry no gables while those on the streets behind do
Inside the chapel, find the modern stained-glass window designed by Henry Anglade, the former Tour de France rider, and the bicycle used in Alex Joffé's 1968 film Les Cracks
Before you go
A mass for cyclists is said in the chapel every Whit Monday, and champions come on pilgrimage at Pentecost.
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XP Breakdown
Challenge XP
200 XP
France country bonus
+100 XP
Potential total
300 XP
Country bonus earned on completion of your first challenge in France.
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