Tour de France 2016
Posted: 02 Jul 2016, 09:26
The 2016 Tour de France starts today, as does the IAAH heraldic Tour de France.
This year the grand départ is in France (it is often abroad), to be accurate, off the coast of France on Mont-St-Michel, arguably the most stunningly photogenic commune in all of France.
Mont-St-Michel's arms, perhaps surprisingly, do not feature either a mount or a fortified town surrounded by water:
Mont-St-Michel is in the Département of Manche, whose arms reflect the area's Norman past:
The route takes the cyclists along the Cotentin coast towards the D-Day beaches via Sainte-Mere-Église, where the US 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions landed on 6 June 1944 (we can readily forgive the somewhat kitsch parachutes):
The finishing line is at Sainte-Marie-Du-Mont, site of Utah Beach:
This year the grand départ is in France (it is often abroad), to be accurate, off the coast of France on Mont-St-Michel, arguably the most stunningly photogenic commune in all of France.
Mont-St-Michel's arms, perhaps surprisingly, do not feature either a mount or a fortified town surrounded by water:
Blazon: English: azure two bars wavy vert, overall two salmons argent in bend sinister placed palewise, the upper one facing sinister
Français : d'azur aux deux fasces ondées de sinople et brochant sur le tout, à deux saumons d'argent posés en barre, rangés en pal, celui du chef contourné.
Mont-St-Michel is in the Département of Manche, whose arms reflect the area's Norman past:
Blazon: English: per pale azure and gules, overall two lions passant guardant or, armed and langued azure
Français : parti ondé d’azur et de gueules aux deux léopards d’or, armés et lampassés d’azur, brochant sur la partition
The route takes the cyclists along the Cotentin coast towards the D-Day beaches via Sainte-Mere-Église, where the US 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions landed on 6 June 1944 (we can readily forgive the somewhat kitsch parachutes):
Blazon: Français : D'azur à l'église d'argent, couverte d'or et surmontée de deux parachutes aussi d'argent soutenant chacun une étoile du même, l'église chargée des lettres A et M capitales de sable, à la champagne cousue de gueules chargée d'un léopard aussi d'or.
The finishing line is at Sainte-Marie-Du-Mont, site of Utah Beach:
Blazon: Azure, in pale a drakkar and sword argent (the sail charged with a leopard gules), between 2 gussets Or each charged with a fleur de lys gules.