Kent became the focus of the hop industry thanks to protestant refugees from Flanders who came to the area and began growing hops. Coupled with greater demand for ‘hoppy’ ales and a growth in microbreweries, the British hop industry is finding a new and emerging market for this ancient crop. Under threat from foreign producers, it has moved away from its traditional roots and begun innovating with dwarf hop varieties that make harvesting easier and the introduction of new, flavoursome varieties. While Colin, and the thousands like him, may never see a return to the hop picking days of old, over the last decade the industry itself has enjoyed something of a renaissance. “In 1982 I moved to Kent permanently because I had such very happy childhood memories here,” says Colin. Fruit gradually replaced hops and machines replaced the pickers. Where once there were 46,000 acres of hops – providing the bitter tang to British beers – only 1,000 now survive. Sixty-five years later, Colin is still working at the Beltring farm (once owned by Whitbread’s) that he came to as a youth, but today he’s the on-site historian showing tourists around what has become a relic of a bygone era. Until the 1960s, some 10,000 people – often, whole streets of families – would leave the stench of the city for the sweet aroma of Kent’s ‘hop gardens’ each September.
Sixty-seven year old Colin Felton’s memories of journeying from the East End for his hop picking “holiday” in the Kent countryside are not unique. We all had to pick, it didn’t matter about our age.” I was only a babe in arms but as soon as I could walk properly, I would scrape hops off the floor and collect them in an umbrella. We’d be up at 7am, and mum would make us sandwiches for the three-mile walk to the hop fields. It works the same way as the yellow jersey, but only riders aged 25 or under are eligible to win.“While Dad worked at the docks in London, mum would take us kids up to Kent over the summer. White jersey – The white jersey is the best young rider classification. Once again, the man with the most points leads the ranking. Points are handed out to the first riders over certain hills and climbs during the Tour de France, with the hardest mountains giving the most points. Polka Dot Jersey – The red and white polka dot jersey is the mountain classification. Riders accrue points at one of the two intermediate sprints during stages and also at stage finishes, and the man with the most points leads the ranking. Green Jersey – The green jersey is the points classification. Yellow Jersey/Maillot Jaune – The yellow jersey is worn by the overall race leader on the general classification who has completed the stages so far in the lowest accumulated time. Speaking of prizes, click here to find out how much the riders can win during the Tour de France. Click here for a more comprehensive explainer, including minor competitions such as the intermediate sprints prize and the fighting spirit prize. Here's a rundown of all the ongoing competitions at the Tour de France. Results powered by FirstCycling The Tour de France classifications
Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) took the last points on offer, while Victor Campenaerts (Lotto Dstny) was awarded the most combative rider prize. Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) lost the stage to Jordi Meeus (Bora-Hansgrohe) but could be consoled with a dominant performance in the Tour's green jersey competition. Rounding out the top 10 are Groupama-FDJ’s David Gaudu (ninth at 23:08) and Cofidis’ Guillaume Martin (10th at 26:30).Īmerican Sepp Kuss (jumbo Visma) who was involved in the same crash as Rodriguez, finished in 12th overall. There were no changes for sixth to eighth place, in order, Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious) at 13:27, Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe) at 14:44 and second on stage 20, Felix Gall (AG2R Citroën) at 16:09. Carlos Rodriguez (Ineos Grenadiers) finished the race despite his heavy crash on the penultimate stage to land in fifth at 13:17.
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