France has been waiting for a touring winner for 40 years

The seventh stage of the Tour de France leads through Yffiniac, the home town of Bernard Hinault, the last French touring winner. France has been waiting for its successor for 40 years. An enormous pressure for young French cyclists.

The place will be particularly decorated, like all places in France through which the Tour de France comes. It will be full on the side of the road, there will be tables, chairs, food and drinks – as well as everywhere. The peloton will drive into the D712 from the east Yffiniac in the Brittany and then turn towards the D10 direction Saint Brieuc.

It is still 120.5 kilometers from Yffiniac to the finish line and most drivers will not waste the place with its almost 5,000 inhabitants. Another passage in France. At most, one or the other of the 38 French cycling professionals in the field will know that they are driving historical ground. Yffiniac is the home town of Bernard Hinault – The eternal trauma of French cycling.

Hinault: “You have no chance”

Hinault, who grew up in Yffiniac and started cycling, won the Tour de France five times. His last victory dates from 1985, and it was the last time that a Frenchman in Paris was on the podium in Paris in the yellow jersey. That has been waiting for 40 years Grande Nation On a touring victory – an eternity. And a load for all French cyclists, also because Hinault himself kills himself in the wound.

“It is a terrible statement, but it is inevitable: there are no big champions in France that can win the tour”said the 70 -year -old Hinault in the sports newspaper L’Equipe before the start of the Tour de France. The French drivers would not have large engines with 1000, but only with 750 cubic centimeters. “They undoubtedly do everything to do it, but they don’t have the results and, above all, no chance of winning the tour.”

“Every French driver knows the gap”

The two -time world champion Julian Alaphilippe was born seven years after Hinult’s last victory. In 2019 he inspired the imagination of the French cycling fans when he struck the yellow jersey after the third stage of the tour and only released the later winner Egan Bernal on the 19th stage.“Every French driver knows the gap between Bernard and today”Alaphilippe explained before the tour started. But neither he nor the next French tour winner will deal with it, he says.

Also Guillaume Martin32, from the team Groupama-FDJ, knows the discussion about the long dry spell and waiting for the next Hinault. Hinucht’s arguments are too thin for the studied philosopher. “What does it mean that you don’t have the means? You can’t win the tour because you are not strong enough. That is a fact, otherwise you would win the tour.” Martin refers to the generation differences. “You can’t compare the cycling of 40 years with that of today”he says. At that time, five or six big nations had fought for the touring victory. “Today we have a globalized cycling.”

Another time, a different cycling

In Hinucht’s time, the transition from the traditional one falls towards a globalized and commercialized cycling. At Hinault’s first tour in 1978, eleven teams were at the start, including six teams from France. When he set out for the tour for the last time eight years later, there were 21 teams, including two from Colombia and one from the USA. The winner came from Hinault’s team La Vie Claire: After an internal duel, the American got himself Greg Lemond The yellow jersey. He was the first non-European to win the tour.

This year, 184 drivers started the Tour de France. Cycled professionals are also at the start from Asia, Africa and Oceania. With 38 starters, France is still the largest part, but the competition has become more international and thus greater. In addition, the finest teams do not come from the home country of the tour. The French teams are located on the lower economic level of the World Tour and sometimes fight for their future, such as the Team Arkea-B & B Hotels, which is looking for a new main sponsor for the coming season.

Pinot and Barden suffered from the pressure

But despite all these developments, France continues to look for the next. The pressure on young drivers is enormous. Than the then 22 year old Thibaut Pinot The French sports newspaper L’Equipe headlined the next day on the tour in 2012: the next day: “But can he also win the tour?”

In 2016 he was third on the podium in Paris and in 2019 it even looked as if Pinot could actually do it: he was in the form of his life until a knee injury stopped at the 19th stage. He ended his career two years ago. His compatriots still loved him. And the rather reserved Pinot known to say goodbye: “I am glad not to have won the tour. I don’t dare to imagine what else would have been going on.”

Romain had similar experiences. The man from Auvergne was as close to a tour win than no other Frenchman in the past ten years. In 2016 he finished the tour of around four minutes behind the winner Christopher Froome. Bardet also ended his career recently. When he won the first stage of the tour last year and was allowed to wear the yellow jersey for a day, he looked as if freed: “It is the first time that I smiled before the start of the Tour de France. Do not go in the overall classification, take enormous pressure.”

Seixas and Vauquelin are the next Hopeful

He is now on others. The 18 -year -old is considered the greatest talent of French cycling Paul Seixas out of Lyonthe Dauphiné-finished in eighth place in June and brings everything that makes a good runner. Seixas is not there on the tour this year, but expectations are awakened. “He will feel a lot of pressure to be the next one”explained Warren BarguilWinner of the mountain jersey at the 2017 tour and earlier also acted as a possible successor Hinucht, the portal “The athletic“. “It is always the same when a number of good success has – HINAUST.”

That also gets these days Kevin Vauquelin To feel. The 24-year-old is currently driving into the hearts of his compatriots. Most recently he finished second at the Tour de Suisse. Vauquelin comes from Bayeux, the starting point of the sixth stage. And after this section and a degenerate time trial the day before, it is in fourth place in the overall ranking with a minute behind Mathieu van der Poel.

In Bayeux, of course, the family was visiting, dad, mom, brother, the girlfriend. They all had to give interviews and couldn’t believe it. “It’s crazy, it’s insane how life a dream”said Vauquelin’s mother Valerie. “You can’t believe that there are so many journalists. We are not used to it, that’s a strange feeling.”

While Valerie Vauquelin later pushed a few tears, in Vauquelin’s team it was possible to somehow capture the hype. “Everyone is talking about Hinault – Tatitata”said the sporting director of the Arkea-B & B hotels team, Yvon Landois,, “But there is only one. And his name is Kevin Vauquelin. Kevin is at the beginning of his career. He is a very good driver, but still has to prove and learn a lot before he can claim to win on the tour.” So long with every good performance of a Frenchman: Hinault.