At the 100th Tour de France in 2013, the sense of home resignation was such that France Télévisions held what amounted to a post-mortem before the race had even begun. “The Tour de France: Why can’t the French win it anymore?” they asked. It had the air of a rhetorical question.
That pessimism was not altogether misplaced. Three weeks later, the best-placed Frenchman, neophyte Romain Bardet, finished in 15th place, more than 26 minutes down on Chris Froome, who had, to all intents and purposes, been riding in a different race. Pierre Rolland reached Paris almost an hour behind. Thibaut Pinot, 10th the year before, abandoned in the third week. “The French didn’t dazzle,” L’Équipe said with understatement.
Yet two years on, and just as the once unthinkable milestone of 30 years going by without a home winner has been reached, there is a decidedly more optimistic air to the noises emanating from France. The topic of a panel debate on the Stade 2 magazine show last week, for instance, was “Pinot: Can he win the Tour de France?” Not quite “Yes We Can,” but progress nonetheless after thirty years of hurt.
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The reasons for such guarded optimism are clear. Twelve months ago, Jean-Christophe Péraud and Pinot became the first home riders on the Tour podium since Richard Virenque in 1997, and it marked the first time since 1984 that two of the top three finishers were Frenchman. Bardet, meanwhile, continued his progress with a pugnacious sixth place finish.
Perhaps as importantly, the emerging generation of French talent has shown a healthy appetite for top tier racing beyond the month of July. Pinot won mountain stages at the Tour de Romandie and Tour de Suisse this year, Bardet at the Critérium du Dauphiné. Pierre Rolland placed 4th at last year’s Giro, while the Breton Warren Barguil, who makes his Tour debut this year, has already enjoyed two fine outings at the Vuelta a España in his short career to date.
1985 and all that
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