Romain Bardet has his best chance yet to win the Tour de France this July, and all French eyes will, quite rightly, be upon him in the hope that he can deliver the nation their first Tour victory since 1985.
It's been 33 years of hurt since Brittany's Bernard Hinault stood atop the podium in Paris, and although Bardet hails from the Auvergne – and French fans won't really care where their next winner comes from – Brittany features heavily on this year's route, and could become one of the stars of this year's race itself as the place where the foundations of victory are built.
That 1985 Tour, won by Hinault – the 36th and last overall Tour victory by a Frenchman – in fact began in Brittany, with a six kilometre prologue time trial around Plumelec. Hinault won the stage in front of a feverish home crowd, and although he ceded the yellow jersey first to Eric Vanderaerden and subsequently Kim Andersen, Hinault was back at the head of affairs by the start of the second week, and held the lead all the way to Paris to record his fifth Tour de France win.
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Chris Froome will be hoping that luck is on his side as the race makes its way through Brittany this year. Like Hinault, the Team Sky rider is looking to win his fifth Tour.
The 2018 Tour starts in the Vendée department, in the Pays de la Loire region, but it makes its way onto Breton soil during stage 4 for what is likely to be a sprint finish in Sarzeau, and then stays in Brittany for the next three days until stage 7 takes the race from Fougères out into the Centre-Val de Loire region for a stage finish in Chartres.
Remembering 1905
Hinault, Bobet and a bright future
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/brittany-a-brief-tour-de-france-history
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