IHe came to recharge his batteries for a few days with his parents, in Port-Sainte-Foy-et-Ponchapt (Dordogne), before the big departure for three weeks of whirlwind on the roads of France. Quentin Pacher, 32, will start on Saturday from Lille for his fifth Grande Boucle, after the 2020 editions (53rd), 2021 (35th), 2023 (63rd) and 2024 (46th). Mainly a teammate, he will, as often, have moments of freedom to play his personal card. Thus, in 2024, he had gone close to the victory from the 2nd stage in Bologna (3rd).
Learning that you are chosen by your team to compete in the Tour de France, does that always have the same effect at the fifth time?
Oh yes! I always have stars in my eyes. Of course, since the start of the season, the goal envisaged with the team was to do the Giro and continue with the Tour. But we never have certainty. It is still necessary to have a very good condition to deserve your place. When I played my first round, I was far from imagining that I could dispute five. It was so intense, from the start. I was just happy to be there, I hung on every day hoping to be at the start the next day.
But some runners prefer the calm of the Giro or the Vuelta …
Perhaps, but the turn is so above … So yes, you have to be honest, it’s a very big pressure, individually, but also for the team. Do not apply is to put yourself in a certain comfort. Everything is increased tenfold: the difficult moments, but also the emotions of a victory, the impact of a breakaway. When it goes well, it’s above any race.
What do you do in the days preceding the big departure?
The main preparation is over, I am mainly in a recovery period. After the French championships (Sunday), there were two very very light days, like 1 h 30 of bicycle. Besides, when we approach the departure, I am much more attentive. We are always afraid of the little stupid fall that can spoil everything. I have already done a lot of land preparation. I had done a mountain internship after Milan-San Remo and before the Giro, which ended in early June. Then, I made ten days recovering when I returned from Italy, then ten days of heat acclimatization, on the French Riviera: it is a determining factor in the performance on the Tour.
With David Gaudu Channel, your Groupama-FDJ team does not have a unique leader: what does it change?
The team remains structured, but differently. We will adapt to the route. On the steps for Putanchers, we will be there to support Romain Grégoire. I will also discover the fact of having a sprinter in the team, with Paul Penhoët. And then Guillaume Martin will still target the general classification. Even if he does this in his own way, without a team entirely devoted to his cause, he may need our support.
What is your role in this team?
I am a bit of a road captain, I do a little live management. If there is an urgent decision to take in the race, to structure itself, to react to an event or a tense situation (a breakaway, a fall, a prosecution to be organized), I must use my experience so that it goes well. I can calm things down.
And personally, what ambitions can you allow yourself?
I always have some spaces of freedom in a large tour. My steps? These are those that are too hard for sprinters and not selective enough for leaders in the general classification. There are a few second and third weeks, but they are not at a discount! On the contrary, the more the days pass, the more difficult it is to slip at the front on this type of step, because the pressure rises in all the teams which have not yet won, because some favorites or outsiders now too far in general come to mix with the fight for a stage victory and that they are generally formidable. Anyway, to win a stage of the Tour, you have to be in a very big day. These are almost always stars that are essential …
The 11th stage, July 16, makes a loop around Toulouse, where you live today …
Yes, and she goes right in front of my house! I remember exactly where I was (in the United States) the day I learned it. It’s amazing for me. I think it has the same effect as if I was still a kid. That day, for sure, I will not be able to stay my arms crossed.