The boss of the Tour de France, Christian Prudhomme, makes one point after two weeks punctuated on the roads of the big loop.
The second week ends. Everything is fine ?
(Laughs) Everything is fine. The question I am asked every day is: “Have you ever seen so many people on the roads?” Each year, we forget but it is true that the world is impressive. The audiences on France Télévisions (between 3 and 4 million every day) and elsewhere are excellent. We avoided periods of heat wave before the Tour de France and we passed between the drops last Sunday and Monday … The arrival of Wellens in Carcassonne, over the last two kilometers, it was crazy.
And above all, there is no rest on this Tour de France. All the steps are intense, even those of dish last weekend…
Fortunately, at each time, there have been almost outstands. Last year, there were two stages where nothing happened at all. Which has encouraged us, with Thierry Gouvenou (patron of the Tour route), to shorten as much as possible the plain stages. Toulouse’s stage is an example on this subject since it is a loop that we harden considerably so that the sprinters teams cannot block everything. We adapt.
There is only a French victory for the turn to be perfect …
Yes, for sure. And it looks complicated. The French victories was today (Sunday) or in Pontarlier (20th stage). Today, they are 3rd, 5th, 8th and 10th. Alaphilippe finished 3rd as he removed his shoulder at the start of the race. Four hours later, he raises his arms. Her smile is obviously a pleasure. But this French victory is missing.
“When we see the successes of Vingegaard before, it is because his team was stronger than UAE”
Does the ultra domination of Pogacar spoil the party a little?
We always dream of a duel. This is not the case this year. Last year, Juqsu’ is half, there was one. But it is not necessarily Vingegaard who is less strong. It is his whole team that is. When Vingegaard prevails the first time, he has a team that harasses an already domineering champion. There was the Roglic-Vivegaard pincers which no longer exists. There, there is no Vingegaard-Jorgenson pincers.
When we see that on the arrival in Hautacam, it is the team of Emmanuel Hubert, Arkea B&B Hotel, which finished first … So much the better, it makes me say good about this team that will disappear. I tell you that because when we see the Place de Vauquelin which is 5th, or Jegat 11th, and the place of the teammates of Vingegaard, we tell ourselves that it was not like that in recent years. And when we see the successes of Vingegaard before, it is because his team was stronger than UAE.
You have learned from the past to avoid the plain stages where nothing is happening. In the future, are you going to create a route so that Pogacar does not win? Why not 21 arrivals at the sprint?
(Laughs) When we put the cobblestones a few years ago, or the white paths, they are traces with a lot of hazards. Many managers don’t like when you put these kinds of things. The glorious uncertainty of sport, they don’t want it. Except that there is not a single area where Pogacar is not good.
Indeed, we could put fifteen steps in the sprint and six flat trials. I will do April 1 by saying that the Tour de France will not cross the Alps or the Pyrenees.
What do you hope for these next three weeks?
The same enthusiasm on the roadside. And a small French victory. In 2025, in the 25, in the Doubs department, because I don’t see where it could be elsewhere. I do not imagine a breakaway with fifteen minutes in advance at the foot of Mont Ventoux with a victory by Lenny Martinez.
And if Pogacar and Vingegaard take the bun again in the third week, it excludes any chance of victory for the backpackers.
And no accident, of course. The party must continue.
