The Tour de France and its villages. Departure this Saturday, July 23 of the time trial from Lacapelle-Marival and its 1,200 inhabitants. On Friday, the Occitan village of Castelnau-Magnoac hosted the race. Seven hundred souls a year and especially the village of rugby player Antoine Dupont.
From our special correspondent on the roads of the Tour in Castelnau-Magnoac,
“ You may know this beautiful region », sings the Adishatz du Magnoac choir. If you don’t know it, the Tour will take care of it. Cycling invites itself to this land of rugby. The perched village of Castelnau saw the birth of a world famous sportsman: Antoine Dupont, the scrum half of the XV of France, present for this stage start. His brother Clément Dupont, a farmer, finds it hard to believe what is happening before his eyes. The ballet of the runners combined with the fervor of the inhabitants of this land. ” It’s completely unprecedented. I remember, when we were little, there were often passages of the Tour but to have a start… When we were told about it a year ago, we had a hard time believing it, and then the things fell into place. We are really very happy. »
To host the Tour, Castelnau-Magnoac was able to benefit from the notoriety of its star Antoine Dupont. ” He gave a good boost “, concedes the mayor Bernard Verdier. Then the money had to be found. The municipality had to pay 80,000 euros to the organizer of the Tour to be the starting village. “ With the various aids, we only had 20,000 euros to payexplains the mayor, but it is a tremendous spotlight for the village. At the level of the hexagon, but also in the whole world thanks to the TVs which retransmit the race. »
The peaceful village is transformed for a day into a giant fair, between runners, gastronomic stands and distinguished guests. A few hours of celebration for Bernard Lagarde, one of the singers of the Occitan choir: “ What we hope above all is that people will appreciate this little corner of France. We are calm here, we are in contact with nature. It feels so good to relax here. I tell people : “Come, we will welcome you and we will exchange with our qualities and also our faults… We will sing together”. Sing “Adishatz” which, in Occitan, means “goodbye” or “see you soon”. That’s up to everyone to decide.
► Also to be found: the previous postcards of the Tour de France