“The thrill of the great departure”

The big departure

It’s always exciting to arrive at the Tour de France. When we finish it, after three weeks of racing, completely burnt out, we say to ourselves : “ It is the last ! And then finally, every year, I want to come back to relive this atmosphere, this fervor. The thrill of the big departure is something : on my four participations, I knew Yorkshire, Düsseldorf, Mont-Saint-Michel and Copenhagen. Each time it was crazy! Here in Bilbao, we didn’t have the sun, and I expected to see a few more people for the presentation of the teams, but I know that once the race has started, on the roads, it will be spectacular because the Basques are crazy about sport in general, and cycling in particular.

Start a Tour

I don’t really have a specific routine before the start. I simply enter all the routes of the stages in my counter and I shave my legs. I never forget to take my speakers in the suitcase : important to put a little background music in the hotel room.

A Tour is also a month away from loved ones. I don’t cut contact, of course, but I’m focused on the race, in my bubble. I mainly communicate by text message with my wife and my daughter, but we call each other very little.

Cycling, a risky sport

I was on the Tour de Suisse the day of the fatal fall of Gino Mader. (Swiss cyclist from the Bahrain-Victorious team, Gino Mader died on June 16 following a fall while descending a pass, Ed). In the team, everyone was shocked and we had decided to leave the race. Now we try not to talk too much about it, to turn the page. We do a dangerous job, we know that. There have always been tragedies, there will still be, it’s part of our sport.

The organizers are doing their best to limit the risks but it is difficult to find a solution. As an experienced rider, I simply want to tell the youngest that we have to respect each other, in the peloton, to avoid tense situations and accidents. With my relatives, the subject is a bit taboo. I know they are very scared. They know that I am confronted almost daily with danger, in racing and even in training, but we try to ignore it.

road captain

On this Tour de France, I will be the “ big brother “, the road captain in our Intermarché-Circus-Wanty team. I have to ensure the good atmosphere in the group, set the course, put everyone in the right position to achieve our objectives. This role is not easy, there are responsibilities, a little pressure, but I like it and I think I’m good enough for it. It’s quite natural, I’ve always had this desire to bring my experience to the youngest.

Biniam Girmay, the zen talent

For his first Tour de France, Biniam will be one of the leaders of our team, our trump card for a stage victory. He is still very young, he realizes the enthusiasm around him, the expectations, but he manages to remain fairly calm, not to put too much pressure on himself. And we, we let him discover at his own pace, without adding too much to him.

He is so talented at his age that he will one day win a Tour stage, this year or later. He is a very respectful, discreet, undeniable leader given his results, but he tries not to take himself too seriously with this status. Everything is going very fast for him, but he has remained the same as when he arrived in the pros and he is learning as he goes.

Witness to African progress

Earlier in my career, I participated several times in the Tropicale Amissa Bongo, in Gabon, and I noticed that the level of African cycling was progressing very quickly from year to year. The equipment evolved, the approach to the races, the nutrition, too. The first few times, some left with water in their cans and bananas in their pockets, but as they went along they leveled up and I was sure that with the talents I spotted in this peloton African, some would quickly explode on a global level, like Biniam today.

Bilbao, Adrian Petit

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