JALABERT. Best French rider of the 1990s, Laurent Jalabert will comment on the Tour de France 2022 alongside Marion Rousse and Alexandre Pasteur on France Télévisions.
A leading cycling consultant on France Télévisions since 2003, Laurent Jalabert will commentate this year on the Tour de France 2022 from July 1 to 24 with Marion Rousse and Alexandre Pasteur. A period that requires upstream work and a good understanding between the commentators as declared by Marion Rousse to our colleagues from TVMagazine : “It’s a year-round job. I watch all the races. On the Tour, we spot the route in the morning with Laurent Jalabert and Alexandre Pasteur. It’s an important moment for the quality of our comments. With Laurent Jalabert and Alexandre Pasteur, we know each other very well, so it’s fluid and natural. And then none of us have an oversized ego.”
In recent days, Laurent Jalabert has seen a dark affair resurface against him. Monday June 27, France 2 broadcast a program retracing the history of the Tour de France from the beginning. The Festina Doping Case in 1998 was also mentioned, a case where Laurent Jalabert had tested positive for EPO in 2013 according to tests carried out in 2004 by the Anti-Doping Agency. “Jaja” has never hid from wanting “clean” cycling and a Tour de France.
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Laurent Jalabert, nicknamed “Jaja”, is a French cyclist, born in 1968 in the Tarn, in Mazamet. He began his professional career in 1989 with the Toshiba team. He won the Tour d’Armorique, won a stage in the Tour du Limousin and the Tour de Grande-Brittany. In 1989, he finished on the second step of the podium in the San Sebastian Classic, and finished sixth in the World Road Championship.
In 1991, Laurent Jalabert finished second in Paris-Nice. Able to compete with the greatest sprinters and shine in the mountains, he is a versatile and very regular runner, which earned him second place in the World Cup the same year. For his first participation in the Tour de France, the rider finished second in the points classification. The following year, he rose to first place in the points classification. He also distinguished himself in the World Championship by finishing second in Benidorm, just behind defending champion Gianni Bugno.
Spain smiled on Laurent Jalabert in 1993, when he won the Mallorca Challenge, the Tour de La Rioja and the Luis Puig Trophy. In 1994, he won the points classification of the Tour of Spain ahead of the winner of the race, Tony Rominger. A severe fall during the first stage of the Tour de France, caused by a policeman who wanted to take a photo, forced him to give up.
Between 1995 and 2002, the rider won numerous competitions, such as the Milan-San Remo, the Flèche Walonne, the Classique de Saint-Sébastien, the Paris-Nice three times or the Tour du Pays Basque. In 2002, he retired from the professional circuit. He participates in several marathons and triathlons. In 2003, Laurent Jalabert became a consultant for France Télévisions and RTL. He was appointed coach of the French cycling team between 2009 and 2013. “Jaja” converted to triathlon where he regularly competes.
In September 2019 in Nice, the former professional cyclist was crowned Ironman 70.3 world champion, in the 50-54 age category. However, he only came out of the water in 163rd position after 1900 meters of swimming. Then he completely made up for his delay by bike after a very selective course of 90 km. Finally, he completed the half-marathon in 1 h 22 min 32 s, to win in 4 h 34 min 55 s in the end.
In 2013, a senatorial commission of inquiry published a list of riders positive for EPO on the Tour de France 1998. Laurent Jalabert was one of the names cited. The Frenchman assumes his responsibilities but he renews having followed the prescriptions of the medical supervision of his successive teams. Laurent Jalabert has not been tested positive throughout his career even if suspicions existed in particular about his transformation from high-level sprinter to climber capable of winning the Vuelta.
During his career, Laurent Jalabert participated in 11 Tour de France between 1991 and 2002. The Frenchman won the points classification twice in 1992 and 1995, before transforming into a climber who won the mountain classification two years in a row. in 2001 and 2002. Jalabert won 4 stages, including one from his second participation in 1992 in Brussels. In 1995, Jalabert wore the Yellow Jersey for two days, before finishing in fourth place overall.