Ask any general member of the public when the last French winner of the Tour de France was, they’d probably guess sometime within the last ten years.
It’s a reasonable assumption, it is held in France after all, which should give them a natural advantage.
But they might be surprised to discover no Frenchman has stood on top of the podium since 1985, when Bernard Hinault took the last of his five wins.
The question that comes to mind is why? Why have the French not been able to take a win in their home race for 28 years?
The lack of a genuine contender has to be a key factor. Besides Richard Virenque, the French have not been on the podium since 1989, when Laurent Fignon lost out to Greg LeMond of the USA by eight seconds.
And since the turn of the century, there has not been a Tour where a Frenchman was the favourite.
Recently however, the tide seems to be turning for the French.
Since 2011, they have put in some impressive performances thanks to the likes of Thomas Voeckler, Pierre Rolland, Thibaut Pinot et al.
This year also seems to be their best chance of a win in a good number of years, and a podium can be considered achievable should the cycling gods stay with Rolland and Pinot in what should be a hectic first week.
Rolland would have to be considered their best hope. He has taken two Alpine summit finishes in the last two Tours, including adding his name to the list of winners atop Alpe d’Huez.
The decrease in the amount of time-trial kilometres will do nothing to harm Rolland’s chances, and the four summit finishes he will surely be looking to target.
Thibaut Pinot is the other main French contender. Pinot took a stunning win into Porrentruy last year, with iconic scenes of his team manager, Marc Madiot, cheering him on as he went down in the history books of the Tour. He also made the top ten, and finished second in the young rider’s category.
All of this bodes well for another successful Tour for the Frenchmen this year. However, stood in their way is a formidable field of contenders.
Alberto Contador, Cadel Evans, Christopher Froome and Jurgen Van Den Broeck are all set to be team leaders and leading contenders at this year’s Tour.
Even a French fan would have to admit Rolland or Pinot would have to have a perfect Tour to beat all of these men.
So, this year? Maybe not, but if all goes well, a podium is definitely an achievable goal.
But one has to speculate it cannot be long until the French’s near-30 year wait is over.
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