It is a dearth which the French riders will want to put an end to during the Tour de France 2020. For 35 years, no French cyclist has won in the main event of world cycling. If Julian Alaphilippe did not go far in 2019, it was the young Colombian Egan Bernal who finally won the day.
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Despite this absence, France remains the country with the most victories in this competition: 36 victories with 21 different riders. Belgium comes in second with 18 successes, Spain comes third with 12 editions won. In total, only 13 nations have at least one national winner of the most prestigious cycling competition in the world.
Jacques Anquetil and Bernard Hinault at the forefront
In 1985, Bernard Hinault, the “badger”, as he is nicknamed, won for the fifth and last time on the Grande Boucle. Since then, no French has tasted the joy of crossing the finish line on the Champs-Élysées with the yellow jersey of the leader of the race.
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With his five successes, Bernard Hinault also holds the record for victories in the Tour de France along with Belgian Eddy Merckx, Spaniard Miguel Indurain and another Frenchman, Jacques Anquetil. Ten of the 36 French successes were therefore brought by Jacques Anquetil and Bernard Hinault.
Gradual opening of the race
Besides the impact of the two champions, the large number of French victories also has historical explanations. Of the first ten editions of the Tour de France, eight winners are French. An exploit that must however be placed in context. The Tour de France has long remained a European affair where only a few nations are represented. France, Belgium, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands are the main nations present in the event.
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A situation that persists during the transition from the race to the national team format. In 1930, the director of the race and the newspaper L’Auto, Henri Desgrange, decides to reform the regulations to restore interest in the race. During 26 editions, the teams are therefore national. A format that smiles on French nationals who won 14 of the 26 Tour contested under this formula, including a hat-trick for Louison Bobet.
A pending succession
The decade stretching from 1975 to 1985 represents the last prosperous period for French cycling. Of the eleven contested editions, nine saw a Frenchman put on the yellow jersey upon arrival on the Champs-Élysées. Bernard Thévenet, Bernard Hinault and Laurent Fignon will win successively during these years.
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This hegemony was interrupted by the American Greg Lemond in 1986. It was also the first time that a non-European rider won the race. The American champion is also a very bad memory for the French since it was he who won in the Tour de France 1989 ahead of Laurent Fignon with a lead of eight seconds, the smallest gap ever recorded between the winner and the second. on the Tour.
A victory that he snatched during the final stage on the Champs-Élysées. If since other French people have finished the Grande Boucle in second position, none has succeeded in succeeding Bernard Hinault.
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