French cycling great Bernard Hinault appeared on the radio broadcast MS this Sunday to look back on a dominant career that included five Tour de France victories and a world championship title. Accompanied by Bernard Thévenet, Hinault discussed his path in the sport during an interview conducted by Anne-Dufort Cornilliet and Hugo Moissonnier.
The Palmarès of a Dominant Champion
Hinault’s career unfolded across the late 1970s and mid-1980s, an era where he established firm control over the peloton. Affectionately and famously nicknamed “Le Blaireau” (The Badger), the Breton secured five yellow jerseys on the Tour de France, three pink jerseys at the Giro d’Italia, and a world championship victory on home soil, alongside wins in cycling’s most prestigious one-day classics. While Tadej Pogačar commands the sport in the 2020s, Hinault remains among the select group of riders who share the record for the most victories in the Grande Boucle.
Born into a farming family, Hinault discovered cycling somewhat by chance at age 17, rising to represent a distinctly different era of the sport. His appearance alongside Thévenet offered listeners a window into a period when professional cycling maintained a direct and unfiltered connection to working-class fans.
The Lasting French Drought on the Champs-Élysées
Approaching his 72nd birthday, Hinault holds a unique distinction in modern French sports history. He remains the final French cyclist to wear the yellow jersey onto the Champs-Élysées as the overall winner of the Tour de France, having secured his fifth and final title in 1985. More than forty years later, that feat has not been repeated by any compatriot.
Radio coverage noted that young talent Paul Seixas carries the potential to eventually break this prolonged dry spell for French cycling. However, Hinault’s status as the last domestic victor shows how rare such dominance has become for French riders in the modern era.
Cycling Legends Interview Airs on Sunday
The conversation between the two cycling legends aired on Sunday with a scheduled start time of 16:10 UTC. Audio of the complete interview was made available for streaming on the program’s official page starting at 19:05 local summer time.
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