Tour boss Christian Prudhomme: "The races have to slow down"
Interview: Stephan Klemm
Christian Prudhomme - About the person
French-born Christian Prudhomme is 63 years old and comes from Paris. The former radio and television commentator was Deputy Tour Director from 2004 and succeeded Jean-Marie Leblanc as General Director of the Tour de France on 1 February 2007. He is also President of the International Association of Cycling Tour Organisers (AIOCC). Prudhomme was not a professional cyclist himself.
Christian Prudhomme receives guests in his meeting room on the seventh floor of the eight-storey headquarters of the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) in Boulogne-Billancourt, located just five kilometres south-west of the Eiffel Tower. The ASO is the owner and organiser of the Tour de France.
On a sideboard, Prudhomme has set up a small collection of miniature cyclists, one of whom is wearing the yellow jersey. On the other side, bookshelves are lined with collector's items on the Tour of France. A huge map of France hangs in his office as a basis for planning, on which he has marked points with small flags that he would like to visit with the Tour in the coming years, spread across the entire country. A framed poster of the 111th edition of the world's largest and most important cycling race takes up almost the entire wall in front of his office. Before the start of the Tour, Prudhomme is concerned with one problem in particular: the increasing speed of the peloton and the associated increase in crashes.
The TOUR interview with Christian Prudhomme
TOUR: Mr Prudhomme, since the horrific accidents involving top riders Jonas Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel and Primoz Roglic at the Tour of the Basque Country in April, the debate about the safety of the peloton has gained great momentum. How do you see this development?
Christian Prudhomme: There are three main reasons for the crashes: the course, the behaviour of the riders and the material. The decisive point is the material. Of course the pros, the champions, want to ride as fast as possible, they want to win. But if the speed continues to increase, we will see even more accidents. It's strange when the speed records of the first three monuments of the year are pulverised. At Paris-Roubaix we have seen this development for the third year in a row - where is this going? Excessive speed is a danger for everyone, for the riders first and foremost, but also for the people in the race pack, the motorcyclists, the sports directors, the spectators on the roadside. I think it is essential that measures are introduced.
TOUR: What measures can be taken? Can technical progress be stopped just like that?
Christian Prudhomme: I support Marc Madiot's (Groupama-FDJ team manager, editor's note) suggestion that a general warning signal should be played to all riders' ears via earphones before a dangerous spot. But the question is also: do we need to think about disc brakes, which are so effective that riders only brake much later than when rim brakes were still in use? The frames, the handlebars - even former pros who stopped a few years ago say that they first need an introductory course to be able to ride the new bikes. We have to stop the development, the technical progress. Very important: the riders only wear a thin piece of fabric over their bodies. This has no effect in the event of a fall. But there are so many brilliant engineers, we should commission them to develop a protective construction for the professionals. But the first priority must be to reduce speed.
TOUR: In a sport whose riders have always tried to get faster by any means necessary, you believe that a slow-down rule should be introduced. Do you really believe that the teams will go along with this?
Christian Prudhomme: I also realise that champions don't want to do without technical advantages. But we still need to think about it. We need a general tool to reduce speed. In swimming, wetsuits were regulated to stem the tide of records. It was only about the sport, not about jeopardising everyone's safety if swimmers swim faster and faster. At Paris-Roubaix, before the Arenberg forest with a chicaneThat would be one option, but everyone would have to support it.
TOUR: When it comes to project "One Cycling" then the ASO, the major organiser of cycling races, should also support the idea behind it. It's about merging existing and new races that can be marketed centrally and therefore more lucratively. As Tour Director, what is your view on this?
Christian Prudhomme: My answer is: We currently have a fundamental problem in cycling, and that is safety. We need to focus all our energies on this.
TOUR: One of the ideas of this new movement is to charge entry fees for the final climbs of the mountain stages. Is that feasible with you?
Christian Prudhomme: Crazy. It's complete madness. We're talking about the Tour de France. It's the only sporting spectacle that spectators can watch for free at the side of the road. The spectators want to see the champions, and that happens for free, it has to stay that way. What people who want to make a business out of the Tour don't understand is that it's so much more than just sport - it's about a cultural heritage and connecting people through this race. We are in the tradition of history, so the Tour must be free to watch on the roadside.
TOUR: For the first time, people in Italy can now follow the Tour live from the roadside. What is your mission with the Grand Depart in Florence?
Christian Prudhomme: We are starting abroad for the third time in a row, after Copenhagen 2022 and Bilbao 2023. We wanted to present a new country, one that had not yet hosted the tour. Florence had been a candidate for some time. The city already wanted to organise the Grand Depart in 2014 to celebrate the 100th birthday of Gino Bartali, its hero, who comes from the Florence region. However, a Briton won the Tour for the first time in 2012, Bradley Wiggins. At the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games in London, three people took centre stage: the Queen, James Bond and Bradley Wiggins in the yellow jersey. This prompted us to say that we had to go to the UK as soon as possible - 2014 was the perfect time to do so. Back then we were guests in Yorkshire, an immense experience, incredible. We put off Florence. Later, in March 2020, in the middle of the pandemic, I received a WhatsApp from Dario Nardella, the mayor of Florence. Just a moment, I'm looking for it ...
TOUR: ... no problem ...
Christian Prudhomme: ... Here it is, it's from 18 March 2020: "Florence. Beautiful and sad. I haven't forgotten the dream of the tour. Let's talk about it." Dario has attached a short video. It really moved me: this beautiful city, deserted because people weren't going outside because of the pandemic. That made me realise: we have to go to Florence. For us as the tour organisers, this brings back a lot of memories, which is always very important to us. 100 years ago, in 1924, Ottavio Bottecchia was the first Italian to win the Tour. And ten years ago with Vincenzo Nibali for the last time so far. Then we have Gino Bartali, who we will remember, and Gastone Nencini, the Tour winner of 1960, who also comes from Tuscany. But in Italy we also commemorate Fausto Coppi, who died in Tortona - we pass through the town during the third stage. On the second day, we reach Cesenatico, the birthplace of Marco Pantani.
TOUR: Don't you consider Pantani to be more of a problematic rider?
Christian Prudhomme: Light and shadow, that's Pantani. He was an excellent climber who came into contact with doping. His death was tragic. And 2024 marks the 20th anniversary of his death. Pantani is part of the history of Italian cycling. The 2024 Tour will also pass by Pantani's place of death, Rimini.
TOUR: Can the fact that the Tour is now being translated to Italy for the first time also be interpreted to mean that you want to make it clear to the Italians that the Tour of France is the much bigger and more prestigious race compared to the Giro d'Italia?
Christian Prudhomme: There is a harmonious relationship. The Giro has also been to France. Often, in fact, it started in Nice in 1998. I also received a message from Mauro Vegni, the director of the Giro. He supports our plans and has campaigned for the Tour to stop in Turin. We have realised this and the third stage will finish there. We also took this opportunity to recall the Treaty of Turin from 1860, when the counties of Nice and Savoy were transferred to France.
TOUR: The first stage over 206 kilometres from Florence to Rimini already has 3700 metres of climbing. Isn't that a little too difficult for the start of a three-week race?
Christian Prudhomme: You can certainly see it that way, I concede that. This is probably the hardest opening stage we've ever had. But I can also tell you that we would have been criticised if the first stage had been flat. That's when 50 riders find themselves on the tarmac because of the hectic pace and excitement of the first day around the final sprint.
TOUR: The pros are already crossing the Galibier on the fourth day of the Tour, which is extremely early. Do you want to wake up the classification riders right away?
Christian Prudhomme: We approach the Galibier via the Col du Lautaret, i.e. via the easier southern side. We chose this route because it is the most direct route from Turin to France. However, the fact that a legendary mountain could be part of the route also appealed to us. I think that's where the riders lurking in the second row will show themselves, Jai Hindley for example.
TOUR: Soon after, you will be chasing the riders over the gravel roads around Troyes during the ninth stage, a course similar to the Strade Bianche in Tuscany. 14 gravel sectors with a length of 32 kilometres are required. Ralph Denk, the team boss of Bora-Hansgrohe, is very sceptical about this day. What do you say to him?
Christian Prudhomme: There will always be a dichotomy between the team bosses, who would prefer to rule out all eventualities, and the cycling enthusiasts. We've been working on the stage around Troyes for a long time. The important thing is that there won't be any descents on our detour into the vineyards, we wanted to avoid that at all costs for safety reasons. The gravel sections are short and very steep. Ultimately, we're looking for a Tour winner who can withstand any terrain.
TOUR: For the first time since 1903, the Tour will not finish in Paris because of the Summer Olympics, but in Nice. They are turning it into an event - a tough individual time trial on the very last day ...
Christian Prudhomme: When it became clear that we wouldn't have a finale in Paris because of the Olympic Games, Christian Estrosi, the mayor of Nice, asked us if we could finish the Tour in his city this time, as we did with Paris-Nice. We know Nice, we know the neighbourhood, and the time trial at the end could even be decisive. The last time we had that was in 1989, when Greg LeMond caught Laurent Fignon and won the Tour by just eight seconds. Incidentally, we are approaching our starting point in Italy again with Nice.
TOUR: The Tour has grown in a way. There has been a Tour of France for women again since 2022. How do you perceive the race?
Christian Prudhomme: It's fantastic. I once said that there are two Tours of France, one for men and one for women. That was a mistake. There aren't two Wimbledons either. There is one tour, that includes the women. We have received 300 enquiries from towns and municipalities that would like to be the start or finish of the Tour. We offer some of them the opportunity to become part of the route of the women's Tour of France. They accept. And are proud. Marion Rousse, the Tour director, is an outstanding personality. She is extremely competent and great at her job. She also commentates on the men's Tour for French television, is the wife of Julian Alaphilippe and the mother of a small child. Marion is fascinating.
TOUR: You are 63 years old and have been Tour Director for 17 years, but you still seem very passionate and full of enthusiasm. Do you sometimes think about the end of your term of office?
Christian Prudhomme: In fact, I'm thinking more and more about handovers. Until now, the tour director was always a journalist in his first life. I don't think that would be the most important requirement today. However, my successor must be someone who deeply loves the Tour, France and the people. And he must be prepared to give. By that I mean, above all, time. For travelling, for talks, working lunches, route reconnaissance. You're not a tour director for 35 or 40 hours a week, you're always there, every day of the year. Tour director is not a job, it's a mission. However, I don't know how long I'll be doing this job. All I know is that I'm not going to break Jacques Goddet's record, who was Tour director for 38 years.
TOUR: France has been waiting for a French Tour winner since 1985. When will there be another French triumph at the Tour?
Christian Prudhomme: Phew. Tough question. But my gut feeling tells me that the next French Tour winner will be a woman.
