The director of the Tour de France, Christian Prudhomme, shines when he imagines the start of his career in the Basque Country, “a land of cycling like few others, of tradition, pride and champions”, he stated in an interview with EFE.
But, in addition, the person in charge of the gala round believes that the Grand Depart in Bilbao can serve to relaunch cycling in a country that has not won a stage in the Tour since the one Omar Fraile achieved in 2018 and for new stars to appear in the Spanish panorama.
“Spain is one of the great cycling nations and we need those countries to shine on the Tour. It’s good that champions from new horizons appear, but you have to have a balance with traditional countries. And if Spain is one of those great nations, the Basque Country is its locomotive”, affirmed Prudhomme.
The current skipper of the Tour, who for years was the voice of French television in the race, recalls that his first experience with the microphone on the roads of the French round coincided with the victory of Roberto Laiseka in Luz Ardiden in 2001 and how he marked the “orange tide” of Euskaltel fans in the Pyrenees.
Prudhomme paid tribute to Miguel Madariaga, great patron of the Basque team, but also “the great tradition, both of practitioners, and of organized races, of champions that have given the peloton”.
Since the Tour was launched in 1992, “there has not been a year in which they have not shown interest in hosting us again,” says Prudhomme, who has discovered the emails that the different heads of the Basque Government were sending to the organizers.
“It is not by chance that we are here. The Tour is in good hands. In Denmark we were in the country of cycling. Here we are in a country of cycling. Here people know the great champions and are very loyal. I am convinced that It will be a great success,” he says.
Many of those fervent throats will cheer on the seven Basque runners who will start this Saturday next to the San Mamés stadium, “a considerable number for a single region,” says the patron of the race.
The second time that the Tour will begin in Spain, it will also serve to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the triumph of Luis Ocaña and on July 9, when the race stops at the Puy de Dome, Federico Martín Bahamontes, the oldest of the winners of the Tour still alive, he will celebrate his 95th birthday, recalls Prudhomme, who a week before will congratulate his mother for having the same birthday as the Águila de Toledo.
But the boss of the race does not think that the Tour only looks to the past and is convinced that “this Grand Depart will awaken new vocations and make many young people want to get on a bicycle, which can help Spain find new promises “.
Although Prudhomme already has his sights set on one of them, which he hopes to see soon rolling down the roads of his career.
“There is a lot of talk about when Remco Evenpoel will come to the Tour. But I also want to see Juan Ayuso, who has said that he is very interested in coming in 2024. It is exceptional that a 19-year-old was third in the Vuelta. Spain already has its promise, other countries are looking for it,” he says.
For now, Prudhomme knows that the 2023 edition points to a direct duel between the Dane Jonas Vingegaard and the Slovenian Tadej Pogacar, but that does not seem to worry him.
“On the contrary, we know that the history of the sport is made of great rivalries, whether it be Merckx against Ocaña, Federer against Nadal. Everything indicates that it will be a duel between the two. But no one can rule out that there is a third man, that a David Gudou gets in. Or that a Peio Bilbao, inspired by the beginning in his land, where the people are very proud, is not motivated to surprise. Last year we experienced a Danish fairy tale after having started in Denmark. Maybe the Basques will repeat it this year”, he points out.
Prudhomme points out that the duel that was seen last year “is also good for the Tour”, although on this occasion he believes that things have changed and that Vingegaard’s Jumbo is no longer the strongest team, because Pogacar’s UEA has been surpassed above all by the arrival of Adam Yates.
