Around Pinot and Bernal, the health bubble held up in Occitania

• The Route d'Occitanie, the first major cycling race on French soil, was a kind of test three weeks before the start of the Tour de France.
• The teams had to wear a mask until the start line, then as soon as the finish line was crossed, a habit quickly assimilated.
• Rather, it was in the passes, which had enough spectators, that the behavior left something to be desired: spectators without masks encouraged the runners very (too) closely.

Bernal in front of Pinot, the CGT merguez fries stand at the start, and the world everywhere in the Col de Beyrède as in the good old days for the arrival of the queen stage on Monday. Confidence of a follower colleague present on site. “The mask, the second day you forget that you are wearing it and you get caught up in the athlete. We witnessed a real bicycle race despite the sanitary rules ”. The Route d'Occitanie, the first major cycling race on French soil, was a kind of test three weeks before the start of the Tour de France. Broadly successful, although it shouldn't ignite too quickly. No one has been tested since the PCR screening imposed by the UCI on D-3 of the start of the race, last Wednesday.

Thank you to Christian Prudhomme, director of @letour, for his support and his presence today between Lectoure and Rocamadour # RDO2020: "Congratulations to the organizers, volunteers, who have taken up the challenge despite the pressure ... This arrival at #Rocamadour gives ideas "pic.twitter.com/6bkWUInkn8

"A little embarrassing to put on the mask just after the effort"

Since ? “A questionnaire given to the team doctor every day to tell him how we feel,” explains Julien Antomarchi. The leader of the Lille Roubaix Métropole team, who covered up before the end to protect himself before his big goal of the French championships, felt relatively protected in the “runners bubble” imagined by the organization. Regarding the teams themselves, mask up to the start line, then as soon as the finish line is crossed. A habit quickly assimilated by both. “It's a little more embarrassing to put it on at the end of the effort, but we didn't drag either after the arrivals with the heat, we get on the bus quickly. Overall, people approached us less than usual ”.

Here. Here we go again ! 👀🎥 pic.twitter.com/ckCoxAuA4B

Pierre Caubin, director of the race, had gone to great lengths to "ensure that the first on the rope", personally encouraged by Christian Prudhomme, Mr. Tour de France, were not the last. The budget planned for the live broadcast even jumped to be moved to the health security box, to the chagrin of the bicycle madmen who plagued every day after the broadcasters. 70,000 euros anyway.

"We went through nine departments, with four-five meetings each time, in each prefecture," says the man to Direct Vélo. Certain prefectures asked us for things, which for us, volunteers, were not easy to maintain. We didn't want to miss out on the start or finish areas with the gauges. We hired a company to count the people present, but in the finish area, it's much more complicated ”.

The Lille Roubaix Métropole team on the podium of the Route d'Occitanie. - Bruno Bade / LNC

Impose the wearing of a mask in the collars?

In Rocamadour, where the sanctuary of the Black Madonna attracts its world as much as the champions, we have come close to overcapacity, but the volunteers have stepped up to provide masks with every effort before the big disembarkation of the peloton. It is rather in the passes, pleasantly provided with spectators, that the behavior left something to be desired: many people without masks shouting at nearby runners. "On certain sites of the course, it shocked us, especially in certain passes", recognizes Pierre Caubin, who touched two words directly in Prudhomme. “Afterwards, you have to try to stay in the middle of the road, confirms Julien Antomarchi. Should the wearing of a mask be imposed? It's complicated, we can see it everywhere. It would have to come from themselves. "

Warren Barguil finished 6th at the Col de Beyrède!

Resumption in the mountains: ✅ # RDO20 pic.twitter.com/oNws8nfvxM

Third in the French time trial championship last year, the rider of the northern team has only one meager complaint to address to the organization: the fact of having had to share the hotel with passing tourists, it being understood that a race like the Route d'Occitanie does not have Hollywood means. The Tour will be something else: “ASO undoubtedly has the means to create a less airtight bubble, I imagine that they will consult the teams to have their feelings and do more or less like in the NBA, with four teams who share a hotel cleaned from A to Z, that involves less risk. Because if there is only one positive case in the peloton, it is very difficult to continue. "

Even stricter rules on the Tour de France

Some in the staffs of the big teams found that there were still a little too many people hanging around the buses on the arrival areas, between the guests, the marshals, the volunteers ... Particularly on the teeth, Ineos has often cleaned up through Dave Brailsford, while Dylan Van Baarle passed a memorable blower during a stopover to a photographer who glued him without a mask from a motorcycle press. The rumor of an official complaint from the British team even spread, without follow-up.

At Groupama-FDJ, we gave a final gift to journalists the day before departure, with an open-air press conference in the presence of Thibaut Pinot himself in front of the hotel swimming pool. Service message, in essence: "Take advantage of it, it may be the last for many months." As long as we can do the finish on the Champs with the yellow jersey on TiboPino's shoulders, no problemo.

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• Thibaut Pinot
• Egan Bernal
• Covid 19
• Cycling
• Tour de France
• Coronavirus
• Sport
• Cycling