Valentin Madouas' logbook, episode 2: "After the cobblestones, I hurt all over"

Valentin Madouas, at the finish of the 5th stage of the Tour de France 2022, in Arenberg.

© Valentin Madouas

Text by: RFI Follow

3 mins

The young Breton Valentin Madouas is competing this year in his third Tour de France with the Groupama-FDJ team, in the service of its leader David Gaudu and alongside the experienced Thibault Pinot.

He tells us about the race seen from inside the peloton, its good times and its bad times, in weekly road diaries.

Today, second episode, the evening of the famous cobblestone stage in the North of France.

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A day on the cobblestones

Tonight, the massage took a little longer than expected: after a day like that, I was in pain all over and needed to rest.

I had a lot of work approaching the first cobblestone sector to put David Gaudu in the first positions, then I needed to breathe, and finally I finished in the big pack just behind Pogaçar, with David, who been awesome today.

He was stressed before the start, but he did the job, the team also stayed well around him and at the finish the results are very positive for us, we stay in the game!

The cobblestones are always a bit chaotic: crashes, punctures, you don't always know what's going on, what the gaps are, there's a lot of movement at all stages of the race.

In addition, we try to give as little information as possible in the earpieces because we have to stay constantly focused, so sometimes we are a little lost!

Come back to the country

I am marked by the three days in Denmark, the fervor of the public, unheard of for me.

Now, we find the typical “Tour de France” environment, our benchmarks and I like that too.

For us, French, it's a plus, we are more encouraged by the public.

I have the impression that the Tour is really launched!

A tense but wise peloton

We feel a lot of tension in the peloton, we saw it again today (Wednesday) with

, but overall the teams are on the defensive.

No one wanted to take big risks.

We are all in the same logic: rather than trying to take time from others, we try not to lose it, and to save people.

Three weeks of racing is a long time, and it will be very difficult in the days to come, you might as well be as fresh as possible.

This is why the differences are still quite modest.

For us, it's good to have passed these first tense days without incident, with David Gaudu still well placed.

Now, we can't wait to attack the sequel. 

Friday, on the lands of Thibault Pinot

Thibault is a star in France and internationally.

He was highly acclaimed in Denmark.

On Friday, the stage passes through his region, with the ascent of the Planche des Belles Filles.

The expectation will be enormous at home, and he is looking forward to this moment.

I don't know what exactly is planned, I don't know if his goats will be on the side of the road, but it will be, for sure, a great moment.

For now, we're focused on tomorrow's stage (Thursday), and then we'll see what can happen on Thibault's land!

                                                                                                                                  Arenberg, Valentin Madouas

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