The health protocols, put in place since 2020 to limit the risks associated with the Covid-19 pandemic, do they foreshadow what cycling coverage will look like from now on? With regard to other sports, the discipline has been less affected thanks to the famous “bubbles” erected around the runners and their supervision: most of the major races have been maintained, although sometimes postponed and, in 2021, the calendar does not exist. was only cut a handful of dates.
However, this desire – then fully justified – to limit the interactions between runners, the public and journalists, to prevent the circulation of SARS-CoV-2, has also reduced them to heartache. And at a time when the public has returned to the Tour de France and the restrictions have been lifted in the country, the question arises whether the lock posed at the height of the crisis does not risk, him, to endure.
Because cycling has always been a talkative sport. The followers lived in a splendor of declarations, of confidences on the massage table, of sometimes overplayed intrigues, of gossip, of irresistible gossip collected from the teams and runners with the danger of too much proximity which harms the balanced construction. of the story, but cemented the relationships.
Be content with an SMS, a WhatsApp message
The days of the little phrase whispered between two hotel doors, dating back to the 1980s, are over. We now have to be content with an SMS, a WhatsApp message, in which some members of the peloton sometimes tell of their exhaustion, the pace and the crazy performances and, sometimes, their discouragement. For the rest, it is a skilfully orchestrated ballet, under the almost military gaze of the event organizers, with a lot of “mixed zones” and timed videoconference press conferences.
“It’s easier for us runners, the bubble. I would like it to remain as it is… This is one of the advantages of the Covid ”, Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) slipped into a burst of laughter on the sidelines of a training course for his team in Tignes (Savoie), mid-June. For the Belgian champion, this “Controlled atmosphere” reduces pre-race stress and allows you to fully focus on the day’s deadline. Of course, he understands this feeling of losing ties. But he recalled: “Interviews stolen from the bus when, for example, the departure is at 11 am and you have to be there at 10:15 am to have time for the press, the supporters, the signatures… It’s intense. “
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