Thirteen years. Thirteen years since the Tour de France had not stopped in Bordeaux. The city was however a regular at the competition, and it remains to this day, after Paris and ahead of Pau, the one that has hosted the event most often. The city of sprinters too, as illustrated by the victory of Briton Mark Cavendish on the quays, during the last stage in Bordeaux, in 2010. “There was a period when Bordeaux was not necessarily a candidate, the tramway works made it almost impossible to get into the city, advances Christian Prudhomme, director of the Tour de France. Road developments can make it difficult for us to access large cities. » This sporting silence in the former “sleeping beauty” comes to an end: Friday July 7, the Grande Boucle arrives in Bordeaux, for its 7e stage.
This return is largely due to the will of the mayor, Pierre Hurmic (Europe Ecologie-Les Verts), elected in July 2020. Passionate about the Tour de France since childhood, and unlike the reluctance of certain other elected environmentalists from large cities to host the traveling event – because of its energy cost – he launched, upon his arrival at the Rohan Palace, a request to participate from Christian Prudhomme. “The first thing that struck me was the text message he sent me on September 29, 2020 at 9:21 p.m.”remembers, amused, the boss of the Tour.
And Pierre Hurmic did not stop there. Shortly after, during the stage in Libourne (Gironde), he made the trip and did not hesitate to free himself from the rules at the end of the race, to meet Christian Prudhomme. An initiative and a determination that marked the director of the Tour. “At the end of the stage, I saw someone jump over the barriers and I said to myself ‘But it’s Pierre Hurmic!’ It made me laugh, he really wanted to see me”is still surprised the former journalist.
A spotlight
The mayor of Bordeaux does not see the Tour de France as a simple sporting event. He is also part “of the sentimental heritage of many French people”. He remembers his moments, with his family, following the event on the radio. “I come from the Basque Country and my mother was born in a village that provided a cyclist, Marcel Queheille. We all hoped he would win a stage, remembers the aedile. I have seen all the champions of my childhood climb the passes of the Pyrenees. I have lots of memories. » He even recounts dreaming of himself as a child, a cyclist.
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