No room for sentiment as Bernard Hinault returns to site of world title glory for 2027 c’ships
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French cyclist Bernard Hinault is seen during the Road Cycling World Championship in Sallanches, in French Alps, on Aug 31, 1980.
PHOTO: AFP
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SALLANCHES – French cycling legend Bernard Hinault is licking his lips at the prospect of current superstars Tadej Pogacar and Mathieu van der Poel tackling the same route at the 2027 world championships that he rode when he claimed his one and only rainbow jersey in 1980.
The five-time Tour de France champion, now 70, conquered the course, 20 laps of 13km, beginning and ending in the French commune of Sallanches and including the daunting 2.5km climb of Domancy, to finish over a minute ahead of the Italian Gianbattista Baronchelli.
“The fact that it is virtually the same route (as in 1980) means we will be able to compare the older generation with the present one,” he said.
The legs may not be what they were at their peak for the rider but, playing his role as ambassador for the 2027 championships to the full, he rode up the Domancy on April 15 on an electric bike.
It is the first time he has tackled the Domancy, which now also bears his name as the Route Bernard Hinault, since 1980 and he admitted it was not something he would choose to do.
“Why would you want me to do it again? There’s no point,” said Hinault with the hint of a smile. “I’m not doing it for my own pleasure.”
Since his victory in 1980, only three other Frenchman have won the world championships – Luc Leblanc in 1994, Laurent Brochard in 1997 and Julian Alaphilippe, who had back-to-back wins in 2020 and 2021.
But he sees no reason why another Frenchman should not repeat his Sallanches success, given the “one-off” nature of the world championships.
“You can have a group that gets away from the peloton,” added Hinault, who was also the last Frenchman to win the Tour de France in 1985.
“There could be a guy in that bunch, who knows how to ride, who says to himself, ‘I am going to do the minimum, I am not going to put it all out there for the moment’. That could pay dividends at the end.
“But when one sees today, the Pogacars, the Vingegaards (2022 and 2023 winner Jonas Vingegaard), on routes like that, I think it is not too bad for them either. One thing is for sure, a journeyman will not win it.”
Hinault, who won the Giro d’Italia three times and the Vuelta a Espana twice as well, said the most difficult thing about the route is the repetitiveness.
“When you race the same route 20 times, that leaves its mark,” he said.
“If you have an 80km course lying straight ahead of you, you can relax a bit. However, in this instance, if you find yourself badly placed on the descent, you have to make extra efforts.
“Therefore you must be extra-focused and always be in the first 30 riders, in order to keep an eye on everything that is going on.
“In 1980... At the end of two or three laps, a lot of the riders said, ‘What am I doing here?’. If you’re already 10 minutes off the pace after two laps, you might as well go back to the hotel.” AFP
