Bardet and Pinot PHOTO / LIONEL BONAVENTURE
That is my question. Both want to be considered great cyclists, not great French cyclists. It is a cruel and heavy burden to be an excellent French cyclist. When are you going to win the Tour de France? Bernard Hinaults don’t come around very often, maybe never again. Hinault was the French Merckx; winning was everything. If he was not a cyclist he should have been a professional fighter. Fignon was called the professor because he was from Paris and wore glasses, not because he was an intellectual. He managed to win some Tours and not be a badger. He was not out happily slugging protesters. If Hinault had lost to Lemond by eight seconds…one, it wouldn’t have happened. Hinault would have burst his own heart to finish nine seconds faster. Two, if he had lost by eight seconds, he would have slugged Lemond so damn hard it would have put him back in the hospital.
I hope the French are happy they have any prospective Tour winners. The Americans have none. Most countries do not because it takes a special genetic freak in a sport of genetic freaks to be one. The English had to sweep their post-colonial, high altitude Kenyan supply system to come up with one. Of this French pair I have a bias toward Romain Bardet partially because he rides for AG2R and on Keepers Tour 2012 we met directeur Vincent Lavenu. VL seemed a good sort and for inexplicable, Rule ignoring reasons, I sort of like their kit, but I digress.
Thibaut Pinot and Romain Bardet: both 24 years old, both stage winners in the 2015 Tour, both prodigious climbers, both saddled with the “next French hope” mantle.
Judging from this edition’s Alpe d’Huez stage, Pinot actually may be be the stronger climber. If you can ride everyone off your wheel on Alpe d’Huez, you are a badass. For climbing style points, Romain wins. He is solid and smooth to Pinot’s lack of. Going downhill, if you try to pedal through a corner and catch your inside pedal (and crash) doing so, points off. Bardet descends like Philippe Gilbert, that is to say, avec grande vitesse et les grand testicules.
Being the best climber or best descender does not make a grand tour winner. A grand tour winner does not have to be the best at anything, just very capable at everything. And not sucking at anything, like descending or time trialing and not having a jour sans.
Can either of these guys time trial? If Pinot can he should, by all rights, be one podium step closer in Paris than Andy Schleck* ever got. There is a large leap between a top ten Tour finish and a podium finish. It might be a larger leap from the third podium step to the top. Pinot and Bardet are in this mix.
Neither of these guys seem like punch throwing firebrands like Hinault, which may be good. Then who can better handle the pressure of being the next Fignon?
*I can still make fun of Andy Schleck even though he retired, yes?
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Just read the recent Fotheringham book on Hinault. Very well researched and written. Distinction made between Hinault and Merckx in that the Prophet had to win everything, Le Blaireau was more choosey about what he wanted to win. Some reckon Bernie was overall stronger than Merckx on the bike as well.
End of the book considers current state of cycling in France and the impossible job of riding in the Badger' shadow. Fotheringham reckons as a fellow Breton riding for a non French team that Barguil is the best prospect.
TBH I need to watch them all more closely for a full season to really have a view. Pinot did look the business on the Alpe for sure. Don't think any of them are on teams that will give them a Grand Tour any time soon.
Speaking of Bianchi colors. I went to pick up my bike at the shop after some long-awaited swaps and such were made. I'd been told to come at a certain time, was just to be a pick-up.
When I arrived there was a big, gaudy Escalade in the driveway. Yeck. Then when I entered the shop/work shed (he works out back of his house) there was and older woman in too-good shape with her tri-Cervelo in the stand. The mechanic said hello, she just looked at me. How friendly! She was off to some race and her bike was creaking. Good time to check! I was willing to overlook all of this until she said her old, steel Bianchi never creaked. She told the mechanic it was "that cool green color."
Ouch, you shouldn't be allowed to own a celeste Bianchi if you refer to it as a "green" bike.
I've never quite understood the allure of celeste. That's possibly down to the fact that Bianchi owners can be a tad to enthusiastic when it come to colour matching.
@ChrisO
Sorry Chris, I know full well you're an Aussie and if I'd have done something like, thought for a second, with my brain, I'd have remembered that.
@rfreese888
Ooh, I must read this. What's the title? I loved Fotheringham's book on Merckx - I read it twice while I had it from the library, which is pretty much unprecedented for me. Both men cast very long shadows through the sport.
After reading these posts, I'm switching to Bardet because he rocks the AG2R kit. Yup, brown/white/blue was a bit of a gamble design-wise, but the fact that they've stuck with it in the face of (undeserved) criticism, makes me like it more. You want your kit to be noticeable. Take most kits and strip them of all logos. Quite a few would be hard to identify. Not so AG2R. Kinda like the classic Atala kit: bold, ballsy and distinctive. They match the kit to bikes and helmets too which is more than most teams do.
@RobSandy
Bernard Hinault and the Fall and Rise of French Cycling
I also read his book on Coppi which was quite good, Merckx volume is on the list for sure.
@Mikael Liddy
Cripes yeah just saw that. On balance he's maybe fortunate he hit the car as he'd have been off into the trees at a hellofaspeed otherwise and the side of a car is more forgiving than a tree.
@RobSandy
And in the Merckx book, which is fantastic, there are many mentions of attacks when other riders crash or suffer a mechanical, this gentleman's agreement that we all think comes from a nobler age never fucking existed!
Viva Il Squalo
@wilburrox
And I thought I was the only one thinking this. (Not about the "Like" button, FB can keep it.) Oli's comment about the colors is spot on.
Also, I vote for Bardet. Watching him gracefully power up some of those early climbs was just beautiful to watch. I have no other facts or evidence to back up my pick, so be it.