From our special correspondent at the Grand Colombier,
As much to admit it to you, we wandered Friday at midday in Culoz, at the foot of the Grand Colombier, in search of blue-white-red flags. After all, why not lay a very classic 14-July subject, very cocky with testimonials from fans who hope without really believing in it a successor to Warren Barguil, the last French winner on National Day, six years ago already. in Foix?
But above all, we saw that the Ain Departmental Council had done a good job by spreading its banners everywhere, for this 100% “Zero-One” stage. And then, following the flow of amateur cyclists launched to conquer the giant of Bugey under the dodger, a few hours before the pros, we came across multiple posters bearing the image of Guillaume Martin, hanging from street furniture.
The leader of Cofidis is however not a local boy, unlike the sprinter Christophe Lemaitre, who gave his name to the gymnasium placed next to the first laces of the Grand Colombier, 17 terminals from the summit. He is Normand, like Claude (83 years old), Jocelyne (79 years old) and their friend Didier (63 years old), whose converted van has just been placed in front of the said gymnasium since the day before. From the t-shirts they wear and the decoration of the vehicle, we quickly guess that we have found our sign installers.
Present even when Martin is no longer there
“We remove them at the end of each stage, this year, we didn’t get bitten, observes the trio, member of the Guillaume Martin supporters club, with some 120 members and based in Sainte-Honorine-la -Chardonne, the stronghold of their champion populated by some 700 souls. Last year, we put it on even when he was no longer in the race. Positive for Covid, the Ornais had indeed had to pack up before the start of the 9th stage in Aigle, Switzerland.
“This time, he can still finish first in France”, hopes Claude. As in 2020 (11th in the end) and in 2021 (8th) so… For the moment, Martin occupies 15th place overall, behind David Gaudu (9th), Thibaut Pinot (11th) and Romain Bardet (12th). This Friday, he was released from the yellow jersey group 6.5 km from the summit of the Bugey giant. No surprise for the octogenarian. “He had worked a lot yesterday [jeudi] and had maneuvered well to allow the victory of his teammate Ion Izaguirre. »
The couple has traveled for twenty years in France every July. But now, with Didier, they put themselves at the service of their “compatriot”. “We knew him when he started in cycling,” they explain. Bayonne, Dax, Pau, Cauterets, Puy-de-Dôme, Vulcania, Clermont and therefore now Culoz… While the majority of their club buddies watch their protege on TV, from Normandy, these fans have not missed much -thing of the 2023 edition, while waiting to define the rest of their program.
“It allows us to see the country and see how beautiful France is,” they emphasize. A speech for the occasion for this July 14, in honor of which they had hung from early morning several small tricolor flags on the barriers which separate the sidewalk from the road. “There are only two left, so that means that this date means something to people,” laughs Claude.
Photos and books to sign
But what the trio especially likes to distribute, when they are in a departure town, are photos of Martin, so that kids can get his autograph. “Some people even come to have him sign his books,” remarks the most talkative of the three. For those who haven’t followed cycling for the past five years, the best climber of the Vuelta 2020, holder of a master’s degree in philosophyis the author of Socrates on a bicycle and of The Platoon Society. Hence the presence of a book and a pretty quill pen on his fan club’s t-shirt, next to a haloed portrait of a bicycle wheel.
Despite a rich personality and the regularity of his excellent results, the Marc-Aurèle de la Grande Boucle, 30 years old, suffers from a certain lack of notoriety compared to Pinot, Alaphilippe or Bardet, even to his teammate Victor Lafay, winner this year from the second day in San Sebastian. Because the climber has never won a stage of the Tour, justice of the peace for the general public? Or because of his lack of attraction for the trumpets of fame? “We hear some say that he is too nice, loose the couple. But first, you can never be too nice and then, he has a certain reserve. He does not speak to say nothing. And he’s not looking for the media. »
On the other hand, Martin is still chasing a new top 10 in the Tour. “I know that the stages of tomorrow [samedi, vers Morzine] and the day after tomorrow [dimanche, jusqu’à Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc] will count a lot and will be decisive, he asserted on Friday evening. And despite the fatigue, I’m going into these next two stages relatively confident. His elders and admirers are equally so.