It’s a page that turns for all lovers of attacks in dancers, especially when they are doomed to failure. Pierre Rolland (36), who told 20 minutes a few weeks ago his joy of returning for a final year in the peloton, announced that he was retiring after 16 years of good and loyal service.
“I don’t go against things”
“I see people around me, some who barely know me, who are sad for me. I want to tell them “don’t be sad for me, because I’m not”. I am happy with these 16 years. It was fate that decided that and I’m not going against it.” explained to Eurosport the former leader of Europcar during its greatest years, in reference to the end of activity of the B & B team of Jérôme Pineau, which will not start again in 2023.
Unforgettable winner at Alpe d’Huez in 2011, tireless support of Thomas Voeckler, Rolland embodied a form of French panache before the emergence of the Pinot-Bardet generation, capable of obtaining results even very recently. Contacted by several formations, the one who had finished 4th in the Giro in 2014 preferred to leave room for his young teammates on the floor: “I preferred to advise them to recruit such and such a rider from the team (B & B), younger, rather than trying to fit in at all costs. I have already had the opportunity to prove myself. And I did not see myself rediscovering a new structure. I have projects in the world of cycling. I can’t say more yet.” We can’t wait to find out, though.