2023-07-12 20:35:23
Peter Sagan signs autographs in Clermont-Ferrand this Wednesday. BENOIT TESSIER / REUTERS
THE QUESTION OF THE DAY – Leaving Bilbao, carried by Basque fervor, the Tour then landed without spectators at the top of Puy-de-Dôme, in silence, before crossing the Pyrenees and the Massif Central at high speed. To the delight of the public.
Every summer, between 10 and 12 million spectators meet on the Tour route. The images of Puy-de-Dôme, empty in the last four kilometers of ascent to respect a protected site, may have let the idea slip through that the Tour 2023 attracted fewer spectators to applaud it.
Bernard Thévenet, winner of the Tour de France in 1975 and 1977, assures: It’s only an impression because I don’t have the figures but I’m convinced that there are at least as many people as last year. The race is still very spectacular and the show offered by the two in front (the Dane Jonas Vingegaard and the Slovenian Tadej Pogacar) is exceptional. They gave a certain interest to the event. I dare not even imagine the madness it would be if a French rider managed to titillate the two. We had a small glimpse of the popularity of Bardet in the climb of the Puy de Dôme. In the bends of the Baraque, it was delirium. There are even places in the car where I thought it was really hot.»
When the spectators are too close to the runners, it can lead to difficulties
Pierre-Yves Thouault, assistant to Christian Prud’homme, director of the Tour de France
Pierre-Yves Thouault, assistant to Christian Prudhomme, the director of the event, stops on the episode of Puy-de-Dôme emptied in its last four kilometers of spectators: “ At Puy-de-Dôme, we had made commitments, the obligation was that there was no one on the site, for the narrowness of the roadway, it is a traffic lane. One, there was no choice and two, it leaves the riders the possibility of attacking, repositioning, overtaking when the spectators are too close to the riders, this can lead to difficulties beyond safety which is our priority. The Col de Sarenne when we climbed Alpe d’Huez twice (in 2013), there was no one on the descent. I found a purity, it allowed the runners to express themselves and to respect the site. »
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According to initial estimates, at least 250,000 spectators were massed at the foot of Puy-de-Dôme up to the 4 km barrier prohibited to spectators. And 1.5 million spectators would have attended the first three stages of the edition, in the Basque Country (two million spectators had attended the first three stages in Denmark, in 2022).
And everywhere, in oppressive heat (38° recorded in Issoire, arrival of the 10th stage), as in the rain in Moulins (during the 11th stage), this Thursday, the crowd seems, once again, to be there. you from the Tour. Adrien Petit, runner for the Intermarché-Circus-Wanty team, summarizes: “ In recent days, there were a little fewer people than in the Basque Country but there were still a lot of spectators. Before the last 4 kilometers of Puy-de-Dôme, it was amazing. Armored, armored. There were three rows of spectators. And I think now people prefer to go to strategic places. Before, you could see people going downhill now, they don’t care, they know the bike and settle in places where it’s more pleasant to see the riders pass, rather than at 70 km/h in a descent. »
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