Paris-Nice, the first big race of a week of the professional calendar! “The race to the sun” as we usually call it and translate it from the French … Each year, we find what we can consider as the best professional runners, a beautiful fight on a route drawn between the French capital and the Azure capital, Nice.
Geoffroy Lequatre, the G4 founder has participated several times during his career, but his first Paris-Nice will probably be remain forever in his memory! When he was only 23, in 2004, he was called by his team on the race, as a teammate, and everything did not happen as expected … He tells us his journey a week before the departure from Paris-Nice 2019!
PARIS-NICE: THE STORY OF GEOFFROY
I do not tend to talk about my years as a professional but my first Paris-Nice is worth reading in terms of story!
In 2004 I did my first Paris-Nice, after 2 years with Credit Agricole in GS3 level as a young pro, I signed in 2004 with the GS1 team!
My career of professional began thoroughly with a first Paris Nice at 23 years old only! And what a Paris Nice it was!
Here is the context, as Paris-Nice is the first big appointment of the season on the French soil and the first race stage of 7 days in Europe! Everyone is ready to start off and this race is a big objective for some, a preparation for others and a must for the classic men who prepare the season of historical classic races! Flanders and Ardennes races.
In 2004, following my early season results, I am aligned at the start of my first ever Paris-Nice with the aim of doing well and to illustrate myself without fear! I leave the U-23 category where I was among the best in the world!
This Paris Nice was quite special for me because being a native of Pithiviers, the second stage passed by Malesherbes / Puiseaux my training roads and my faithful playgrounds! Borders have no secrets for me!
The “flahutes” (People from Flanders) are Belgian! But in my native region we are French flahutes!
This Paris-Nice starts from the province with a prologue of the beginning of the season that Jörg Jaksche won hands down! The CSC stands out from the first day! I am satisfied with the beginning and I cannot wait to be the next day.
THE ECHELON!
In the early morning of the 2nd stage, the weather is cool and windy! I call my Dad for last-minute information about the weather conditions and wind direction!
As usual he kept knowing everything and he didn’t mistake about the direction of the wind: ¾ back side is waiting for you coming out of the valley of the Essonne, upstream of Malesherbes! So be attentive the peloton will explode, the echelon is coming.
In this same area Alain Gallopin! Well known Tony Gallopin’s uncle is the sport director of the CSC at this time. Alain lives about 10 km from this same place! As a tactician, he provides the plan of the day, It’s better to attack than to be attacked with the yellow jersey on the back.
The start was from Chaville, I am immediately on my guard! After 50 km of race, the fateful moment came, far change of direction / all left and full wind ¾ back. I see the CSC team stood and prepared the echelon shot. Going back, I notified my friend Christophe Le Mevel, he “took my wheel”, the hostility is launched, the CSC accelerated with such strength that we were simply 4 to follow the 8 riders who made up their team!
THEY TWIST THE CRANKS!
Jorg Jaske, Jens Voigt, Bartoli, Ivan Basso, Franck Schlek, Boby Julich, Michael Blaudzun, Jakob Piil (DEN) … 2 guys from chocolate Jacques, good flahutes …, Christophe Le Mevel and myself, youg professionnal! There is still 100 km! We cricked the ravito Malesherbes at 50 an hour and I closed the echelon behind the 8 CSC runners.
For connoisseurs of the region we arrive at Malesherbes which is located in a basin sheltered from the wind but a bump of 2.5 km will take us back to the plateau of the windy Beauce, a wind that will not leave us in peace until the arrival!
Franck Vandenbroucke VDB!
The bump mounts full throttle and the lead is 30 seconds! In the effort, the bike race announces an attack by Frank Vandenbroucke of a peloton already fragmented!
At the top of this bump and some 5 min of effort later, I heard the motorbikes get back on our group of furious riders. Curious to see this because, as we say in slang language, “it ran full throttle”, and we were riding super fast with my friend Christophe Le Mevel!
VDB ALREADY AMONG US!
I look back and already VDB with his white and blue jersey of the Fassa bortolo’ s team on his classy Pinarello, had joined the group with a single runner in his wheel that was literally the flag! I closed the door behind the 8 CSC runners who turned in a tight fan! VDB looked at me and says to me “You ride kiddo?”, Me “I uhhh bah no! They will manage at 8! It remains 90 km! He answered me “Ok” and gets back behind for 2 min. Then he comes back to see me asking to let him get back on the CSC line! “OKAY” !
After 5 – 6 relay with the 8 well-honed machines, he gets back behind! Our lead is more than 1 min on the first group of a split peloton!
2min later, one cassette creaks and “teeth falls”, clac clac clac! Bim bam boom VDB attacks the 8 CSC, eyes in the eyes! It takes 200 meters alone in the wind and pull for 2- 3 km alone! The finish line is in 80 km with this desert landscape that offers Beauce early March! We are all subjugated in the effort, at least me! But where will he go I told myself!!! VDB gets up, waits for the group and re-attacks once, then twice, during 10 km! This ends up disorganizing the small group of 12 that we are, and we are taken back by the 2nd group! We will go to the finish in Montargis to compete for the victory in the sprint of a group of 30-ish! BUT WHAT A STAGE!
A GOOD BEGINNING, A COMPLICATED END
The weather in the central massif is not good! Snow and bad weather are waiting for us in Puy en Velay! The 4th stage is cancelled!! The days follow each other, the stages also and the tiredness accumulated from day to day!
LOOKING FORWARD TO BEING IN NICE!
The last days are for me a long way! The step Digne les Bains/ Cannes! I remember it too! After 20 km arrive the first climbs and attacks … big mess! We are then 40 riders ahead to “roll full oil” behind 3 breakaways, in the gorges of Verdon to join le Haut Var and tilt the Taneron for an arrival in Cannes. Congratulations to Vino who won the stage!
As far as I’m concerned, the Taneron will stop me! To tell you, I’m going to finish the stage only 2 min ahead the gruppetto which had formed after only 20 km.
No juice left and there is still this last stage whose course hurts the legs, just writing it!
Col d’Eze / Col de Châteauneuf / Col d’Eze / Col de Châteauneuf / Col d’Eze!
It is gonna be hard, we said it before the departure! And we were not wrong! 3, 2.1, 0! From the foot of the Col d’Eze, VBD attacked, who was close of the leader in the general ranking! bim bam bom, general panic of the runners at the crossing of the 4 paths! Some even turned on the top of the Eze pass! It was not an option for me to give up my first Paris-Nice, so close to the end! I then took a group that crumbles over the passes and the 2 laps of a circuit that is exhausting …
Considering my delay at the end of the stage, I said to myself “Vino (the winner of the day) must already be showered and returned home” … The image that I have left on my way to the finish line, are the ASO technicians who were starting to dismantle the barriers!
A first Paris-Nice which I remember very well … 2 days later, I fell sick of tiredness!
MORALITY:
Paris-Nice is easier when you have good legs all week long and the weather is sunny until the Promenade des Anglais!
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