FK's 5 Français à suivre

Bonjour PodiumCafé,

After the national humiliation of the World Cup, it's time to make the rooster proud again on top of this pile of crap :) Here are 5 Frenchmen you should cheer for as they go mindlessly on the attack only to be crushed by the peloton/ a GC leader / a herd of sheep as they approach the finish line:

1. Nicolas Vogondy

Well, the Frinkster has already given you the lowdown on Nico, but let me put it in some more orderly fashion, in my own broken English. His best results on the Tour: 7th in Pau (flat stage) in 2002, 14th on top of the Alpe d'Huez in 2008. His win on top of Risoul must have been a huge confidence booster for him, and with his recent TT championship, you can see he is a complete package. Dream scenario: a good prologue, he avoids the traps of the first week-end and sneaks into a nice break in the Jura to get the Maillot Jaune in Les Rousses. If not, you can count on him to be on top on the Combativity classification for most of the Tour. Also don't be confused on the road, his teammate from BBOX Voeckler will wear the French champion jersey for most of the stages since he won the RR today. But look for Vogondy in his swell maillot bleu-blanc-rouge in Rotterdam for the prologue.

2. John Gadret

The cyclo-cross star is back on the Tour where his only participation in 2007 was rather anonymous (20th at the Plateau de Beille). After "une année blanche" in 2008, he has shown great form at the Giro this year, finishing 3rd on top of Plan de Corones and staying with the top riders for most of the mountain stages. This year's Tour profile suits him but his form is quite unknown. Not racing at all after the Giro, he came back recently at the Route du Sud and finished 6th after a decent showing on an uphill ITT that Moncoutié won. AG2R will have a pretty strong team with Roche, Efimkin, Elmiger and Le Lay and the team dynamics will be interesting to follow. I expect a steady pace from Gadret in the Alps but I can see him taking his chances in the 3rd week where he will be back in shape. Look for him to score a top 10 finish at Plateau de Bonascre and maybe a top 20 finish overall. 

3. Jérôme Pineau

With Boonen out and Chavanel having a rather dismal year, Quickstep might just be Pineau's team after all (although Devolder might show off his national jersey if he participates). The stage hunter will be relied upon by Lefevere to save Quickstep bacon on the Tour. Like Gadret he had a very good Giro with a stage win, a couple of near-misses and a 5th place in the points race. With a couple of top 10 finishes in the Ardennaises and since he rides for a Belgian team, I expect to see Pineau in action as soon as we get south of Brussels. He might also shine in the transition stages between the Alps and the Pyrénées although the Bastille Day stage is maybe a bit too climby for him.

4. Rémi Pauriol

Finally a rider younger than me ! Rémi Pauriol was (like 99% of the French riders) on a promising trajectory after his first couple of pro years, culiminating with a excellent Vuelta a Catalunya in 2008. Not much since then, but he had a good showing on the Dauphiné until a crash on the rainy roads of Sallanches wiped him out of the top 10. Methinks he is back on track and I think he could have an interesting albeit unspectacular Tour.

5. Christophe Le Mével

Since he joined FdJ 2 years ago, Le Mével has elevated himself as one of the most consistent French GC riders, which is, honestly, not much. 10th at Paris-Nice, 12th at Catalunya, 10th at Dauphiné and 10th at the TdF last year, this is not bad though. His campaign has been much less successful this year but he was 13th at the Flèche Wallonne and showed some life at the end of the Dauphiné. It's gonna be tough to duplicate last year's results but I think he will be motivated and he should be the clear GC leader for FdJ. I don't think he'll repeat top 10, but consecutive top 20 at the TdF would be very good... by French standards ;)

Maybe Willj or ant1 have more insight on French riders but here is my take ! Enjoy the Tour ya'll !!