The Mayenne, land of cycling. And yet, the 2022 edition of the Tour de France starts from Copenhagen without a Mayenne rider. A habit unfortunately since 2013. The rider from Château-Gontier, Vincent Jérôme, was at the start of the Tour in 2012. Since then, nothing. After knowing the Madiot brothers, then Jacky Durand, Franck Renier or even Freddy Bichot, Mayenne is in the trough of the wave in terms of cycling champions.
The succession is long overdue. Only one person from Mayenne in the professional peloton is the rider from Fougerolles-du-Plessis, Clément Davy. His sports director at Groupama-FDJ, Yvon Madiot: “it’s quite cyclical. In a while, Mayenne should find representatives. We have Clément Davy who is still a young rider. Normally, in the next two or three years he should do the Tour de France. Its role is quite specific. It is a question of accompanying the sprinter Arnaud Démare. I think that the year when there is the return of Démare on the Tour, we will have the arrival of Clément.“
A problem in the approach of the high level?
Everything is therefore a question of opportunity because places are expensive. And then there is also a generation gap. The reservoir of young riders is currently a little empty, says Steven Laurent, the sports director of Laval Cyclisme 53: “there are fewer young people, that’s for sure. I think the observation is valid everywhere. The high level approach in Mayenne is not what it should be. There is work to be done to bring young people closer to the top level and educate them in this direction from the young categories. We will have to wait a few years to see the Mayenne people again at the top of the bill.“
Three Mayenne riders have won at least one stage in the Tour de France. Alain Meslet, Marc Madiot and Jacky Durand will have to wait before having a successor.