English wave sweeps over cycling’s Tour de France

BARCELONA, July 6 —  Professional cycling has become increasingly anglicised despite its French origins, even forcing French riders to learn English.

France played an integral role in the development of cycling as both a mode of transport and a sporting activity and it is home to the most prestigious pedal race in the world — the Tour de France.

But both the Tour de France and professional cycling in general have had to get used to an irresistable migration from a francophone sphere of influence to an anglophone one.

And that is no more evident than in the language used by professional teams.

English has increasingly replaced French (and also Italian, Flemish and Spanish) as the language of the peloton — forcing French riders to adapt.

Bruno Armirail had to start taking English lessons when he moved from Decathlon CMA CGM to Dutch team Visma-Lease a Bike in the off season.

Warren Barguil, who was once considered a great French Tour hope, started his professional career in 2013 at Dutch team Picnic-PostNL, when they were called Argos-Shimano.

He said that he picked up English by speaking to team-mates.

“It was a lot easier to learn English like that,” he said. “I didn’t take any lessons, just off the cuff.”

Many French riders now learn English at school, so it is not such a culture shock to join another team.

Dorian Godon and Kevin Vauquelin rode respectively for French teams Decathlon and Arkea-Samsic last season before joining British outfit Netcompany Ineos (formerly Sky) in the close season.

“At first it was a bit of a headache but you quickly adapt,” said Godon of the switch to English.

Vauquelin can see only positives in that change.

“There are many different nationalities in the Netcompany Ineos team, (speaking English) allows us to work together,” said the 25-year-old.

“I think it could be a blessing in disguise.

“You see things differently and it’s a change from the French mindset.”

Most press interviews at bike races, even those in France, are held in English.

And it is not just in the myriad of international teams that English is the common language.

“Already last year, with Decathlon, we spoke quite a lot of English,” said Godon.

Perfidious Albion 

It is not the first time that French traditionalists at the Tour have had to swallow the bitter bill of seeing their cross-Channel rivals — Perfidious Albion — take over.

Three different Britons combined to win six of the seven Tours from 2012 to 2018 in Bradley Wiggins, Chris Froome (four) and Geraint Thomas.

Add in Colombian Egan Bernal’s 2019 victory and the British Team Sky won seven out of eight Tours in that period, with Australian Cadel Evans, another anglophone, claiming the Grande Boucle the year before all that.

With 36 Tour wins, France remain the most successful country in the race — Belgium are second with 18 victories.

But it has been 41 years since a French winner stood wearing the yellow jersey on the Champs Elysess at the end of the 21 punishing stages.

With Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard winning the last six between them, that wait will likely continue, although in teenage starlet Paul Seixas, there is a genuine hope that the next French victor is only a few years away.

France is not just getting used to other nations winning their Tour — or another language invading the peloton — but this year, for the first time since 2007, theirs is not the most represented nationality in the peloton.

That honour goes to Belgium, with 31 riders to 30 Frenchman.

Only four of the 23 teams taking part in the Grande Boucle are French, while there are now teams from Bahrain, Kazakhstan, Australia and the United Arab Emirates — all places far from the traditional western European cycling heartlands, which include Belgium and Italy.

How cycling has changed since France launched the sport.

The first ever recorded cycle race took place in the Saint Cloud park southwest of Paris in 1869 and a few months later the first race between two cities, Paris-Rouen, was held in the country.

Incidentally, Englishman James Moore won both of those!

A year earlier, the first cycling clubs sprang up in Paris, Valence, Castres and Carpentras while the International Cycling Union (UCI) was created in Paris in 1900.

The Tour de France is the oldest and greatest Grand Tour and Paris-Roubaix is one of the oldest and most prestigious one-day classics.

Cycling, as a sport, is very French at heart, but it is increasingly becoming international and anglicised. — AFP