"The most beautiful arrival of the Tour"

Your days in July were punctuated by the Tour.

Absolutely. When we were in Sarzeau, there was first the stage on TV. I remember the music of Eurovision, which went before the broadcast and which gave a dramaturgical side to what would happen behind. When the broadcast began, there was often only an hour or two left, and we did not know what had happened before.

And after the stage?

We went to the beach, we created circuits by putting pebbles, pipes, to materialize the mountains or the tunnels, and then we pushed our little cyclists with a ball. We each took a leader and his teammates. We had also invented a game where we used a die to advance our runners. And then, with our cousins, we made the race in the village by bike.

"In Plumelec to encourage the Badger"

When did your first memories of the Tour date?

My first memory dates back to 1981, and at a stage that ended in Morzine. We had witnessed the pbadage of runners in the Joux-Plane pbad. I still remember the advertising caravan, and the Banania caps we had recovered.

And your first memory of the Tour in Brittany?

The 1985 Tour de France and the prologue to Plumelec. We had spent the day there, we had a picnic to see all the runners. We had come to encourage "the Badger" (Bernard Hinault), our idol, and he had won! For me, one of the most beautiful bike pictures I had the opportunity to see dates from that day. She represents Bernard Hinault in the Cadoudal coast, with the front wheel off the ground (so the Breton went fast)! For us, it was an extraordinary moment.

At that time, did you dream of participating in the Tour de France?

Yes, but I quickly understood that it was not on the bike that I could to live the Tour de France from the inside

To bring the Tour de France to Sarzeau, is the dream of the kid or the mayor coming true?

Both. During my bike rides on Sunday with the guys from the club (VS Rhuys), we used to race and sprint to the sign where the finish of the Tour will be judged. It was often said that it would be nice to bring the Tour here, and that we managed to do. After, in a more Cartesian way, the mayor that I am is happy for the radiation of the commune, and the Gulf of Morbihan. There will never be the football World Cup or the Olympics in Sarzeau, but we can have the Tour de France. It is the strength of this test that to be able to move in small communes like ours.

"I do not climb but I know sprinter"

Do you speak of the straight line of arrival you know so well.

We have the best finish of the Tour de France since the last four kilometers are in a straight line. We should have the best sprint of the Tour.

You often won at this place on Sunday?

Yes. I do not climb, but I know how to sprint! If I was not picked up before, I was often in the fight for the victory.

How are you going to follow the stage?

I will be at the start in La Baule, but I will not follow the race by car. I'll go straight to the finish, because I want to be at home, with the Sarzeautins and the Sarzeautines, to live the stage.

And how do you feel about it?

It will be different from the other stages, where I sit in a car and where I have nothing to do. There, I am the mayor of the arrival commune. I have another responsibility, especially in terms of safety.

"I did not have a fair deal"

How do you see the stage?

There will probably be a breakaway, but considering the last twenty-five kilometers, which are all flat with long straights, I do not see how one could escape a sprint. Especially since the next two stages are more difficult, and the sprinters must not let the opportunity pbad.

Do you have a favorite?

I have three. I like Mark Cavendish. He has been unlucky since the beginning of the season by falling several times. He is less efficient than in the past, but he likes long sprints. Then there is Arnaud Demare and Peter Sagan. If the world champion of the UCI (international cycling union) won in the commune of the UCI president, it would be a nice wink.

When one is president of the UCI, it's easier to host the Tour in his commune?

It can help. But it's still five years since we were a candidate. I did not have any right-pbad.

"The people of Sarzeau are proud"

What is the cost for the commune?

There is first the entry ticket which is d approximately 125 000 € before tax. Then there are the costs related to the organization. In total, we arrive at a little more than 250 000 €, knowing that we benefit from subsidies.

What will bring the Tour de France to Sarzeau?

Notoriety. The stage will be broadcast in 190 countries around the world, with beautiful images of the coast, the castle of Suscinio, the Gulf of Morbihan. It will be a great advertisement for Sarzeau and its surroundings.

When you meet the inhabitants of Sarzeau and you talk about the Tour de France, what do they say to you?

Even if there are still some grincheux, he There is a sense of pride in a general way. The people of Sarzeau are proud to be able to show their commune, and tell their family or their friends who live at the other end of France: "Look, today, the Tour de France is at home! The Tour also federates the badociative world. The volunteers are happy. The proof: we had no difficulty in finding one.