The 10 best French runners of the 21st century, part 2/2

Continuation and end of our ranking of the 10 best French runners of the 21st century with positions from 5 to 1. Obviously, Julian Alaphilippe or Thibaut Pinot are the two runners we naturally think of, but who are the others?

5 – Thomas Voeckler – 18 seasons – Brioches / Bouygues / Europcar

Thomas Voeckler is an icon for the French both for his performances as an adventurer and for his acting on the bike. His style, not very academic, made him a difficult runner to read. But it was his long escapes that made him one of the darlings of the French. Yellow jersey for several days in 2004, he repeated the feat in 2011, with an IMMENSE Tour de France. Except for Alaphilippe and Pinot, no one seemed so close to such a MONUMENTAL feat. 14 days in yellow following a long escape of which he has the secret, he shone in the Pyrenees, on par with Evans and other stars of the time. It was only during the terrible stage of Alpe d'Huez that he had to abandon his tunic… to finally finish 4th, just off the podium. Emotionally, he is one of those who caused the most excitement and even in terms of the charts, he does not deserve it. 45 victories including four on the Tour, but also a GP Plouay and a GP of Quebec. Thomas Voecker's career is a real success. That of coach too. A small parallel with Deschamps.

45 victories
1st in GP Plouay
1are you GP Quebec
4 stages of the Tour de France
2012 Tour polka dot jersey
2 stages from Paris-Nice
4th in the 2011 Tour de France

4 – Romain Bardet – 14 seasons – AG2R / DSM

Romain Bardet doesn't have the greatest track record. In pure result, it is even the least consistent of our top 10 with eleven small victories. But Romain Bardet is more than just a list of achievements. Romain Bardet, it's the emotions. An outstanding striker, who played in the general rankings for almost 10 years. A rider who reached the Tour de France podium twice in the 21st century, a unique performance over the period. For a long time he represented the hope of a victory on the Tour, against the Sky Empire of Christopher Froome. He was, for many years, one of the leaders of the peloton and clearly had an impact, being one of the best riders in the world and not only on the Grand Tours. Two podiums on the Doyenne were also a great reward despite the lack of victory. But for his last Grande Boucle, Romain Bardet wrote a final line to his beautiful story by winning the first stage of the 2024 Tour and finally wearing the yellow jersey. A paradox reflecting his career since he dreamed of this jersey on numerous occasions while playing in the general classification and ended up wearing it when he no longer hoped for it. In short, Romain Bardet is about emotions.

2nd in the 2016 Tour de France
3rd in the 2017 Tour de France
4 stages on the Tour
TDF 2019 polka dot jersey
2nd in the 2024 worlds
Two podiums in Liège
1st in the Tour of the Alps

3rd – Arnaud Démare – 14 seasons – FDJ / Arkea

Honestly, in terms of results, the first three in this ranking stand out very largely because they have won big races, starting with Arnaud Démare. By winning Milan-San Remo in 2016, the Frenchman was the first to win a Monument in the 21st century, changing its dimension. His showing at the 2020 Giro was arguably the second peak of his career, where he won four stages as well as the points classification jersey. A 2020 season which also saw him win the title of French Champion as well as Milan Turin and the Tour du Poitou-Charentes. A great year. With 97 successes, in 2025 he could become the first Frenchman of the century to exceed the symbolic mark of 100 career victories. An accomplishment that would be frankly deserved, especially since he has not been successful in the last two years. Hopefully for him he can put his problems aside to reach triple digits.

1st Milan – Sanremo
2 victories in the Tour de France
8 Giro victories
2 jerseys from the Giro points classification
1st of the Bemer Cyclassics
97 career victories

2nd – Thibaut Pinot – 14 seasons – FDJ

He's the man of the people! The people's idol! Thibaut Pinot is without a doubt the most loved runner in France. It must be said that he was as gifted in terms of talent as in the dramaturgy of his career, lacking the ups and downs that made him iconic, even beyond our borders. First on the podium of the 2014 Tour, marking an appointment with the biggest race in the world, in 2019 he reached the peak of his career. “Come on Thibaut, you’re big”, these are the words of Marc Madiot in front of the giant screen, seeing his protégé fly to victory at the Tourmalet.

That day, the whole of France cried with joy and started to dream! How could it be otherwise? Never has a French runner seemed so strong. The strongest in the race. Everything seemed mapped out. But after the tears of joy, sadness and despondency quickly took precedence, when Pinot, alongside Matthieu Lagagnous, dismounted…. A muscular injury which forced him to abandon during the 18th stage, when he was only 20 seconds behind Bernal, future winner. Honestly, he never got over it and neither did we. He still had time to win the Tour of Lombardy, in a legendary clash with Nibali and several victories on the three Grand Tours. But there remains a huge feeling of unfinished business in the Frenchman's career, who would have deserved a whole other glory than that of being the idol of a people, which is no small thing! And when we see the crowds he raised, during his last Tour de France, at home, and when from Lombardywe understand that Pinot was more than just a runner.

1st in the Tour of Lombardy
3 stage victories on the Tour
2 stage victories in the Tour of Spain
1 victory in the Giro
1 Mountain jersey at the Giro
1st in the Tour of the Alps
1er Milan-Turin
2 stages of the Tour de Suisse
2 stage of the Tour de Romandie

1st – Julian Alaphilippe – 11 seasons – Quick Step / Tudor

He is undoubtedly the French number one of this century. The only one to have been one of the leaders of the peloton for several seasons. The very one who came close to an incredible feat on the 2019 Tour, the People's Tour for the French! The one who tamed the Mur de Huy and took over from the King of the Ardennes, Alejandro Valverde. The one who gave us a taste of the World Champion title, and who served us again the following year. Without forgetting his triumph over Milan-San Remo, his victory over the Strade Bianche or even the Clasica San Sebastian. Julian Alaphilippe will remain as one of the best runners of the last 10 years. One regret is obviously that he never won Liège-Bastogne-Liège. He will have fallen on Valverde then Pogacar / Evenepoel. Enormous competition certainly but we will not forget this year 2020, where he could have won if he had not celebrated too early. An eternal regret.