He showed up in the lounge of his hotel, his head half shaved by his teammate Anthony Turgis who has no chance of converting to hairdressing. But Pierre Latour, the rider for Total-Energies, was not there to talk scissors. But of his irrational fear in the descents. The one who, again this Friday, when he had joined the breakaway of the day during the 13th stage, will have made him lose all hope of final victory at the top of the Grand Colombier while Michal Kwiathowski, present at the front with him , eventually prevailed.
Sometimes, at the end of the stages, you say “I often do shit as a runner”. What do you mean ?
PIERRE LATOUR. That I can’t unlock a form of fear on the descents. Already, it makes me go to the back of the peloton and then forces me to make useless efforts to come back. Result, I run all the time upside down. It’s all in the head. I know it but it’s stronger than me.
Where does this fear come from?
There was of course a big crash during the Tour of Oman in 2019 which cost me two fractures, of the radius and the scaphoid of my left hand. But there were others. And above all, sometimes on a descent, if there is a bit of humidity, my wheel moves. And there, it’s as if everything was extinguished. I’m scared because I have the impression that I’m going into the void without controlling anything. Like an air pocket in an airplane. And it’s over, the descent is stuck. I tense up and know that I have just fallen back into this fear. It’s as if, in my head, there was no more ground under my wheels.
Concretely, how does this happen?
It’s a vicious circle. I brake while the others continue to darken. So the others pass me by brushing against me very close. As a result, it scares me even more to feel like planes passing me. I feel their drag of air and I tense up even more. I am only a tension which slows down. It must be understood that I then have the impression of having forearms that weigh fifty kilos each. I am completely paralyzed.
How did you try to treat yourself?
I tried everything: sophrology, psychoanalysis, mental preparation and even hypnosis. Each time, it makes me feel good for a while. But at the slightest annoyance downhill, everything explodes in my head. Like an alcoholic enjoying a drink. And it’s like I’m starting from scratch. And I insist, I’m not talking about a new fall but just a small slip that seems harmless. Except that she makes me blow up everything in my head. And everything blocks. This year for example, everything was going well until the Tour du Jura where a small fall put me back in my shit. I decided after the Tour to try a new thing: go on a motorcycle circuit to see if I can take the lines well and get used to the speed in the curves. And I swear it’s true.
So far, how are you managing your descents on this Tour?
The big ones were Aspin and Tourmalet in the Pyrenees. But as I had farted before, I didn’t go all out to get back to the front of the race. I made my cushy descent, as I wanted. And I take the curves correctly. Whereas if I paralyze, I make choppy turns which block me even more. I’m idling it sucks.
What are the other dangers?
If I see a trace of humidity like a piece of stream crossing the road, I put on the brakes when it’s the worst thing to do on the humidity. And there, it is useless to reassure me in the headset, I am in no condition to listen. But sometimes I look for the wheel of guys I trust like my teammate Anthony Turgis or Tony Gallopin (Lidl-Trek). They reassure me because I know they know how to descend without taking too many risks. We can say that I am the handicapped person on the descent and the guy who leaves with a good penalty at the top of the bumps. Scared to death downhill is my life.
Inevitably, the tragedy of Gino Mader, who died in a descent during the last Tour de Suisse, must have been painful to live with…
(Silence). Yes, I knew that you could hurt yourself a lot on a descent and I proved it several times. But then I realized that you could die. It’s different. Gino, he spoke good French and we talked sometimes. And suddenly, he left. I felt a form of mourning. I know I can sound like a dick saying that. But my life is worth more than trying to finish 50th instead of 100th.
Why do you say that ?
Because I’ve known races or groups of dropped down like idiots while guys had fallen. At some point, you have to ask yourself the right questions. I want to speed up if I’m in front or if I have to get in on time. But between the two, we must not do anything. And there are some who take it as a video game.
Do runners take too many risks?
I’m in no position to say that when I don’t take enough! But disc brakes increase the danger. Before, we had progressive braking. Now, we’re all at once, so we’re delaying the braking as much as possible.
Do you talk about this fear easily?
Look at my face downhill, it shows how I feel. So might as well say it. But others are as scared as me but don’t want to admit it. I imagine they don’t want to be yelled at by their bosses.
