Jean-Luc, the big names that you managed to bring together for your last edition in the role of general manager of Binche-Chimay-Binche testify to the place that the event was able to find in the international calendar. How have you worked on it since the resumption of this race in 2009?
“I was very fortunate to immediately receive the trust of the non-profit organization which manages the organization, as well as the local authorities. The priority, in my eyes, was first of all to find a new date. the race that until 1996 was called Binche-Tournai-Binche took place in May, a time when certain classics specialists tend to walk away when others head for the Giro. So I proposed. October, because I know that at the end of the season, to stay the course until their ultimate goals, many runners prefer to run than to train. I am not in the habit of pulling the rug out for myself, but I think. having had a little flair there (laughs)… As I worked for almost ten years around the Lacs de l’Eau d’Heure and therefore knew this region well, I also suggested heading west for the online part, in order to to propose a more tiring route before a local circuit which I find well balanced and where anything can happen.”
guillementCycling is not a circus, but sport must offer a spectacle.”
Whether through the various Belgian championships that you have set up in Wallonia, or the Samyn and the Franco-Belge, what emerges from the runners’ speech is that a race labeled Jean-Luc Vandenbroucke is a necessarily demanding race…
“I take that as a very nice compliment (laughing)… Cycling is not a circus, but sport must offer a spectacle. This is why people move to the side of the roads or sit in front of their television There is a cliché of the discipline which says that the organizers propose and that the runners have, but I always try to offer a playing field which encourages the battle My feeling as a former runner is very valuable for this. When I position myself at the top of the endless false flat which leads towards Merbes on the local circuit of Binche-Chimay-Binche and I see the peloton of favorites lined up in single file, on the large plateau, and I. notices that it’s the grimace competition, I then tell myself that I’m in the right place (laughs)!”
Has it now become more difficult for an organizer to assemble a quality field given the downward trend in the number of racing days for the stars of the peloton?
“Yes, definitely. Without wanting to act like a veteran or insinuate that it was better before, far from it, I have often ended my thirteen seasons as a professional runner with 120 to 140 days of racing on the clock. This year, at starting the Tour in Florence, van der Poel had seven days of racing under his belt! I don’t like to compare eras, because they are different by nature. I remember that during my first years as manager of the Lotto team. , we paid two million Belgian francs like all the other teams to be at the start of the Tour From now on, we are talking about TV rights benefits for the teams, possible parallel circuits and so on…”
guillementA few hours after Remco’s world title in 2022, Lefevere asked me if I still had a small place for him.
In 2022, however, you managed to convince Philippe Gilbert to compete in the last race of his career on Belgian soil in Binche, at the same time as Remco Evenepoel showed off his world champion rainbow jersey!
“It will remain as one of the great moments of this race. I always had good contact with Philippe, who congratulated me on the quality of my organizations when he hung his bike on the nail. Coming from a champion of this scale, it’s obviously very pleasing! As for Remco’s presence that year, I still remember the text message received by Patrick Lefevere a few hours after the Brabançon title in Wollongong. He asked me if I had. still a small place for a world champion at the start (laughs)…”
Can you imagine the emotion that will invade you this Tuesday a little after 5 p.m., once the winner comes down from the podium installed on the Grand-Place?
“I know it will be a strong moment. My wife Carine will be present for this page which is about to turn… After 13 years as a professional runner, twelve as a team manager and a good twenty as a race organizer and consultant for different media, I will move away somewhat from pro cycling, but I will remain as passionate an observer as ever. I will continue to pilot the Ronde de Mouscron. (women’s event 1.1) from my new place of life and I will help this city with certain projects such as its candidacy for a start or finish of the Women’s Tour.”
guillementIf Tim Merlier were to win this Tuesday, it would be the icing on the cake.”
At the end of the year, you will indeed move to the South of France. To spend a retirement in the sun?
“Yes, that’s about it. We are building a house in Callian, near Fayence. I discovered the region when I was playing for the Peugeot team, because it’s there that we were doing our training at the start of the season. I quickly fell in love with it. My wife followed me into this project out of love and I am infinitely happy about it. I have always needed to practice a sporting activity! due to certain family medical history My parents both died in their forties and my doctor has repeatedly told me that it is imperative for me to stay active. I cycle around 15,000 kilometers each year and when my schedule. is too busy, I go running, because this activity is less time-consuming But despite this, I still have cholesterol and high blood pressure problems, I am convinced that I would no longer be in this world.
Which winner are you dreaming of this Tuesday?
“If Tim Merlier were to win, it would be the icing on the cake (laughs) ! He’s Cameron’s mate (Editor’s note: Vandenbroucke, Frank’s daughter) and this would give yet another echo to an ordeal which is also called the Frank Vandenbroucke memorial. With my brother Jean-Jacques (Frank’s father)we have already been motivating him for this goal for several weeks!”
Eddy Merckx definitively conquered by Tadej Pogacar: “He is now above me”
