Paris-Tours, Sunday October 6 between Chartres and Tours, will end the season on the Arnaud Démare route. A season that was not “ up to my expectations », underlines Picard. “ My life as an athlete was turned upside down with my change of team (editor’s note: he arrived at Arkéa-B&B Hotels in August 2023 after a bitter end to his adventure within Groupama-FDJ). My life as a man too », he adds without wanting to dwell on the subject. Still, the 33-year-old sprinter had to “ untangle a bag of knots » and that the cut « will do even more good than in previous years. »
Before taking a step back and taking an in-depth assessment, Arnaud Démare is therefore lining up for “the classic of dead leaves”, a race that he won in 2021 and 2022. “ I thought that adding the vineyard paths to the course would not be in my favor, but in the end, I managed to win twice on Avenue de Grammont, winning in two different ways. »
A performance which, however, does not make him one of the favorites on Sunday, according to him: “ It’s an event that suits me, but which is very open and in which you also have to have a little luck on your side. I am also not in the same state of form as in the past and there is a good plateau expected. With Arkéa, we will have a strong collective and it is not a question of concentrating all our energy on a particular runner or a sprint finish. »
“Reassured” during the Tour de France
Some of the best classics riders in the peloton are among the entrants: Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck), notably second in Paris-Roubaix and winner of Milan-San Remo, Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) and Arnaud De Lie ( Lotto Dstny). The outgoing winner, Riley Sheehan (Israel-Premier Tech), is also expected, as are the French Christophe Laporte (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Anthony Turgis (TotalEnergies).
Whether or not he raises his arms this weekend, Arnaud Démare will not finish the season. empty-handed », since he won the fourth and final stage of the Tour Poitou-Charentes in August and Paris-Chauny on September 22, after regaining confidence during the Tour de France. “ I reassured myself by proving to myself that I was still in the game “, he said. Enough to get a little closer to the hundred victories mark among professionals, since he now has 97, even if he hoped to cross it a little earlier in his career. What’s next? “ I don’t see her without the hundred victories “, he replies with confidence.
