Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet
A few years ago, we saw him climb on the podium of the Dauphiné, finish sixth in Paris-Nice and eighth in the Tour de France. By dint of climbing, we hoped. However, we have to face reality: he has never won at WorldTour level so to snatch a stage in a pack as dense as that of this Tour de France, he risks being too short. A place of honor in the general classification? Why not but even if the planets align, with almost 60 km of time trials, he probably won’t do better than ninth or tenth. Bloody glass ceiling.
His political alter ego: Always present in the landscape. Always responsibilities and a leadership role in his team. He plays the leading role in local races, but the step is too high when he faces the cream of the crop. François Bayrou.
Mark Cavendish
We would like to believe in the beautiful story. The one that doesn’t end in a fall, but in a victory. The one that would allow him to get rid of Eddy Merckx chewing gum for good and become the sole record holder for the number of stages won on the Tour (currently 34). The Cav’ has won twice this year. One more than when he approached the Tour last year, which did not prevent him from claiming victory in Bordeaux. He will fight until the end. Unfortunately, the competition promises to be ruthless in the sprinters’ constituency, where Jasper Philipsen, Arnaud De Lie, Mads Pedersen and even Phil Bauhaus or Dylan Groenewegen are announced ahead of him by the polls. But obviously, we all hope they’re wrong.
His political alter ego: The last dance of the legend. He experienced the heights, fell very low and decided to return to the fight, even though he had announced that he was stopping. Only, it’s not 2012 anymore and we’re going to have to play extremely tight. Francois Hollande.
David Gaudu
We are still looking for the David Gaudu who finished at the foot of the podium in the 2022 Tour de France and second in Paris-Nice the following year. It’s been a year since the Breton pedaled through the semolina. Winning the Tour du Jura, as he did in April, is good, but that’s not where the Groupama-FDJ team is waiting for its lead. He is even starting to be overwhelmed by the youth. We don’t want to bury him, but Romain Grégoire seems to have more chances to shine during the month of July.
His political alter ego: We have lost hope that he will sit at the big table. He will still achieve a few successes but this summer, we imagine that he will be overshadowed by his young teammates. Yannick Jadot.
Enrique Mas
Fifth in Catalonia, sixth in Romandie, seventh in the Tour de Suisse: Enric Mas is still trailing at the top of the general classification. The Spaniard has revenge to take, he who abandoned the first stage of the Tour in 2023. Movistar is betting (almost) everything on him. Can he do at least as well as fifth or sixth, like in 2020 and 2021? Spoiler: no. We know very well that, barring a crash, he will probably finish ninth and that if anyone wins a stage in his team, it won’t be him. And then deep down, we begin to know the character: all he hopes is above all to achieve yet another podium in the Vuelta.
His political alter ego: He makes his presence known before the election, he will show up here and there, but we all know that he is preparing the campaign afterwards. Edouard Philippe.
Arnaud Demare
Times are tough for Nono, who hasn’t had a top 10 since… February 14. An eternity for a sprinter of his rank. Picard had bad luck with a serious bout of fatigue during the Classics and then a fractured phalanx. The confidence is not there, and someone is clearly stronger than him. He will perhaps seek a third or fourth place in Nîmes, in the third week, when the race will have skimmed off some of his rivals. But when you’ve already raised your arms twice in the Tour, you don’t come back for anything other than to cross the line first.
His political alter ego: Things weren’t going well with his old boss, so he changed creameries. It’s clear that things aren’t going so well. We see him pop in from time to time, but we know that things will never go back to the way they were before. Florian Philippot.
