The cyclist from Tours, who went through the VS Monnaie, died on Christmas night, at the age of 60. Former member of the Festina team and close to Richard Virenque, he wore the pink jersey in 1996.
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We knew he was sick. Last September, Pascal Hervé revealed that he had undergone surgery for a cancerous tumor in his stomach a few months earlier. This “lightning cancer” took him away on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday, Christmas night.
The departure at the age of 60 of the former cyclist plunges an entire sport into mourning, reacted the UNCP, the professional organization of French cyclists.
The native of Tours, who passed through VS Monnaie in 1990, saw his professional career start late, in 1994. Before that, Pascal Hervé shone in the amateur championship, culminating in 1992 with a French road champion title. .
But if he subsequently became an emblematic figure of French cycling, it is thanks to his seven years spent on the roads of the grand tours. He will have participated in six Tours de France, six Vuelta (Tour of Spain) and three Giro (Tour of Italy).
His greatest feat: a victory during the sixth stage of the Giro in Catanzaro (Italy), which earned him the opportunity to wear the pink jersey for one day.
Throughout his career, the name of Pascal Hervé is associated with that of Richard Virenque, another cyclist well known to the French.
The Touraine man is considered his “faithful lieutenant” because the two climbers shared many adventures together on their bikes in the mountains.
Richard Virenque's tribute to his former teammate Pascal Hervé, who died on December 25.
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© Instagram screenshot Richard Virenque
With 89 races contested together, Pascal Hervé is the cyclist who has logged the most days as a teammate of Virenque. The latter is crying today “A dream teammate”.
He devoted himself body and soul, and had an unfailing joy of life.
Richard Virenque, former cyclist
“He was a friend, a brother” he confided to our colleagues from Le Parisien. “He dedicated himself body and soul, and had an unfailing joy of life” added the former leader of Pascal Hervé.
The one who had been in Virenque's shadow for a long time found himself in the spotlight in 1998, the year when the Festina affair, named after the team to which the two riders belonged, broke out.
This vast doping scandal has splashed the world of cycling and therefore the Tour de France. Pascal Hervé, Richard Virenque and all of their teammates were excluded from the Grande Boucle that year.
Last of the nine riders admitted to having doped, Pascal Hervé received a two-month suspension.
After having been in turmoil, Pascal Hervé followed his friend Virenque by joining the Italian team Polti. An unshakeable closeness which ended on the roads in 2001 when his career ended, after a new positive test for EPO.
Once his career ended, the native of Tours converted to catering where he opened an establishment in Limoges. He then moved to Quebec between 2015 and 2017 where he worked as coach and sports director of the Garneau-Québecor team.
Pascal Hervé kept cycling as a passion, as his favorite pastime, as evidenced by his latest publications on his social networks. He never forgot his sport,“never forget it” asked Richard Virenque…
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