Reactions have multiplied since March 2. The announcement in the evening of the death of Frenchman Nicolas Portal, 40, spread like wildfire in the world of cycling and even beyond. Sports Minister Roxana Maracineanu expressed her “sadness” on Twitter while François Bayrou, mayor of Pau (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), close to the Gers from which Portal was born, underlined the “endearing personality” of the one who “had build the best cycling team in the world. "
Under his leadership, the Ineos team (ex-Sky) has indeed won six of the last seven Tour de France. The 2019 winner, the Colombian Egan Bernal, also unveiled a long tribute message on Instagram on March 2. "People should know that today we have lost a very important being for our team, for cycling and sport in general," wrote the winner of the 2019 Tour. He was our sports director and the person who, since the car, guided me in most of my best memories in this sport […]. He knew how to guide an entire team through difficult times. I have always admired him a lot, ”regrets the 23-year-old runner who has to line up next weekend from Paris-Nice.
View this post on Instagram
RIP Nico 💔 The gente debe saber que hoy hemos perdido a ser muy important para nuestro equipo, para el ciclismo y el deporte in general, (Nicolás Portal). Fue nuestro Director deportivo y la persona que desde el carro guuió en la mayoría de mis mejores recuerdos en este deporte. El siempre alegre, con buena energía, cabeza fría, calculador y mucha energía sabía guiar a todo un equipo en momentsos difíciles. Siempre lo admires mucho. Ahora espero que desde algún lado siga acompañándonos de cierta forma nosotros su su familia.
A post shared by Egan Bernal (@eganbernal) on Mar 3, 2020 at 1:16 pm PST
"Nico was so talented, warm, authentic ..."
One of the first riders to react on March 2 was also Christopher Froome, quadruple winner of the Tour de France (2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017) under the leadership of Nicolas Portal. The Briton wanted to send his thoughts to the wife and children of "the nicest and happiest man [he has ever known]." Another British winner of the Tour with the French sports director, Geraint Thomas (1st on the Champs-Elysées in 2018) praised the memory of his "friend". "Nico was so talented, warm, authentic and always there when I needed him," he added.
Nicolas Portal, runner from 2002 to 2010 and who had made his professional debut with the AG2R Prévoyance team before joining the Caisse d'Epargne in 2006, had also kept strong ties with his former teammates. This is the case of the Spanish Oscar Pereiro, winner of the 2006 Tour alongside Portal, who says he is “unhappy” to learn of the death of a “grown-up person”. Same feeling in Alejandro Valverde, who salutes the memory of his "former companion […], a bicycle man who has always had a smile and a gesture of kindness for all".
Among the French, Vincent Lavenu, the manager of AG2R La Mondiale who had signed the young mountain bike champion his first contract, said he was "very touched" on Le Parisien. “He was always kind, cheerful, open. We easily got on with him. If he has kept the confidence of the greatest champions, it is no coincidence. "