A victory in silence. When the Italian Giacomo Nizzolo (NTT Pro) crossed the finish line as the winner of the 2nd stage of Paris-Nice, no cheering cry greeted his victory. Except for the speaker's comments and the noise of the helicopter over Châlette-sur-Loing, no other decibel floated in the air.
Because on Monday, at the beginning of the afternoon, the decision had fallen, as sharp as a disc brake: due to coronavirus, no spectator is now admitted 300 meters from the podium during arrivals and 100 meters at the time of departures. And this until the end of the event next Sunday in Nice. In the town of Loiret with 12,000 inhabitants, the information did not arrive two hours before arrival. And the misunderstanding was total among the curious.
"I traveled fifty kilometers to come," attempted a man in front of impassive gendarmes. He, like many others, will quickly find the fault by settling 300 meters ... after the finish line in front of the team bus line. They did not attend this strange spectacle of a disputed arrival behind empty barriers, without spectators to howl their excitement. "It looks like the Tour of Oman at the start of the season," smiles a runner not warned, like the rest of the peloton, that he was arriving behind closed doors.
A new starting point in Paris-Roubaix?
An incongruous scene in a popular sport where proximity is the essence of the discipline, considered the price to be paid for the organizers. Aware that, in the current context, the slightest lack of flexibility on their part would lead to the end of the race, they accept everything. They reduce, for example, the presence of sponsors and local officials, those who pay, to have the right to continue their journey. “You shouldn't lie to yourself, says an organizer, the priority is to arrive in Nice. Even without anyone at arrivals and departures. "
At ASO, the organizer, we also think of the other jewel at the start of the season: Paris-Roubaix, scheduled for April 12. For the moment, the postponement is not planned but the organizers have already started discussions with the Hauts-de-France region to change the departure place traditionally located in Compiègne…
"Come on Julian. My only virus is you! "
In Paris-Nice, Cédric Vasseur, the sports director of Cofidis, plays the flexibility card. "Frankly, it's already a feat to be here on arrival," he admits. This threat is so great. Official guidelines must be followed. So we will follow everything to the letter. But it's true that the history of our sport is that spectators can touch athletes. I look forward to reopening the doors to the public. "
But as if the risk of contagion stopped once the line was crossed, the many spectators therefore withdrew to the buses. Especially towards that of Alaphilippe's Deceunink-Quick Step, who was able to perform a light scrub on a home-trainer with an audience blocked at… ten centimeters by a fabric line. "Come on Julian, we came to tell you that we love you," says a local resident. My only virus is you! "
