The idea arises, like that, one day of confinement. On his home trainer, Julien Bernard begins to find the long time. The Trek-Segafredo rider, 30th in the last Tour de France, may organize videoconference sessions with his friends from Dijon, Nicolas, Mathieu and Mathieu, who pedal them in the amateur category, he gets tired and is looking for a way to find the motivation.
"I had planned to go for an internship in the Alps to find endurance as soon as we were unconfined," explains the son of former champion Jean-François Bernard. I told myself that we could perhaps organize a road trip together, just to work and enjoy at the same time, with friends. "
The Mustard Bike Tour was born. Leaving on June 23 from the Côte d'Or, the small group, followed by car by the sports director of SCO Dijon, made the tour of the Alps by crossing all the famous passes (21 in total). The adventure ended this Friday evening at the top of the Grand Colombier, which will be climbed by the Tour de France during the 15th stage on September 13.
“We cut the stages so as not to do more than six hours of cycling and to take a recovery day every three days, specifies Julien Bernard. I took care of booking the accommodation. We climbed all that is best, the Galibier, the Izoard, the Iron Cross, the Madeleine ... As I had a specific job to do, either I left them ten minutes early downstairs and we met together at the top to eat, or I was waiting for them up there. "
"It is an unforgettable experience that will remain engraved"
All this with the blessing of the sports directors of his American team Trek-Segafredo. "They were favorable because they know that it is important to feel good, to find pleasure in what we do," added the 28-year-old runner. Through my job, I never had and I will never have another opportunity to do that. It is an unforgettable experience that will remain engraved. Especially since no hassle came to join the adventure. The weather remained mild throughout and the cars circulated little at this time on the roads.
"Now I'm going to return home to Dijon for ten days and then go to Isola 2000 for an internship with the team," says Julien Bernard. I will resume competition on August 1 by road to Occitanie with in sight, my goal, the Giro (Editor's note: from October 3 to 25). "No Tour de France so ...
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"Initially, I had to do both but with the postponement dates ( Editor's note: from August 29 to September 20 ), it's impossible," he emphasizes. It's a shame, but you have to put it into perspective. This situation goes beyond sport. I hope that next year we will have a full season and that I can run the Tour in July. "
