He has been speaking on the Tour de France podium for six years. But this year, as he speaks at the microphone, Marc Chavet sees the audience move away to the point of disappearing. Let the Tour announcer not worry about his performances. It has nothing to do with it.
Collateral victim of health measures, he finds himself talking in a vacuum. The Tour, entangled in a mixture of precautions and endurance, has become a small world where the other is a potential virus nest. In this new world, the ritual conviviality of the podium has no place. Slowly, Marc Chavet saw the spectators move away. From a handful of guests at the end of Paris-Nice last March to an audience thirty meters away from the Critérium du Dauphiné in early August.
But since the start of the Tour, he has started crossing the desert. This weekend on Place Masséna, one of the successors of the historic Daniel Mangeas (41 Tours de France) since 2014, presented the traditional signature of the riders in front of… no one. Not a spectator or a guest within 150m. The echo of his enthusiastic voice meets only barriers and blackout fences. And the runners' salutes resemble those of gladiators in a deserted Colosseum.
The mask, also an adversary
"When you have your head in the handlebars, you get the job done without asking questions," he smiles. Whether there are 5,000 spectators or no one, it's the same. Even though I miss the audience respondent a bit. So Marc Chavet goes virtual. “There is a streaming device that allows people, via social media, to follow the opening ceremonies live. I don't feel alone on my island! "
On his platform, the announcer takes turns presenting somewhat disconcerted teams. “Some (runners) salute very seriously,” he says. Others sneer. And there are also some who make the show on stage by applauding themselves! "
Moments of loneliness, Marc Chavet experienced in the same place last Thursday during the official presentation ceremony of the Tour. Twice the sound stopped. And he listed the names of about 20 runners in awkward silence. “Two generators failed at the same time,” he explains. No more microphone, stage off. I continued instinctively like a mountebank. "
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The mask has also become an adversary. “To recognize the runners, the mask-helmet-goggles trio adds a big difficulty. Sometimes I have half a second of hesitation on guys. I am now based on the morphology of the runner. The good announcer is the one who quickly recognizes the runners. Even when he's talking to himself.