The theme may no doubt seem trivial, trivial and even disturbing, but in a sport where every second gained is a small step towards victory, the management of the pee break is not taken lightly by the peloton.
At the Tour de France, as in all major cycling races, there is a tacit agreement in the ranks of the riders to allow everyone to relieve themselves without taking the risk of being left behind and trapped in a breakaway.
“
Even if we make arrangements before the start of a stage, we pee regularly.
This is due to stress in particular and to the fact that we hydrate a lot and regularly
, ”explains the former professional runner in the 90s, Gilles Maignan.
"
The principle is simple, you pass in front of the peloton, you signal that you are going to stop to pee and as soon as one or several dozen riders want to do the same, you take advantage of it
, ”explains the driver of the management car. car carrying Christian Prudhomme.
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The UCI ensures compliance with the pee break regulations
But on the Tour de France as on the other televised events, we cannot necessarily take a break with the permanent threat of TV cameras and the presence of spectators on the side of the roads.
As with the throwing of rubbish reserved on well-defined areas on the route of the stages, the pee break is subject to regulations by the UCI, which can impose fines in the event of an infringement.
The goal is to find a place without an audience, outside the built-up areas.
“
But on the Tour de France, there are almost always people on the side of the roads,
adds Gilles Maignan
.
I'm not even talking about Denmark this year where the crowd was absolutely everywhere.
»
To avoid sometimes having to stop or when the pace of the peloton makes any parenthesis impossible, the riders therefore work on a lateral technique to urinate while riding, remaining as discreet as possible, sometimes surrounded by their teammates in order to hide the stage.
“
I spent time training to pee correctly on a bike
, explains Pascal Lino, former yellow jersey in 1992.
The idea is to find a false descending flat to pass a little in front of the peloton, put yourself in the right lane and use the technique.
“But not everyone has mastered the gesture, especially when the speedometer easily exceeds 50 km/h on the bike.
“
No matter how hard I tried to train during my career, I didn't
“, resumes Gilles Maignan, who happened to hold back until the finish line.
“
All day, it had been going at a hellish pace.
I crossed the line without stopping.
I continued to go directly to the toilet as quickly as possible
, ”jokes the former double French time trial champion.
Sprinter Mark Cavendish, he bluntly admitted having done in his shorts in the middle of the race.
"
It warmed me up and I was not bothered like that
," said the Briton without complex.
Read alsoTour de France: why there is a fictitious start before the real start of a stage
But there is even more disturbing when peeing is not enough to relieve the body.
“
It still happens less often because there too we take certain precautions before the start of a day, but if it happens, it's generally a bad sign.
It often means that you are disturbed.
Now, the situation happens more frequently than you might think.
In 2017, Tom Dumoulin, then leader of the Giro in the 16th stage, could not help but dismount, in panic, after having held back for a long time, took a few steps in the ditch and lowered his shorts.
“
Stomach problems are quite recurrent on the Tour de France due to the temperature differences encountered during a stage, in particular.
Paradoxically, a runner in form on the Tour is a runner likely to catch all the viruses that pass.
Even if he performs very well, a runner's body is very weakened after three weeks of effort
", explains Pascal Lino who remembers an unpleasant episode that occurred on the Grande Boucle: "
One year, I had seen Jan Ullrich do it in his shorts because he was sick.
He hadn't been able to stop because it was going full throttle.
I can assure you that that day, no one rode in his wake to take the wheel.
» The unexpected risks of the job.
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