Luc, what is your very first memory of the Tour de France?
To discover
The route of the Tour de France 2022
The general classification of the Tour de France
It was memories watching TV watching Raymond Poulidor, of course.
As a Limougeaud, I followed the Tour de France and we supported Raymond who was from Limousin, like us.
He was an icon, I must have been ten or eleven years old and I remember seeing him finish his last Tour on the podium.
What was your first great joy on the Tour de France?
It was the yellow jersey that I wore for the first time at the end of the twelfth stage between Pau and Jaca in 1991. We started more than 150 kilometers from the finish, three with Charly Mottet and Pascal Richard.
The victory was not for me (but for Charly Mottet, editor's note) but I took the yellow jersey from Greg LeMond.
It was difficult to manage... I was young, I was twenty-three years old, I had suddenly had a lot of pressure on my shoulders.
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When did you shed your first tears on the Tour de France?
It was the loss of the yellow jersey, unfortunately the next day.
I went through an emotional roller coaster in the space of a few hours.
I cried with joy when I put it on and with sadness the next day when I took it off.
I was inconsolable.
Without this craving, I could have won the Tour de France.
All that for a youthful mistake, a craving seventy-five kilometers from the finish.
I was livid, white as a pill and desperately looking for something to eat after finishing sixty kilometers alone.
On the bike, I said to myself “But how am I going to finish this Tour de France?”
And finally, the day after that day without, I was in front in a breakaway!
(laughs)
What object have you kept from the Tour de France?
The yellow jersey, of course!
(laughs) I kept the yellow podium jersey that I framed and the one I raced in, I keep it like that.
It is nickel, it has not moved.
I never cleaned it.
Besides, I find the yellow of the time much prettier than the current yellow, which is lighter.
I've been asked before but I'll keep this one!
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Which former runner would you like to share a dinner with?
Bernard Hinault, because he's a friend as well as an icon.
He is a little grumpy from time to time but you have to know how to take it.
He's a guy with a big heart and then there's André Darrigade too, whom I know well.
I find that today's young people tend to forget the old and the history of the bike a little.
Me, when I started cycling, I liked to discuss with our elders because I always had the feeling of ensuring a kind of succession.
When I met riders like Rik Van Steenbergen, Francesco Moser, I had stars in my eyes, like when I met Jean Stablinki who unfortunately left us.
I was almost part of his family.
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What does Luc Leblanc look like on a bike today?
Nothing !
I quit a long time ago.
I had stopped after my career ten years, then I resumed the bike to have fun but a car hit me.
I broke my collarbone and had a head trauma.
To say that during my career, I fell many times and I never had a problem... And there, these stories put me off.
I prefer jogging.
There isn't even a bike in my house anymore.
My world champion's bike, I had offered it to Louis Nicollin, but today I regret it.
I tried to get him back with his sons but they wouldn't!
(laughs)
Is there a runner you lost sight of that you would like to see again?
Yes, but it's impossible since he died: Marco Pantani.
He was a discreet, humble and kind person.
I got along really well with him.
I would also like to see Miguel Indurain who no longer comes to the races.
He was an earthling, discreet, too, like my friend Marco.