Bernard Hinault has delivered a stark and uncompromising verdict on France’s 40-year wait for a Tour de France winner, stating bluntly that no French rider is currently capable of ending the drought. Speaking in a wide-ranging interview with L’Équipe, the five-time Tour champion said that he would “happily not have this record” of being the most recent French winner, but admitted the situation has become “a terrible observation” that can no longer be ignored.
Hinault, who won the Tour in 1985 despite a broken nose, bronchitis, and an explosive intra-team rivalry with Greg LeMond, said that at the time, he wouldn’t have “bet a centime” on remaining France’s last yellow jersey winner for four decades. Yet as each edition of the race comes and goes, he sees little to suggest that change is coming.
“There are no grand champions in France who are capable of winning the Tour,” he said, adding that while riders may be doing everything they can, “they don’t have the results and above all they have no chance of winning.”
To make the point more vivid, Hinault compared France’s current top riders to underpowered machines, saying, “We don’t have that big, 1000cc motorbike that can make a difference, just the 750cc model.”
In his view, the problem is partly cultural. In the years since Laurent Fignon came agonisingly close in 1989, French cycling has, Hinault said, “lost the habit of seeing ourselves as possible winners” and now simply passes the torch to others. While acknowledging that the internationalisation of the peloton has made winning harder, pointing to the rise of Colombians, Americans, Australians and British riders, he was clear that this doesn’t excuse France’s lack of top-tier contenders.
Even results that appear encouraging, like David Gaudu’s fourth place in the 2022 Tour, drew criticism from Hinault. He believes the fanfare around such finishes creates complacency, remarking that it “was treated as if he had won – or nearly. It certainly didn’t help him push for a higher result, because in France he received all the honours a winner normally gets.”
Hinault was also dismissive of historical claims that France was held back during the doping era due to stricter ethics or cleaner racing, calling that argument “way too easy.” He insisted that “things weren’t as clear-cut as people liked to say. Everybody was at risk, even in France.”
When asked about the criticism he frequently levels at current riders, Hinault said he doesn’t regret making them and feels that any backlash simply reinforces his point. “Just the mere fact of complaining is already a confession of weakness,” he said. “My criticisms should have made them feel more motivated, make them want to show me I was wrong.”
He did, however, offer some praise for Julian Alaphilippe, now riding for Tudor. Hinault said he admired the way Alaphilippe has focused on targets like the World Championships, rather than chase anonymous top-10s in the Tour. “It’s too easy to hide behind an inferiority complex,” he said, adding that he is tired of hearing riders say they “had good legs” when they fail to win. “Good legs,” he said, “are the ones you have when you win.”
Looking to the future, Hinault picked out 18-year-old Paul Seixas as a rare beacon of potential. The Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale rider recently impressed with a top-10 finish at the Critérium du Dauphiné, and Hinault believes that Seixas should now be allowed to develop gradually.
“It’s already great that he’s done the Dauphiné this year,” he said. “Let him win the Tour de l’Avenir this year, and then we’ll see about what happens next. He’ll be 19 years old and have everything to learn.”
Despite the brutal tone, Hinault’s frustrations are rooted in his deep pride in French cycling, and the enduring status of the Tour as the sport’s pinnacle. “We’re a cycling country, with the most beautiful races in the world and above all, the most important – the Tour,” he said. “It’s an anomaly in the history of our sport” that France has not produced a winner in four decades.
