Arnaud Tournant (born 5 April 1978) is a French

track cyclist Track cycling is a bicycle racing sport usually held on specially built banked tracks or velodromes using purpose-designed track bicycles. History Track cycling has been around since at least 1870. When track cycling was in its infancy, it wa ...

. He has won 14

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

(record of men) and won a gold, silver and a bronze at the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

Biography

Tournant was born in

Roubaix Roubaix ( or ; nl, Robaais; vls, Roboais) is a city in northern France, located in the Lille metropolitan area on the Belgian border. It is a historically mono-industrial commune in the Nord department, which grew rapidly in the 19th century ...

, near the border with

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, and currently lives in

Fontenay-sous-Bois Fontenay-sous-Bois () is a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Name The name Fontenay was recorded in the Middle Ages as ''Fontanetum'', meaning "the springs", from Medieval Latin ''fontana'' ...

. He began making his mark as an international rider whilst still in the junior ranks, winning the silver medal at the Junior Track World Championships in 1996.

World record

Tournant is a former world record holder (at altitude) for the

Kilo KILO (94.3 FM, 94.3 KILO) is a radio station broadcasting in Colorado Springs and Pueblo, Colorado. It also streams online. History KLST and KPIK-FM The 94.3 signal signed on the air on August 22, 1962, as KLST, owned by Little London Broa ...

(1000m time trial). He first set the record in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

in 2000, with a time of 1:00.148. In October the following year, at the age of 23, Tournant became the first man to go under the one-minute mark, breaking his own world record with a new time of 58.875 seconds set at

La Paz La Paz (), officially known as Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Spanish pronunciation: ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With an estimated 816,044 residents as of 2020, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities ...

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

Chris Hoy Sir Christopher Andrew Hoy MBE (born 23 March 1976) is a former track cyclist and Racing driver from Scotland who represented Great Britain at the Olympic and World Championships and Scotland at the Commonwealth Games. Hoy is eleven-times a wor ...

came to within 0.005 seconds of Tournant's record on his second attempt, but failed to beat it. Hoy said he could not go any faster, and had even more respect for Tournant and his talents.

2004

Tournant was a member of the French team sprint squad at the

2004 UCI Track Cycling World Championships The 2004 UCI Track Cycling World Championships were the World Championship set of events for track cycling. Both men's and women's events took place, with nine men's events and six women's events. They took place in Melbourne, Australia from 2 ...

, this was the sixth time they won a gold medal with Tournant. He also picked up a silver medal in the Kilo. At the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, Tournant won a silver medal in the kilo, and a bronze in the team sprint. Tournant refused to speak at a post-race press conference at the Olympics, until

Stephane Mandard Stephane may refer to: * Stéphane, a French given name * Stephane (Ancient Greece), a vestment in ancient Greece * Stephane (Paphlagonia) Stephane ( grc, Στεφάνη) was a small port town on the coast of ancient Paphlagonia, according to Arri ...

, a journalist for ''

Le Monde ''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...

'' newspaper, and an anti-doping campaigner, left the room. Mandard's reporting of the

Cofidis Cofidis is a French company, now majority owned by Crédit Mutuel, based in Villeneuve-d'Ascq. Founded in 1982 by 3 Suisses International in cooperation with Cetelem, Cofidis specialized in the consumer credit business of the 3 Suisses Group. It ...

doping scandal had left scars, despite the fact that Tournant had not been involved. At the press conference, Tournant held his ground and after a long pause, Mandard walked out.

2008 and retirement

Tournant was a member of the team sprint squad (with

Grégory Baugé Grégory Baugé (born 31 January 1985) is a French professional racing cyclist. Early life Bauge first took up sport at the age of eight, playing football. His father enrolled him in the Aubergenville cycling school. At that time he took part ...

Kévin Sireau Kévin Sireau (born 18 April 1987) is a French professional racing cyclist. He rides for the Armée de Terre (cycling team), Armée de Terre cycling team. Major results ;2003 :3rd Sprint, French National Track Championships, Novice ;2004 :2nd ...

and

Mickaël Bourgain Mickaël Bourgain (born 28 May 1980 in Boulogne-sur-Mer) is a French track cyclist, who won a bronze medal in the men's team sprint race at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens together with Laurent Gané and Arnaud Tournant, and a bronze medal ...

) which won a silver medal at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

. He retired after these Olympic Games and was made a Commander of the

Ordre national du Mérite The Ordre national du Mérite (; en, National Order of Merit) is a French order of merit with membership awarded by the President of the French Republic, founded on 3 December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle. The reason for the order's esta ...

on 14 November 2008. However, he will continue to be involved in cycling as he has been named as the new directeur sportif of the Cofidis track team.

Major results

;1996 :2nd Sprint, Track World Championships - Junior ;1997 :1st Team Sprint, Track World Championships :2nd Sprint,

French National Track Championships The French National Track Championships are held annually and are composed of competitions of various track cycling disciplines across various age and gender categories. Men Senior Team sprint Team pursuit Madison Junior Team Pursuit Ma ...

;1998 :1st Kilo, Track World Championships :1st Team Sprint, Track World Championships :1st Team Sprint,

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

Cali Santiago de Cali (), or Cali, is the capital of the Valle del Cauca department, and the most populous city in southwest Colombia, with 2,227,642 residents according to the 2018 census. The city spans with of urban area, making Cali the second ...

(with

Laurent Gané Laurent Gané (born 7 March 1973 in Nouméa, New Caledonia) is a former French professional track cyclist. He was awarded the Vélo d'Or français, which is awarded by a panel of French journalists, in 1999 and 2003. Gané is also the cousin ...

& Damien Gerard) :1st Sprint,

:1st Kilo,

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

:2nd Team Sprint,

;1999 :1st Kilo, Track World Championships :1st Team Sprint, Track World Championships :1st Team Sprint,

(with

Vincent Le Quellec Vincent Le Quellec (born 8 February 1975 in Lannion) is a French former track cyclist who specialised in the sprint disciplines, twice winning the team sprint world championship as part of the France team in 1997 and 1998 1998 was designa ...

) :1st Sprint,

:2nd Sprint,

;2000 :1st Team Sprint,

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

:1st Kilo, Track World Championships :1st Team Sprint, Track World Championships ;2001 :Kilo World record in

, 58.875 :1st Kilo, Track World Championships :1st Sprint, Track World Championships :1st Team Sprint, Track World Championships :3rd Sprint,

;2002 :2nd Kilo,

UCI Track World Championships The UCI Track Cycling World Championships are the set of world championship events for the various disciplines and distances in track cycling. They are regulated by the Union Cycliste Internationale. Before 1900, they were administered by the UCI ...

:2nd Sprint,

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

:2nd Team Sprint,

:1st Team Sprint,

Monterrey Monterrey ( , ) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León, Mexico, and the third largest city in Mexico behind Guadalajara and Mexico City. Located at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the city is anchor ...

(with Franck Durivaux & Arnaud Dublé) :1st Kilo,

:2nd Sprint,

;2003 :2nd Kilo,

:3rd Sprint,

:3rd Kilo, Track World Championships :2nd Team Sprint, Track World Championships ;2004 :2nd Kilo, Track World Championships :1st Team Sprint, Track World Championships :2nd Kilo,

Aguascalientes Aguascalientes (; ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Aguascalientes ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Aguascalientes), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. At 22°N and ...

:1st Team Sprint,

:1st Kilo,

:2nd Sprint,

:2nd Kilo,

:3rd Team Sprint,

;2005 :2nd Keirin,

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

:2nd Sprint,

:3rd Team Sprint,

:3rd Sprint,

:1st Team Sprint,

:1st Sprint,

:2nd Keirin,

;2006 :3rd Sprint,

:2nd Team Sprint,

:3rd Keirin, Track World Championships :1st Team Sprint, Track World Championships :3rd Sprint,

;2007 :3rd Masters of Sprint :1st Team Sprint, Track World Championships ;2008 :1st Team Sprint, Track World Championships :2nd Team Sprint,

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tournant, Arnaud 1978 births Living people French male cyclists Olympic cyclists of France Cyclists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Cyclists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Cyclists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for France Olympic silver medalists for France Olympic bronze medalists for France UCI Track Cycling World Champions (men) Commanders of the Ordre national du Mérite Sportspeople from Roubaix Olympic medalists in cycling Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics French track cyclists Cyclists from Hauts-de-France