Christian Prudhomme (born 11 November 1960) is a French journalist and general director of the
Tour de France
The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...
since
2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple Inc., Apple's first iPhone (1st generation), iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakis ...
.
Pre-Tour career
Born in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
, Prudhomme studied at the
ESJ school of journalism in
Lille
Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the No ...
from 1983 to 1985. He joined
RTL (Radio-Télévision Luxembourg) in 1985 with the encouragement of his tutor, Michel Cellier, who was RTL correspondent in the
Nord
Nord, a word meaning "north" in several European languages, may refer to:
Acronyms
* National Organization for Rare Disorders, an American nonprofit organization
* New Orleans Recreation Department, New Orleans, Louisiana, US
Film and televisi ...
region. He joined RTL on trial.
RTL did not keep him on and Prudhomme moved to
RFO and then on 3 August 1987 to the television channel,
La Cinq
La Cinq () was France's first privately owned free-to-air television network. Created by politician Jérôme Seydoux and Italian media mogul Silvio Berlusconi, the network broadcast from 1985 to 1992.
The contract for France's fifth terr ...
, as a sports reporter under Pierre Cangioni. He reported in particular on his favourite sports:
cycling
Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from ...
,
rugby
Rugby may refer to:
Sport
* Rugby football in many forms:
** Rugby league: 13 players per side
*** Masters Rugby League
*** Mod league
*** Rugby league nines
*** Rugby league sevens
*** Touch (sport)
*** Wheelchair rugby league
** Rugby union: 1 ...
,
athletics
Athletics may refer to:
Sports
* Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking
** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport
* Athletics (physical culture), competi ...
, and
skiing
Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee ( ...
.
Of those, his favourite was cycling and he reported regularly on the
Midi Libre
''Midi Libre'' () is a French daily newspaper in Montpellier that covers general news. It began publication in 1944.
Since 1949, the newspaper has organised a cycling stage race, the Grand Prix du Midi Libre
The Grand Prix du Midi Libre (ref ...
and
Paris–Nice
Paris–Nice is a professional cycling stage race in France, held annually since 1933. Raced over eight days, the race usually starts with a prologue in the Paris region and ends with a final stage either in Nice or on the Col d'Èze overlooki ...
stage races. He said of cycling:
:When I was a kid, I listened on average to the last 100 km of a stage. We didn't have the last 120 km of racing on
France Télévisions
France Télévisions (; stylized since 2018 as ) is the French national public television broadcaster. It is a state-owned company formed from the integration of the public television channels France 2 (formerly Antenne 2) and France 3 (form ...
that we have now. There was a report at 100 km to go on the radio and we were very happy to get the last 15 km live. Then I used to listen on Belgian radio to a man, I don't know if he's dead, called Luc Varenne, an extraordinary man. My father always listened to the radio and regularly to sport. I was nourished on that ever since I was tiny.
:Cycling has always made me dream, even if today, alas, it is in a mess. It is an extraordinary sport, a legend of a sport, a sport of legends. It's almost as hard as boxing and combat sports. It takes place in exceptional conditions, obviously the mountains, the cobbles. It's a sport where anything can happen. The weather plays a significant part and the riders have to confront it. It has always made me dream.
Prudhomme became head of sport at La Cinq. He occasionally presented sports bulletins at midday. In 1992 that failed through lack of funds and Prudhomme freelanced for a year before joining the news channel,
LCI. He had barely agreed to join when Eugène Saccomano, head of sport at the radio station
Europe1
Europe 1, formerly known as Europe n° 1, is a privately owned radio station created in 1955. Owned and operated by Lagardère Active, a subsidiary of the Lagardère Group, it is one of the leading radio broadcasting stations in France and its pr ...
invited him to replace Jean-René Godart, who was leaving to join the television network,
France 2
France 2 () is a French public national television channel. It is part of the state-owned France Télévisions group, along with France 3, France 4 and France 5. France Télévisions also participates in Arte and Euronews.
Since 3:20 CET on 7 A ...
.
In 1998 he was in at the start of a cable channel,
L'Équipe TV
''L'Équipe'' (, French for "the team") is a French nationwide daily newspaper devoted to sport, owned by Éditions Philippe Amaury. The paper is noted for coverage of association football, rugby, motorsport, and cycling. Its predecessor ...
, television companion to the daily sports paper and run by
Amaury Group
Amaury (from the Old French ''Amalric'') or Amauri may refer to:
People Surname
* Philippe Amaury (1940–2006), French publishing tycoon
Given name
* Amaury Duval (1760–1838), French writer
* Amaury Duval (1808–1885), French painter
*Amau ...
, whose subsidiary,
Amaury Sport Organisation
The Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) is part of the French media group Éditions Philippe Amaury. It organises the Tour de France and other cycling races, as well as golf, running, sailing and off-road motorsport events. The president of ASO is Je ...
(ASO), is the organiser of the Tour de France. He became editor-in-chief.
In 2000 he joined France Télévisions to modernise its sports programme, Stade 2. He commentated at the Tour de France for France Télévisions in 2000, alongside the former winner,
Bernard Thévenet
Bernard Thévenet (; born 10 January 1948) is a retired professional cyclist. His sporting career began with ACBB Paris. He is twice a winner of the Tour de France and known for ending the reign of five-times Tour champion Eddy Merckx, though bo ...
.
Tour de France
In 2007, Prudhomme replaced
Jean-Marie Leblanc
Jean-Marie Leblanc (born 27 July 1944, in Nueil-sur-Argent, now Nueil-les-Aubiers, Deux-Sèvres) is a French retired professional road bicycle racer who was general director of the Tour de France from 1989 to 2007, when he reached pensionable a ...
as director of the Tour de France, having been his assistant director for three years.
Under Prudhomme, the Tour has strengthened its opposition to doping. In 2007, two teams –
Astana
Astana, previously known as Akmolinsk, Tselinograd, Akmola, and most recently Nur-Sultan, is the capital city of Kazakhstan.
The city lies on the banks of the Ishim River in the north-central part of Kazakhstan, within the Akmola Region, tho ...
and
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. I ...
– withdrew from the Tour after doping scandals. In 2008, the ASO withdrew the Tour from the aegis of the
UCI to implement its own anti-doping regime. Astana was not invited and, that same year,
Saunier Duval-Scott Saunier is a French surname. Notable people with the surname include:
*Greg Saunier (born 1969), American drummer for the band Deerhoof
*Matthieu Saunier (born 1990), French footballer
*Pierre-Paul Saunier (1751–1818), French gardener and explore ...
withdrew after
Riccardo Riccò
Riccardo Riccò (born 1 September 1983) is an Italian professional road bicycle racer, who is suspended from all competition until 2024. He was previously ejected from the 2008 Tour de France for doping violations and suspended. Riccò returned t ...
's test for third-generation synthetic EPO. Prudhomme suggested that the positive test was part of a doping programme organised by the team manager.
During the
2020 Tour de France
The 2020 Tour de France was the 107th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's three Grand Tours. Originally scheduled to start on 27 June 2020, it was postponed until 29 August 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in France. The race began ...
, Prudhomme tested positive for
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...
. As a result, he had to self-isolate for seven days, and was not in the Tour's lead car for stages 10 to 16.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prudhomme, Christian
1960 births
Living people
Tour de France journalists
Cycling journalists
French sports journalists
Cycle racing in France
French male non-fiction writers
Tour de France directors