Florent Brard (born 7 February 1976, in

Chambray-lès-Tours Chambray-lès-Tours (, literally ''Chambray Lès, near Tours'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Indre-et-Loire Departments of France, department, central France. It is the birthplace of professional association football, footballer Adam Ou ...

, France) is a retired

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

road bicycle racer Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The two most common ...

. He won three national championships, including the professional road race. He became a professional in 1999 and stopped racing in November 2009 after not finding a place in a team.

Childhood

Florent Brard was born into a cycling family. His father bought two copies of cycling magazines, one to read and the other to save, untouched.

Early career

Florent Brard raced as an amateur as a member of the Cercle Paul-Bert in the

Tours Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 ...

region of France. He won the national youth pursuit championship in 1992 and 1993 and the junior pursuit in 1994. He tried professional racing as a ''stagiaire'', or apprentice, with the Française des Jeux team in 1997, riding at the Élite 2 level. From there he moved to next year as a full professional to Festina.

Professional career

Brard showed from his youth that he had a talent for long, lone efforts and for riding a large gear for long periods. He said: "I've ridden a lot on the track during the course of my career. The pursuit is an excellent school for progressing on the road. So I'm a fairly good ''rouleur'' and that's, therefore, the talent that I try to exploit to make an impression." That brought him his first win as a professional, the last stage of the

Étoile de Bessèges The Étoile de Bessèges () is an early-season five-day road bicycle racing stage race held annually around Bessèges, in the Gard department of the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France. First organized in 1971 as a one-day race, it became a sta ...

on 11 February 2001. He won alone after being in a breakaway group close to being caught by the main field after 120 km. He said: "It would have been just too stupid to miss the chance a kilometer from the finish. My legs hurt, I was cooked, but I gritted my teeth and threw my last force into the battle." He won the national time-trial championship later the same year and he won a stage in and led the

Tour de l'Avenir Tour de l'Avenir ( en, Tour of the Future) is a French road bicycle racing stage race, which started in 1961 as a race similar to the Tour de France and over much of the same course but for amateurs and for semi-professionals known as independents ...

. He also won

Paris–Bourges Paris–Bourges is a French road bicycle race. The race originally started in Paris and ran to the town of Bourges in the Région Centre. However, in recent year with the length of races shortened it has become impossible to link the two cities a ...

and GP-Cholet-Pays de la Loire. He moved to

Crédit Agricole Crédit Agricole Group (), sometimes called La banque verte ( en, The green bank) due to its historical ties to farming, is a French international banking group and the world's largest cooperative financial institution. It is France's second lar ...

in 2002, earning 30,500 euros a season but he was fired after starting the season poorly, then missing the middle following a fall which broke

vertebrae The spinal column, a defining synapomorphy shared by nearly all vertebrates,Hagfish are believed to have secondarily lost their spinal column is a moderately flexible series of vertebrae (singular vertebra), each constituting a characteristic i ...

finally being caught in a drugs test 'See below.'' Only the small Marlux team in Belgium offered him a place for 2003. He said: "When I signed for them I wasn't at all happy because, when you come from big teams like Festina and Crédit d'Agricole, which have a prominent image, it's strange, I had the impression of going backward in my career. I went there on tiptoe, not knowing what I was going to find, and then I felt fine." In 2004, he stayed in Belgium with the Chocolade Jacques, team. He had tried to ride again with French teams "but their sponsor didn't want a doped rider." 'See below.'' He won the final stage of the Giro di Lucca and the second stage of Paris–Corrèze In 2005, with

Agritubel Agritubel Pro Cycling Team () was a French professional road race cycling team. The team's title sponsorAgritubel is a manufacturer and supplier of tubular metal products for cattle, livestock and farming. Agritubel mostly competed for wins at t ...

, he won Paris–Troyes, the Trophée Luc Leblanc, and a stage at the

Circuit de la Sarthe The Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans, also known as Circuit de la Sarthe (after the 1906 French Grand Prix triangle circuit) located in Le Mans, Sarthe, France, is a semi-permanent motorsport race course, chiefly known as the venue for the 24 Hou ...

. In 2006, he moved to Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears, with whom he rode 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 ...

after winning the national road championship at

Chantonnay Chantonnay () is a commune in the Vendée department in the Pays de la Loire region in western France. Geography The river Lay flows southwestward through the commune and forms part of its eastern and southern borders. Climate Chantonnay ha ...

a week before the start. He said: "When you've been down at the bottom 'See below''you appreciate the heights even more." He spent the rest of the year racing and training in his blue, white, and red jersey. "You only have it until the following June," he said, so he wore it when he could. He did not finish the Tour de France, falling during the penultimate stage.

Doping

Florent Brard was prescribed

corticoid Corticosteroids are a class of steroid hormones that are produced in the adrenal cortex of vertebrates, as well as the synthetic analogues of these hormones. Two main classes of corticosteroids, glucocorticoids and mineralocorticoids, are involv ...

to recover from a crash in the

Grand Prix du Midi Libre The Grand Prix du Midi Libre (referred to as just Midi Libre) was a multiple-stage road cycling course in the south of France. The race, named after the newspaper that organized it, was first organized in 1949 and was an important preparation cou ...

. He said he had seen his doctor "''n'' times" (''pour la énième fois'') and neither he nor the doctor thought of him as a racing cyclist, "only as a man broken everywhere who couldn't do anything because of all his sleepless nights." and was caught in a dope test in the Tour de l'Ain, which he finished an hour behind the winner. He was suspended for nine months by the

Fédération Française de Cyclisme The Fédération Française de Cyclisme (''FFC'') or French Cycling Federation is the national governing body of cycle racing in France. The FFC is a member of the UCI and the UEC. In February 2009, David Lappartient was elected for a four-ye ...

. His sponsor, Crédit Agricole, fired him. He said:

I think it's fair to say that that long period allowed me to change the way I looked at life. Until then, for me, the professionals were gods. Now, when I see a sportsman, I see the man. The status of the champion isn't enough. A champion can be a good guy as much as a bad one.

He rode then for Belgian teams because, he said,

Roger Legeay Roger Legeay (born 8 August 1949, Beaufay) is a French former professional racing cyclist and cycling team manager. Biography Legeay was the manager of the Peugeot cycling team in its final year of existence in 1986. In 1987, he created the Vé ...

, his former boss at Crédit Agricole, was president of AC2000. "He knew that I was in touch with

; he said to a meeting of AC2000, 'If a French team takes on a former dope-taker, we'll throw it out of the association.'"

Personal life

Brard is married to Nathalie, with whom he has two daughters. In 2006 they moved to Serres-Castet, near the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to C ...

, to profit from better weather for training than in the Loire valley around Tours and to improve his riding in the mountains.Vélo, France, February 2007

Major results

;1994 : 2nd Road race, National Junior Road Championships ;1998 : 3rd

Paris–Troyes Paris–Troyes is an annual single-day road bicycle race in France between Paris and Troyes. First held in 1959, since 2005 it has been a 1.2 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competiti ...

;2000 : 5th

Grand Prix de Plumelec-Morbihan Grand Prix du Morbihan is a single-day men's road bicycle race held annually in May around Plumelec, in the region of Brittany, France. Since 2020, the race is organised as a 1.Pro event on the UCI ProSeries The UCI ProSeries is the second tie ...

;2001 : 1st MaillotFra

Time trial In many racing sports, an athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athlete or team sets off at ...

, National Road Championships : 1st

: 1st

Cholet-Pays de Loire Grand Prix Cholet-Pays de la Loire is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in March in Cholet, France. Since 2005, the race is organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle rac ...

: 1st Joseph Voegeli Memorial (with

Christophe Moreau Christophe Moreau (born 12 April 1971 in Vervins) is a French former professional road racing cyclist. For many years Moreau was the primary French contender for the general classification in the Tour de France: he finished in the top 12 in the G ...

) : 1st Stage 5

: 2nd Overall

: 3rd

Grand Prix d'Ouverture La Marseillaise Grand Prix Cycliste La Marseillaise, formerly known as the Grand Prix d'Ouverture La Marseillaise, is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in February around the city of Marseille, France. Since 2005, the race is organized as a 1.1 event ...

: 3rd

Châteauroux Classic The Châteauroux Classic de l'Indre Trophée Fenioux was a single-day road bicycle race held annually in August in the region of Indre, France, starting and finishing in Châteauroux. It was created in 2004 and since 2005 the race had been organi ...

: 4th Overall

Tour du Limousin Tour du Limousin is a 4-day road bicycle race held annually in Limousin, France. It was first held in 1968 and since 2005 it has been organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. In 2011 it was upgraded to an 2.HC The UCI 1.HC and UCI 2.HC ar ...

: 5th

Grand Prix des Nations The Grand Prix des Nations was an individual time trial An individual time trial (ITT) is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock (in French: ''contre la montre'' – literally "against the watch", in Italian: ''tappa ...

: 7th Overall

Critérium International The Critérium International was a two-day bicycle stage race held in France every spring from 1932 until 2016, typically the last weekend of March. It was formerly known as the Critérium National de la Route, first run in 1932. For many years ...

: 7th

Grand Prix de Rennes Grand Prix Cycliste de la Ville de Rennes was a professional cycle road race held in Rennes Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. R ...

: 10th

Tour du Haut Var The Tour du Haut Var ( en, Tour of the Haut Var) is an early-season two-day road bicycle race in the Var department region in the south of France. Until 2008 it was run as a one-day race, part of the UCI Europe Tour. In 2009, the race transformed ...

::Held

after Prologue, Stage 1 & Stages 3–4 ;2003 : 2nd

;2004 : 1st Stage 2

Paris–Corrèze Paris–Corrèze was a road bicycle race held annually in France, usually between a department near Paris and the department of Corrèze. It was created by Laurent Fignon and Max Mamers. It was first held in 2001 and since 2005 it has been organi ...

: 1st Stage 4

Giro della Provincia di Lucca The Giro della Provincia di Lucca was a professional road bicycle race held annually in Province of Lucca, Italy held between 1999 and 2006. From 2005, the race was organized as a UCI race classifications, 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour, previous ...

: 6th Overall

Tour de Pologne The Tour de Pologne (Polish: ''Wyścig Dookoła Polski'', English: ''Tour of Poland'', official abbreviation TdP,) is an annual, professional men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in Poland. It consists of seven or eight stages ...

: 6th

;2005 : 1st

: 1st Trophée Luc Leblanc : 1st Stage 2b ( ITT)

: 5th Route Adélie de Vitré : 7th

Paris–Roubaix Paris–Roubaix is a one-day professional bicycle road race in northern France, starting north of Paris and finishing in Roubaix, at the border with Belgium. It is one of cycling's oldest races, and is one of the 'Monuments' or classics of the ...

: 7th

;2006 : 1st MaillotFra

Road race, National Road Championships ;2007 : 5th

Paris–Camembert Paris–Camembert (also Paris–Camembert Trophée Lepetit or Paris–Camembert Lepetit) is a semi classic held annually in April. Since 2005, the race is organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. The route of the race has varied over th ...

: 7th

Duo Normand The Duo Normand is a two-man team time trial (against the clock) for elite racing cyclists. Held annually at Marigny-le-Lozon in Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of '' ...

(with

Nicolas Fritsch Nicolas Fritsch (born 19 December 1978 in Paris) is a French former professional road bicycle racer. He is a nephew of former professional cyclist Pierre Tosi. Major results ;2003 : 1st, Tour du Finistère : 1st, Stage 3, Paris–Corrèze ;200 ...

) ;2008 : 5th

Grand Prix de la Somme The Grand Prix de la Somme (formerly the Tour de la Somme) is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in May in Somme, France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It a ...

: 8th

Tro-Bro Léon Tro-Bro Léon ( en, Tour of Léon, french: Tour du Léon) is a professional cycle road race held in Finistère, Brittany. The event was first run in 1984 as an amateur race before becoming a professional race since 2000. The race was established ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brard, Florent French male cyclists 1976 births Living people People from Chambray-lès-Tours Sportspeople from Indre-et-Loire Cyclists from Centre-Val de Loire