At 28, this Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale runner clearly crossed a milestone and continues convincing successes.
We are talking a lot at the moment of Paul Seixas, Paul Magnier, Lenny Martinez or Kévin Vauquelin, young or sometimes very young, and above all talented. Among the new faces of French cycling, we can also mention Nicolas Prodhomme, who exploded at the age of 28 years.
So far, the native of the Orne was a man in the shadows, a faithful teammate, who devoted himself to his mountain leaders. This is a bit for this that Paul Seixas left him the victory during the last stage of the Tour des Alpes, in April, to reward a runner who does not often have the opportunity to play his personal card.
The French prodigy said he would have other opportunities to seek success in his career, which barely began. He thought it would be less obvious to his teammate. And yet! A minus later, Nicolas Prodhomme did this by offering himself a second victory, and not a small one, since he won the 20th stage of the Tour of Italy, after a superb mountain escape.
“For a month and a half, my career has taken an important turning point, says Nicolas Prodhomme
to Directvélo. The first victory with Paul (Seixas) around the Alps was already huge, a release. In the Giro, it took me a week to achieve what I had done, on a 5000 meter -of -elevation stage. It gives confidence, even if I also progressed physically. »»
Prodhomme stacks successes
These two successes had enabled Nicolas Prodhomme to arrive with a great ambition on the Tour of Occitanie, where he made another festival by winning the queen stage, swallowing the Tourmalet then the final climb to Luz-Ardiden. “This step, I was waiting for it!” There is always a little uncertainty about physical condition when you come back from the Giro. If I hadn’t finished on the podium, I would have been a little disappointed. But there, it is beyond my expectations. I did not expect to win with such a advance ”Explain the one who stuck 1’53 to Davide Piganzoli and 2’26 at Steff Cras.
Here are three victories for Nicolas Prodhomme, and soon four with general classification of the Tour of Occitania which now holds out to him. With already about fifty days of racing this year, the Decathlon-AG2R climber will probably not chain on the Tour de France. But the rest promises to be beautiful for him.
