A few days after announcing his retirement, Arnaud Demare (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) will end his career on the streets of Tours this Sunday. “Obviously, I feel a little strange,” the three-time former French champion told us Friday evening. “It’s the end of something, the end of a beautiful story. It was important for me to finish at Paris-Tours. I am a very emotional person, it will be hard for me to hold back. A few months ago, the team asked me to go to China (Tour of Guangxi), but I already had my mind set on stopping. I said ‘no, don’t take me to China, I want to finish at Paris-Tours.’ It was a symbolic race for me even before winning it. I wasn’t necessarily a fan of the new layout at the start. But I learned to love it and I won it twice in the end (2021, 2022). It’s a great race. I had to finish here.” After a season without a win, the 34-year-old from Picardy does not expect to add a 98th victory to his list of achievements, which also includes two stages in the Tour de France, eight in the Giro, and a monument, in Milan-San Remo. “I’m not in great shape. I got sick after the Tour Poitou-Charentes. I don’t know what I had, it’s taking time to come back, even if I’ve been feeling a little better for a week. But to say that I’ll be one of the favourites… I’m a little frustrated that my energy isn’t up to what I’ve experienced. So I’m going to enjoy it differently. I have my loved ones coming, my parents, my wife, my daughter, my sister and her little family. But I’m going to give it my all. I spoke with Adrien Petit after he arrived in Binche. I thought he was really good compared to the last races he’d done. He told me: ‘I was liberated, I had strength!’ I hope to have the sensations he experienced in his last race! But I don’t want to end up in the dumps for 15th place. For me, that won’t have any value.” Demare’s main aim is to enjoy his send-off and take the time to greet his supporters one last time.
