The 2017 Tour de France started with 198 riders, 38 of which were from the host nation of France. A lot of those riders grew up in the mountainous regions that the Tour passes through every year. It can be an emotional experience for the riders to race so close to home, and a proud moment for the villages that supported them.
Tour de France cyclists let rider zoom ahead to wave to his hometown friends and family
Oh, and his nickname is “Pikachu.”
On Saturday, one rider, Alexis Vuillermoz of AG2R La Mondiale, got a hero’s welcome by his hometown of Saint-Claude at the start of the final climb before the finish line.
This moment was special for several reasons. First is the fact that Team Sky, the men in the yellow helmets, let Vuillermoz come to the front as a friendly gesture. They had been driving the peloton and were racing to close the gap with several breakaways ahead of them. They were able to put aside their ambitions to let Vuillermoz have his moment, however. This sort of sportsmanship is a common occurrence in cycling. For example, earlier in the stage, yellow jersey wearer Chris Froome slipped off the road on a descent, and the peloton waited for him to catch up.
Second — see all those yellow signs that the spectators are holding up that kinda look like Pikachu? That’s because they are Pikachu. “Pikachu” happens to be Vuillermoz’s nickname.
Cycling is a brutally hard sport, and few things on Earth are as physically demanding as the Tour de France. Cycling is also filled with sweet moments like this as a result of how close fans are able to get to the riders as they pass. That close proximity can also lead to headaches for the riders, or some NSFW moments caught on camera, but in instances like this, that closeness can feel like one of the best things about the sport.
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