Arnaud Tournant Explained

Arnaud Tournant
Fullname:Arnaud Tournant
Birth Date:5 April 1978[1]
Birth Place:Roubaix, France
Height:1.80 m[2]
Weight:88 kg
Discipline:Track
Role:Rider & Manager
Ridertype:Sprinter
Proyears1:1997 - 2008
Proteam1:Cofidis
Manageyears1:2009 -
Manageteam1:Cofidis

Arnaud Tournant (born 5 April 1978) is a French track cyclist. He has won 14 World Championships and won a gold, silver and a bronze at the Summer Olympics. In track cycling, he is third behind Harrie Lavreysen (20) and Sir Chris Hoy (17) in the number of global gold medals in his palmares.

Biography

Tournant was born in Roubaix, near the border with Belgium, and currently lives in Fontenay-sous-Bois. He began making his mark as an international rider whilst still in the junior ranks, winning the silver medal at the Junior Track World Championships in 1996.[3]

World record

Tournant is a former world record holder (at altitude) for the kilo (1000m time trial). He first set the record in Mexico in 2000, with a time of 1:00.148. In October the following year, at the age of 23, Tournant became the first man to go under the one-minute mark, breaking his own world record with a new time of 58.875 seconds set at La Paz, Bolivia.[4] [5]

Chris Hoy came to within 0.005 seconds of Tournant's record on his second attempt, but failed to beat it. Hoy said he could not go any faster, and had even more respect for Tournant and his talents.

2004

Tournant was a member of the French team sprint squad at the 2004 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, this was the sixth time they won a gold medal with Tournant. He also picked up a silver medal in the Kilo.

At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Tournant won a silver medal in the kilo, and a bronze in the team sprint.

Tournant refused to speak at a post-race press conference at the Olympics, until Stephane Mandard, a journalist for Le Monde newspaper, and an anti-doping campaigner, left the room. Mandard's reporting of the Cofidis doping scandal had left scars, despite the fact that Tournant had not been involved. At the press conference, Tournant held his ground and after a long pause, Mandard walked out.

2008 and retirement

Tournant was a member of the team sprint squad (with Grégory Baugé, Kévin Sireau and Mickaël Bourgain) which won a silver medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics. He retired after these Olympic Games and was made a Commander of the Ordre national du Mérite on 14 November 2008.[6] However, he will continue to be involved in cycling as he has been named as the new directeur sportif of the Cofidis track team.[7]

Major results

1996
  • 2nd Sprint, Track World Championships - Junior
    1997
  • 1st Team Sprint, Track World Championships
  • 2nd Sprint, French National Track Championships
    1998
  • 1st Kilo, Track World Championships
  • 1st Team Sprint, Track World Championships
  • 1st Team Sprint, World Cup, Cali (with Laurent Gané & Damien Gerard)
  • 1st Sprint, World Cup, Cali
  • 1st Kilo, World Cup, Berlin
  • 2nd Team Sprint, World Cup, Berlin
    1999
  • 1st Kilo, Track World Championships
  • 1st Team Sprint, Track World Championships
  • 1st Team Sprint, World Cup, Cali (with Mickaël Bourgain & Vincent Le Quellec)
  • 1st Sprint, World Cup, Cali
  • 2nd Sprint, French National Track Championships
    2000
  • 1st Team Sprint, 2000 Summer Olympics
  • 1st Kilo, Track World Championships
  • 1st Team Sprint, Track World Championships
    2001
  • Kilo World record in La Paz, 58.875
  • 1st Kilo, Track World Championships
  • 1st Sprint, Track World Championships
  • 1st Team Sprint, Track World Championships
  • 3rd Sprint, French National Track Championships
    2002
  • 2nd Kilo, UCI Track World Championships
  • 2nd Sprint, World Cup, Sydney
  • 2nd Team Sprint, World Cup, Sydney
  • 1st Team Sprint, World Cup, Monterrey (with Franck Durivaux & Arnaud Dublé)
  • 1st Kilo, World Cup, Monterrey
  • 2nd Sprint, French National Track Championships
    2003
  • 2nd Kilo, French National Track Championships
  • 3rd Sprint, French National Track Championships
  • 3rd Kilo, Track World Championships
  • 2nd Team Sprint, Track World Championships
    2004
  • 2nd Kilo, Track World Championships
  • 1st Team Sprint, Track World Championships
  • 2nd Kilo, World Cup, Aguascalientes
  • 1st Team Sprint, World Cup, Aguascalientes
  • 1st Kilo, French National Track Championships
  • 2nd Sprint, French National Track Championships
  • 2nd Kilo, 2004 Summer Olympics
  • 3rd Team Sprint, 2004 Summer Olympics
    2005
  • 2nd Keirin, World Cup, Los Angeles
  • 2nd Sprint, World Cup, Los Angeles
  • 3rd Team Sprint, World Cup, Los Angeles
  • 3rd Sprint, World Cup, Sydney
  • 1st Team Sprint, World Cup, Sydney
  • 1st Sprint, French National Track Championships
  • 2nd Keirin, French National Track Championships
    2006
  • 3rd Sprint, World Cup, Sydney
  • 2nd Team Sprint, World Cup, Sydney
  • 3rd Keirin, Track World Championships
  • 1st Team Sprint, Track World Championships
  • 3rd Sprint, French National Track Championships
    2007
  • 3rd Masters of Sprint
  • 1st Team Sprint, Track World Championships
    2008
  • 1st Team Sprint, Track World Championships
  • 2nd Team Sprint, 2008 Summer Olympics

    Notes and References

    1. Web site: Athlete Biography - TOURNANT Arnaud . Beijing Olympics official website. https://web.archive.org/web/20080902010221/http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRM/ENG/BIO/Athlete/0/217140.shtml. 2008-09-02.
    2. Web site: Arnaud TOURNANT : COFIDIS . Eurosport.
    3. Web site: French sprinter Arnaud Tournant remains a powerhouse. Jeremy Whittle. VeloNews. 2008-03-27.
    4. Web site: World Records fall in Bolivia. Cyclingnews . 11 October 2001.
    5. News: Chris Hoy: Into thin air. Cyclingnews . 14 December 2006.
    6. Web site: Trophées du Sport 2008. French.
    7. Web site: Track World Cup 08-09 Round 4 - CDM. Laura Weislo. Cyclingnews. 16–18 January 2009.

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