Pierre Rolland, Laurent Jalabert... After cycling, they took up running

“I’ve never liked running”

They won stages of the Tour de France, wore the yellow jersey and crossed some of the world’s most beautiful landscapes by bike. Now they do it on foot. The transition between the two disciplines is anything but straightforward, and Pierre Rolland took on the challenge in November 2024. “When you come from a non-weight-bearing sport, everything hurts. Muscularly, it’s brutal. At first, it was nothing but suffering. I was starting from scratch. I’d never run before. I’ve never liked running, really. I’d been carrying an Achilles tendon problem since the 2008 Beijing Olympics. I finally managed to get it treated once and for all at the end of my professional cycling career (late 2022, ed.)”, says the two-time Tour stage winner.

“I’d always wanted to run a marathon”, adds the consultant for La chaîne L’Équipe. As it happened, the Paris Marathon fitted perfectly into his plans. After starting out at more than six minutes per kilometre, or under 10 km/h, the co-founder of Sport Ethik, a chain of gyms, completed the capital’s marathon in 3:10:20, averaging 4:31/km. With more than 1,200 km in his legs, the man who mainly trains in Orléans now genuinely enjoys pounding the tarmac. And he has no shortage of goals. Later this year, the former B&B Hôtels-KTM rider hopes to break the three-hour barrier at the Valencia Marathon. Looking further ahead, the 2008 best climber at the Critérium du Dauphiné would like to run a second Paris Marathon, this time with his wife. A Tour de France ambassador, the man from the Loiret says these global running events are equivalent to “a short flat stage in the Tour”. Expert opinion.

“I’m targeting 2:25 at the Valencia Marathon”

He came close to racing on the Tour de France route in 2008. Six years later, his childhood dream of becoming a professional cyclist finally slipped away. “I would have had to cycle for four or five hours a day on top of working a 35-hour week,” explains Vincent Rouxel. He discovered running at the age of 27. And to say that Tyméa’s father made a flying start on the roads would be an understatement. Sub-36 minutes for 10K, back-to-back wins at the Course de la Mer in Ploubazlanec in 2014 and 2015... Despite an injury last November, a hamstring tendinopathy, the Pays de Paimpol Athlétisme athlete is in full preparation for a prestigious Spanish marathon. “I’m targeting 2:25 in Valencia,” says the special-needs teacher.

Thanks to working hours that allow him to train properly, Christophe Malardé’s protégé manages to combine his two passions. “I can cycle for five hours a week and put in 150-kilometre running weeks,” says the Plourhan resident from Côtes-d’Armor. After finishing 22nd at the 2017 Diagonale des Fous, an experience that stayed with him, “it took me six months to recover. They had to bring me out in a wheelchair.” The 38-year-old already has the French Masters 1 cross-country championships in the back of his mind for when he reaches the relevant age group, 40–44, with a medal as the goal. He has already been warned: Yohan Durand has a few lengths’ head start...

Laurent Jalabert, Nacer Bouhanni, Thomas Voeckler...

Set to cover yet another Tour de France in the commentary booth in a few days, Laurent Jalabert is also hooked on running. After running his first marathon in 2:55:15 in 2005, the man with more than 100 victories on two wheels, 138 to be exact, kept racking up the miles. The Barcelona Marathon in 2007, Paris in 2008 and 2012... with a personal best of 2:45:52. Like 2023 Ironman world champion in the 55–59 age group, Nacer Bouhanni is no mere participant on the roads. Clocking 2:34:36 at the Frankfurt Marathon in 2024, the Lorraine native will try to break the mythical 2:30 barrier at the Valencia Marathon. He could cross paths with Vincent Rouxel and Pierre Rolland on the way...

He has yet to take on the classic distance, but it is only a matter of time. Fresh from a 1:13:21 at this year’s Paris Half Marathon, Thomas Voeckler finished fourth in his Master 2 age group. And to think he was commentating on Paris–Nice for France Télévisions that afternoon...

Cardio is hardly an obstacle for former professional cyclists when they take to the roads, but their first steps in running can prove punishing. The strain on their tendons often brings injuries. Samuel Maraffi explains why.