Nothing captures the imagination of the French cycling public more than a home winner on Bastille Day.
"It's the national celebration. It's extremely important for us French. It's our day," said Warren Barguil, the last Frenchman to win on July 14th, back in 2017.
This year, most of the 29 remaining Frenchman in the Tour de France will have been dreaming of winning Tuesday's 10th stage, a 166.6km run from Aurillac to Le Lioran in the central Cantal region.
Winning on Bastille Day makes a Frenchman an instant Tour legend -- and their name is forever associated with the date.
"In the moment, we enjoy the victory, but after that, to the fans, people started to call me 'the July 14th winner'," David Moncoutie, who claimed the hilly 12th stage on that date in 2005, said a few years ago.
