After stage 6 of the Tour de France Femmes, a young cycling fan met one of his heroes when he walked up to the Cofidis camper, asking for a signature from Clara Koppenburg for his bandana.
The German rider was so taken with him that she gave him her gloves and bib numbers, too – and that wasn’t half of it: Today, he will be in the team car behind Koppenburg when she takes on the finishing ITT in Pau.
“It was a complete coincidence. I had seen the exchange, grabbed our Social Media manager, Lisa, and we ran after the family to tell them that if they could come to Pau, there was a spot in the team car for him,” Cofidis sports director Arthur Quilliec explained.
Cyclingnews spoke to the boy and his mother at the start of the time trial in Pau, the mother translating for her son.
“My name is Antoine RJ, I am ten years old, and I have been cycling in GSC Blagnac for two years now,” he said.
“Cycling is my sport, my passion, but I follow the Cofidis team very closely. In the men’s team, my favourite is Anthony Perez, he is from Toulouse and was in the same cycling club. With the women, it’s Clara,” Antoine continued, proudly wearing his Cofidis kit that he received as a birthday present two years ago.
“It is like Christmas and my birthday in one. I am very excited, it’s an immense joy,” Antoine finished.
Antoine’s mother Emilie described Friday’s encounter in the sweltering heat of Blagnac.
“Antoine is a very sensitive, very passionate boy. I was telling him not to go, I wanted to go back, he has a smaller brother and sister. But I let him, and he went and got what he wanted. And he was so happy to meet his favourite cyclist. Now he has one glove and one number in his room, one was for his brother, and they are so happy. It’s amazing for me, too. When Lisa called me to tell me that he could follow in the car, it was incredible. We will remember this for a long time,” she explained.
Clara Koppenburg enjoyed making her young fan happy in Blagnac and was overjoyed that he would get an even greater experience in Pau.
“I am so happy. He was so cute, and he gave me so much after stage 6, it was so adorable. Having such a fan even though I’m not at the front of the race, just seeing his passion, is great, and I am happy that we can let him be a part of this. I have been in the team car on time trials behind teammates myself, and it’s incredible. You’re thinking that you’re not going that fast, but in the descents, you are thrown from side to side in the car, and I think it will be a massive experience for him,” Koppenburg said.
