“It’s like I’m going into the void with no control”: Tour de France pro says he feels “completely paralysed” and “scared to death” on descents

As the Tour de France heads into the Alps, and up the fearsome slopes of the Col de Joux Plane, for a potentially decisive day in the battle for the yellow jersey, one rider in particular won’t be looking forward to the fast, technical, and notorious descent to today’s finish in Morzine.

In a revealing interview with Le Parisien, French star Pierre Latour admitted that being “scared to death going downhill is my life” – and that the now-ubiquitous use of disc brakes in the pro peloton has made descending in races even more dangerous.

TotalEnergies rider Latour, who won the white young rider’s jersey at the 2018 Tour de France and finished second on Sunday’s summit finish on the Puy de Dôme, also revealed that he has tried a number of treatments, including hypnosis, to cure his seemingly chronic fear of descending, but that the “slightest annoyance downhill” still makes “everything explode in my head”.

“I can’t unlock a form of fear on the descents. Already, it makes me go to the back of the peloton and then forces me to make useless efforts to come back. Result, I race all the time upside down. It’s all in the head. I know it, but it’s stronger than me,” he told Le Parisien following his stint in the breakaway on yesterday’s stage to Grand Colombier.

Latour attacks on stage five of this year’s Tour (A.S.O./Pauline Ballet)

The 29-year-old’s 2022 season was derailed by a series of crashes at the Tour of the Basque Country and the Mercan’Tour Classic Alpes-Maritimes, which may have contributed to his current debilitating approach to descending, though Latour believes his fear stems from an earlier fall.

“There was of course a big crash during the Tour of Oman in 2019 which cost me two fractures, of the radius and the scaphoid in my left hand. But there were others,” he says. “And above all, sometimes on a descent, if there is a bit of rain, my wheel moves. And there, it’s as if everything is extinguished.

“I’m scared because I have the impression that I’m going into the void with no control over anything. Like an air pocket in an airplane. And it’s over, the descent is stuck. I tense up and know that I have just fallen back into this fear. It’s as if, in my head, there is no more ground under my wheels.”

He continued: “It’s a vicious circle. I brake while the others continue to ride. So the others pass me by, brushing against me very close. As a result, it scares me even more, feeling like planes are passing me. I feel their drag of air and I tense up even more. I am full of tension which slows me down.

“It must be understood that I then have the impression of having forearms that weigh fifty kilos each. I am completely paralysed.”

> Swiss pro cyclist Gino Mäder dies after horrific Tour de Suisse crash

The former Vuelta a España stage winner also revealed that he has tried sophrology, psychoanalysis, mental preparation, and hypnosis in a bid to cure his descending yips, but to no avail.

“Each time, it makes me feel good for a while. But at the slightest annoyance downhill, everything explodes in my head. Like an alcoholic enjoying a drink. And it’s like I'm starting from scratch,” he says.

“And I’m not talking about a new fall but just a small slip that seems harmless. Except that it makes everything blow up in my head. And everything blocks. This year for example, everything was going well until the Tour du Jura where a small fall put me back in my s***.

“I decided after the Tour that I’m going to try a new thing: to go on a motorcycle circuit to see if I can take the lines well and get used to the speed in the curves.”

(A.S.O./Billy Ceusters)

Latour said he has been coping with the major downhill sections on this year’s Tour, such as those off the top of the Col du Tourmalet and Col d’Aspin in the Pyrenees, by staying well to the back of the group and carefully navigating the corners.

“I made my cushy descent, as I wanted. And I take the curves correctly,” he says. “Whereas if I paralyse, I make choppy turns which block me even more. I’m idling and it sucks.

“If I see a trace of water like a piece of stream crossing the road, I put on the brakes when it’s the worst thing to do. And there, it is useless to reassure me, I am in no condition to listen. But sometimes I look for the wheel of guys I trust like my teammate Anthony Turgis or [Lidl-Trek’s] Tony Gallopin.

“They reassure me because I know they know how to descend without taking too many risks. We can say that I am the handicapped person on the descent and the guy who loses time at the top of the bumps. Scared to death downhill is my life.”

> “I wanted to win for Gino, everyone today raced for him”: Mattias Skjelmose dedicates Tour de Suisse victory to “wonderful” Gino Mäder

Latour also acknowledged that the death of Swiss rider Gino Mäder, who was killed after crashing on a fast, technical descent at last month’s Tour de Suisse, has also impacted his approach to racing downhill, as well as his understanding of the concept of ‘taking risks’ and the pressure placed on riders during races.

“I knew that you could hurt yourself a lot on a descent and I proved it several times. But then I realised that you could die. It’s different,” he says. “Gino, he spoke good French and we talked sometimes. And suddenly, he left. I felt a form of mourning. I know I can sound like a d*** saying that. But my life is worth more than trying to finish 50th instead of 100th.

“I’ve known races where groups have dropped down like idiots while guys had fallen. At some point, you have to ask yourself the right questions. I want to speed up if I’m in front or if I have to get in on time. But between the two, we must not do anything. And there are some who take it as a video game.”

When asked if modern riders take too many risks, Latour replied: “I’m in no position to say that when I don’t take enough!

“But disc brakes increase the danger. Before, we had progressive braking. Now, we’re all at once, so we’re delaying the braking as much as possible.

“Look at my face downhill, it shows how I feel… But others are as scared as me but don’t want to admit it. I imagine they don’t want to be yelled at by their bosses.”