Route du Sud Cycliste, Race Used Car Plaque, Technique

Route du Sud

The Route d’Occitanie-La Dépêche du Midi (known as the Route du Sud until 2017) is a stage cycling race held in southwestern France.

It was created in 1977 on the initiative of former Castro sprinter Jacques Esclassan and with the impetus of Francis Auriac. At first, it was called “Tour du Tarn” before being renamed “Tour Midi-Pyrénées” in 1982. Route du Sud – La Dépêche du Midi, for 26 years, was renamed the Route d’Occitanie in April 2018 to better align with the new Occitanie region. The format of the race has not changed: it takes place every year during the second week of June over four or five days for as many stages. It marks the end of the first part of the cycling season and is a preparation event for the two future deadlines that occupy the riders’ minds: the French road championships at first, then the Tour de France.

It is therefore a very particular perfume that reigns throughout the test. Indeed, many runners see this competition as their last chance to win their place in the great mass in July. It is the only professional cycling race set in the “greater Southwest”.Therefore, a very particular perfume reigns throughout the test. Indeed, many runners see this competition as their last chance to win their place in the great mass in July. It is the only professional cycling race set in the “greater Southwest.”In this sense, the Pyrenean public is often provided on the outskirts of the roads. Since 2005, it has been inscribed on the UCI Europe Tour calendar.

Foundation and Evolution of the Race

At the dawn of the 1977 season, professional rider Jacques Esclassan decided to create a high-level cycling race in his home department, Tarn. The five-time winner of stages of the Tour de France is indeed  native of Castres. The event was created in the wake under the name of “Tour du Tarn”, the competition not yet exceeding the limits of the department. For its first edition, the success is there: the race is won by its instigator, Jacques Esclassan, who is ahead of the young Bernard Hinault, 22 years old at the time[3]. The latter won the Tour de France five times, starting this impressive series the following year in 1978.

In 1982, the race, having matured a lot, both in terms of organization and media coverage, began to feel cramped within the geographical limits imposed by its name: the “Tour du Tarn” turned into the “Tour Midi-Pyrénées”. The race is evolving considerably and tends to become the major cycling event in southwestern France.

In 1988, the president of the organizing committee Francis Auriac and his team renamed the race under the name “Route du Sud”. Little by little, it seems that the adapted format seems to be the right one and the race regains a certain stability. In addition, the place adopted in the European cycling calendar, in mid-June, guarantees the competition a quality plateau[5]. Indeed, the Critérium du Dauphiné libéré takes place the previous week, while the Tour de Suisse welcomes relatively few French teams; and this despite the creation of the UCI ProTour, in 2005, which requires tricolor professional teams to participate. That same year, the race, previously ranked 2.3 by the UCI, evolved to status 2.1[6]. Francis Auriac, the organizer, has always been hostile to this system, which was established by Pat McQuaid. Finally, this is the last high-level European race before the national championships, at the end of June. This place of choice ensures the race a significant media coverage, through television, radio or newspapers and the Internet, present on the ground.

Since the early 2000s, the La Dépêche du Midi group has sponsored the race. This is not surprising, since the company based in Toulouse distributes its daily life in the same departments as the event, namely Ariège, Aveyron, Haute-Garonne, Gers, Lot, Hautes-Pyrénées, Tarn, Tarn-et-Garonne as well as in the departments of Aude and Lot-et-Garonne.

Since 2007, Auriac is no longer chairman of the organizing committee. He gave up his place at the end of the 2006 edition to André Masse[9]. However, he continues to contribute to the development of the race as an advisor. In November 2013, Pierre Caubin became the director of the event. Since October 1^{, 2017,} Labruguière has been the seat of the race.

In 2018, the Occitanie Region, the event’s institutional partner, changed the name of the race to “Route d’Occitanie.”

The 2020 edition, initially scheduled for June 11 to 14, was postponed from August 1 to 4 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The event hosts a very high plateau with the presence of Egan Bernal, the outgoing winner of the Tour de France, which is a first since the presence of Jan Ullrich in 1998 (winner of the Tour de France 1997)[13]. Exceptionally, the first stage serves as the second round of the Coupe de France[14].

Due to the mobilization of the police for the Olympic Games, the 2024 edition, initially reduced to two race days, is not organized.

Source: Wikipedia.fr  (translated by Google)