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> In the evening, however, huge buffets awaited us in the hotels. It was a bit like Club Med. Some of my runners probably even gained weight during those ten days! They were tempted, in the evening, when they saw the buffets, to stuff themselves. It's difficult to do dietetics in these cases. We still made sure that everyone paid a little attention.
> If this event aimed to one day replace the Tour de France, we were still far from it. It gave the impression of being designed for communication more than for runners. There was advertising and posters bearing Trump's image everywhere: on planes, on cars, on hotel walls... Even on the leader's jerseys, there was only his name. He was everywhere, including at certain stage departures or arrivals. We were talking more about Donald Trump than his Tour.
> As much as the organization was a little special, on a sporting level, it was a quality event. It wasn't easy for us. The runners were there for the competition, especially since the prizes promised to the winners were significant (bonus of $50,000 for the winner and $250,000 for his team). It wasn't a total summer camp (laughs). In 1990, it was the Mexican Raúl Alcalá who won the Tour (the first edition, in 1989, was won by the Dane Dag Otto Lauritzen). He finished best youngster in the Tour de France in 1987. Our goal was to behave well. It didn't go so bad but we didn't weigh in on the race. Richard Vivien wore the green jersey for the best climber for two or three days, but that's it.In the general classification, from memory, the best Frenchman was ranked 25th.
> There were no crowds along the roads. In the cities, there was still a bit of atmosphere, with cheerleaders, but that had nothing to do with the craze in certain countries in South or East America. It felt like it was a race that came out of nowhere. Moreover, this Trump Tour only lasted two years. Donald Trump then disengaged and a new partner, DuPont, took over. The aim of the maneuver was certainly to get people talking about him. He hasn't changed. "
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