Quick Facts
Biography
Arnaud Tournant (born 5 April 1978) is a French track cyclist. He has won 14 World Championships and won a gold, silver and a bronze at the Summer Olympics.
Biography
Tournant was born in Roubaix, near the border with Belgium, and currently lives in Fontenay-sous-Bois. He began making his mark as an international rider whilst still in the junior ranks, winning the silver medal at the Junior Track World Championships in 1996.
World record
Tournant is the world record holder (at altitude) for the Kilo (1000m time trial). He first set the record in Mexico in 2000, with a time of 1:00.148. In October the following year, at the age of 23, Tournant became the first man to go under the one-minute mark, breaking his own world record with a new time of 58.875 seconds set at La Paz, Bolivia.
Chris Hoy came to within 0.005 seconds of Tournant's record on his second attempt, but failed to beat it. Hoy said he could not go any faster, and had even more respect for Tournant and his talents.
2004
Tournant was a member of the French team sprint squad at the 2004 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, this was the sixth time they won a gold medal with Tournant. He also picked up a silver medal in the Kilo.
At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Tournant won a silver medal in the kilo, and a bronze in the team sprint.
Tournant refused to speak at a post-race press conference at the Olympics, until Stephane Mandard, a journalist for Le Monde newspaper, and an anti-doping campaigner, left the room. Mandard's reporting of the Cofidis doping scandal had left scars, despite the fact that Tournant had not been involved. At the press conference, Tournant held his ground and after a long pause, Mandard walked out.
2008 and retirement
Tournant was a member of the team sprint squad (with Grégory Baugé, Kévin Sireau and Mickaël Bourgain) which won a silver medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics. He retired after these Olympic Games and was made a Commander of the Ordre national du Mérite on 14 November 2008. However, he will continue to be involved in cycling as he has been named as the new directeur sportif of the Cofidis track team.