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On July 17th, the Tour de France 2021 will stop off in Saint-Émilion, and rider Thomas Boudat will be keeping a close eye on the action. Born into a family of winegrowers, the Gironde-born rider will be supporting his Arkea Arena team on the 31km route between Libourne and Saint-Emilion.
Vineyard huts, merlot vines, dovecotes, limestone cellars in Astéries: Thomas Boudat won’t need to do much revision before setting off on the 20th stage of the 2021 Tour de France.
A professional since 2014, the rider from the Arkéa Samsic team regularly trains on the roads of Gironde: “Earlier I was in Saint-Émilion. My parents bought a property there not so long ago, so I like to take a look around and see how things are going. In the Boudat family, we have two passions: wine and cycling, with solid references. When it comes to cycling, Thomas Boudat has a grandfather and uncles who took part in the Grande Boucle. On the strength of these examples, he himself has always enjoyed riding a bike: “My parents say that I was cycling before I could walk”, he laughs. As for the vineyards, he and his brother and sister will be the 6th generation to run the family vineyard, which now includes several properties in the Gironde.
Thomas Boudat explains that if he hadn’t been a cyclist, he would have been a winegrower. But it’s only a matter of time now, as the young man already has his career path mapped out. Winegrower, of course, with a clear preference for working in the fresh air: “When I come back to the property, I’ll be more involved in the production side. Going out into the vineyards, being in nature, is something I love”.
In the meantime, Thomas Boudat is pursuing his career as a professional sportsman, patiently learning his future trade: “Whether you want to succeed in wine or cycling, there’s no mystery about it, you have to have a taste for effort and work hard“. Although his main activity is cycling, his mother is increasingly introducing him to business management. As soon as his schedule allows, he doesn’t hesitate to lend a hand: “The time I love is harvest time, when you finish the day with the sun setting and everything is quiet again”. He, who “is always on the go”, enjoys “stopping running after time”. Ironically, Thomas Boudat is training for a time trial in the middle of the vineyards on July 17th 2021 between Libourne and Saint-Émilion!
