ultimobici said:So, let me get this straight.
He was good enough to hold down a place on VC Aube for a season
He showed enough promise to gain a place on the CC Etupes squad at barely 20.
He won a race (albeit from a break so it doesn't count in your book), and had several podium placings.
Only a few months into the season he had to stop having being struck down with EBS, so can't have been in a position to be selected for any of the big races.
And your conclusion is he was a run of the mill rider doomed to failure. Therefore his reemergence is the product of something other than hard work and finally being in a position to show his true worth. F*ck me, you must be a super pessimist!
No, super realist. There are literally loads of riders who done as well if not better than JTL in France who never made it to pro level. I said JTL never got as far as riding top level in France (because of illness) so to just assume he would have made it is reaching. Of course it is a real possibility but so is the opposite. It is literally 50-50. The way some people behave, it was like he had a pro contract in his back pocket before he got sick.
Getting to ride Div 1 in France is like making the ProTour, dont mean you are going to be a star, for example not one of JTLs team-mates at CC Etupes 2005 made it to pro level and they are one of the top clubs in France.