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MOORESVILLE, North Carolina – To many of its citizens, the Tour de France is the Indianapolis 500 of France. It is a great sporting event that brings the nation together for a sporting event that lasts for several weeks.

Simon Pagenaud is a proud Frenchman who became just the fourth driver from France to win the Indianapolis 500 when he drove to victory on May 26. The other French drivers are Jules Goux in 1913, Rene Thomas in 1914 and Gaston Chevrolet in 1920.

Pagenaud was able to win the race by successfully breaking the draft with Alexander Rossi behind him. Pagenaud would zig-zag his Chevrolet down the long straightaways at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, preventing Rossi from getting one last chance to pull up behind him and make a “sling-shot” pass to win the race.

Pagenaud said he learned that maneuver by watching the Tour de France.

“Cycling is all about drafting,” Pagenaud told NTT INDYCAR Mobile. “He has more resistance than the guy behind him. He has to produce more to get ahead and is getting very tired. That’s how we do it at Indy. You see how they use the draft to try to break the draft and that is what I did with Rossi. That’s how I learned it, in the Tour de France. In the sprints, the drivers go from one side of the road to the other and that is how they win the race, but it’s very risky.

“They don’t have an engine. Their engine is in their legs.

“At the Indy 500, it was all about breaking the draft. I had studied so many tapes from the Tour de France to sports car races to NASCAR races, how I was going to make him slower. It’s like in a bicycle race when you try to break the draft. The guy behind you has 20 percent less resistance by not being in the wind. I did a lot of studying on that waiting for the right time. It was fun to do.

“That car was amazing. It was about being in the moment and not thinking; but doing.”

Pagenaud’s final lap of his Indy 500 victory saw Rossi make a valiant attempt at making one more pass that he hoped would seal his second Indy 500 win. But Pagenaud’s ability to break the draft like a bicycle racer came into play.

“I don’t want to give away all of my secrets, but I study a lot,” Pagenaud said. “The draft is such a big thing in cycling, and I’ve studied all of that. I’ve tried to emulate that. How to break the air and not lose too much. Being ahead, I have more resistance (aero drag) than the guy behind me who is drafting. I had to find a way to break the draft in the last lap and it worked.

“In those moments, you do whatever it takes to win. I had the car set up on the extreme side so that I could do something Rossi couldn’t do. And it worked.”

Pagenaud returns to work this weekend with the Honda Indy Toronto at Exhibition Place. The 85-lap race is Sunday on NBCSN airing at 3 p.m.

This year’s Tour de France began on Saturday in the town of Brussels and runs through July 28 with the final 127-kilometer race finishing at Rambouillet – Paris (Champs-Élysées).

There are just two rest days for the international field of cyclists.

One of the races runs through the village Pagenaud goes skiing every year, in St. Sorlin D’Arves.

As a youngster, the Tour de France ran near his hometown of Montmorillon, France. Young Simon would hand cold drinks to the riders as they raced past.

“I’ve witnessed the Tour de France three times in my life,” Pagenaud said. “I would have been 8 years old. It’s such an excitement in the town when they go by. The streets shut down and the town shuts down for the bikes to go by. They go by in a hurry.

“They have a parade before that goes through town that is very exciting to watch. Then, they have the races and the backup cars that supports the biker with the team manager in the car. It’s very cool to watch. It’s just exciting.

“That kind of racing is powered by men, so it is very exciting to watch it.

“We have a lot of big events in France like the 24 Hours of Le Mans. There is a lot of history in those races because they started so long ago. We’ve had great French riders, also.

“I would say it is definitely our Indy 500. It’s an event everybody waits for, it lasts for several weeks. And it’s an event that is very popular because the riders come to your city and you can enjoy the sites of France, which is a really cool thing to do.”

Pagenaud is an avid follower of the Tour de France. He called the NBCSN broadcast “phenomenal” and how in-depth the coverage and analysis are regarding the event.

“The landscape, being able to see the sights of France that I know, it’s a travel through time and I get to see France from afar,” Pagenaud said. “I watch it every morning when I get up, do my homework and have it on in the background. They show the whole race and then the highlights and you can see where they attack.”

Pagenaud said this year’s field is difficult to forecast because so many of the regular drivers have retired and new faces have emerged.

Julian Alaphilippe of France was the leader after Stage Four to give France the prestigious yellow jersey. But he believes Geraint Thomas of Great Britain is a driver to watch.

“Thomas will be there at some point and have a strong showing,” Pagenaud said. “Mark Cavendish is missing this year and he was a favorite of mine. He has been ill and wasn’t able to get ready. It’s a shame because he is one of my favorites. He’s a sprinter and a joy to watch because he is so aggressive.

“My favorite is gone, so I’ll have to learn a bit more about this year’s field and get to cheer for a new driver. There are some really good French drivers and of course, Thomas is very strong. It should be fun to watch.

“Nairo Quintana of Colombia is also very strong. I think he is one of the favorites. I would pick him for the top three. Romain Bardet of France had a tremendous Tour de France last year. He is still very young, and I would pick him to win some special stages.”

Pagenaud points out that the Tour de France includes many different competitions including the best climber who can go up the mountains the fastest, then there are the sprinters who are scored during the spring races between check points and the endurance portion of the contest.

“The teams will put their strengths behind you to help your specialty,” Pagenaud said. “There are many, many nationalities and come from all over the world. The competition within the competition makes it very interesting.

“You will see the big names rise to the top by the end of this week.”

Sounds a lot like Pagenaud’s job at Team Penske in the NTT IndyCar Series.