Tournant is a former world record holder (at altitude) for thekilo (1000m time trial). He first set the record inMexico 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 atLa Paz,Bolivia.[4][5]
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.
Tournant was a member of the French team sprint squad at the2004 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 the2004 Summer Olympics inAthens, 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, untilStephane Mandard, a journalist forLe Monde newspaper, and an anti-doping campaigner, left the room. Mandard's reporting of theCofidis 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.[3]
Tournant was a member of the team sprint squad (withGrégory Baugé,Kévin Sireau andMickaël Bourgain) which won a silver medal at the2008 Summer Olympics. He retired after these Olympic Games and was made a Commander of theOrdre national du Mérite on 14 November 2008.[6] However, he will continue to be involved in cycling as he has been named as the new directeur sportif of the Cofidis track team.[6][7]
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