Tournant was born in
Roubaix, near the border with
Belgium, and currently lives in
Fontenay-sous-Bois.
World record Tournant is a former 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. However, he will continue to be involved in cycling as he has been named as the new directeur sportif of the Cofidis track team. ==Major results==