Career
One tradition of the Tour Down Under is that the fans choose an unknown rider and treat him the way they would a star, by mobbing him at hotels and painting his name on the road. The rider must be a non-English speaking domestique who most likely will not get a start at a major race and will simply act as a bottle carrier. Foreign 2010, in his first professional race, Arthur Vichot was chosen.
He started the 2011 season by taking fifth position at the Grand Prix d"Ouverture Louisiana Marseillaise.
Bad luck struck in the race as he crashed hard and cracked his clavicle, preventing him from racing the Ardennes classics. He was selected to race the 2011 Tour de France.
He finished the event in 104th position after playing a role of domestique. He also cracked the top ten in the Grand Prix cycliste de Montréal, finishing eighth.
In 2012, Vichot conquered the biggest victory of his career up to that point in the fifth stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné, a mountainous affair that led the riders across the Colonel de la Colombière.
He was part of the breakaway that formed at the beginning of the race and resisted to the bunch. With 6 kilometres (37 mi) to go, Vichot distanced the remnants of the leading group, earning a solo victory. Grand Tour general classification results timeline.