After the fireworks during the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Worlds in October 2022 (7 medals including 3 gold), the euphoria fell for the French track cycling team. “We were coming out of a big World Championship at home. There, we got a little shaken up, ”admits Florian Rousseau, director of the Olympic program at the French Cycling Federation.
With five medals (2 silver, 3 bronze) in the last eight days on the Sir Chris Hoy track in Glasgow, the account is not there at all in the French camp. The record is barely saved by endurance, especially the girls who won three medals: silver in the American (Clara Copponi-Victoire Berteau) and bronze in the team pursuit (Marie Le Net, Clara Copponi, Valentine Fortin, Victoire Berteau, Marion Borras) and Elimination (Valentine Fortin). “We saw a lot of generosity in getting medals that were not easy to win, such as in the women’s team pursuit and in the women’s American,” said Florian Rousseau.
The leader of the French endurance team, Benjamin Thomas, saved his Worlds by going for the money on the omnium. If the Cofidis rider won the 10th world medal of his career, we could expect better from him. In particular on the American Wednesday where, associated with Thomas Boudat, he could not do better than 6th when he had crowned in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines with Donavan Grondin. “I’m really not 100%. I feel winded. I have almost no kilometers on the track. I had to do two training sessions with my peloton bike in three months… Next year it will be different. I will come more prepared”, admitted Benjamin Thomas after his omnium medal.
If Donovan Grondin also passed through his Worlds with a 5th place on the scratch, a 9th on the elimination and an 11th on the points race, the male chasers had bad luck with the big fall in training which deprived them of Quentin Lafargue and diminished Corentin Ermenault.
But it is in the French speed team where the disappointments have succeeded. Only a crazy last lap by Rayan Helal against Great Britain in the final for 3rd place in the team sprint (with Florent Grengbo and Sébastien Vigier) saved the sprinters from zero points with a bronze medal. For the rest, Mathilde Gros lost her title of world champion in speed by being eliminated in the quarter-finals, Marie-Divine Kouamé, world champion in the 500m last year, did not exist, just like Sébastien Vigier in speed and keirin. “The results are not what we hoped for. I’m disappointed but I’m not at all worried about the future. I haven’t lost my level in two months. It’s just that the preparation was a little missed, ”said Sébastien Vigier.
“The objective remains the Games. There is nothing to worry about”
But the biggest hiccup was the women’s team sprint. The Gros-Kouamé-Michaux trio, 9th, lost precious points for the Olympic quotas. The French will be condemned to perform during the European Championships and the three Nations Cups at the start of 2024. “The goal is really to succeed in our deadline for the Olympic Games, believes Grégory Baugé, the sprint coach. There are already a lot of things going through my head. We will do everything to be ready. It’s a slap. But, in life, slaps can only do our athletes good if they look at themselves in the mirror. I have confidence in their qualities. But it will take work. »
On Wednesday, the staff of the France team revealed that Mathilde Gros had experienced health concerns before these Worlds. “She gave the maximum of herself. It was not easy for her. She will continue. She’s a champion. I trust her. She will be there, ”hopes Baugé.
Florian Rousseau did not want to “rush to make a hot assessment” but to take the time “to analyze”. “World Championship titles and medals do not guarantee Olympic medals. There are no rules. Performance is never linear. In terms of obtaining points for Olympic qualification, things are well under way for the Olympic pursuits and the men’s team sprint, but it’s more complicated today for the women’s team sprint. We have to learn lessons from this Championship. The objective remains the Games. There is nothing to worry about. »
2023-08-10 14:38:14
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