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“Long live Brittany!” » From his consultant cabin for Eurosport in Paris, Arnaud Tournant managed to smell the Costa Rican air. “I hope to soon discover this velodrome in person! », laughs Arnaud Tournant.
“The show was there”
Even from a distance, the former track rider, Olympic champion in team speed in 2000 in Sydney, fourteen times world champion, nonetheless remains a privileged witness to this “France” Elite. Without filter and without concession in his analyses, he ultimately only has good things to say about this first major competition on the “Vélodrome de Bretagne”.
Even the date didn’t put him off. “At the end of the holidays, in an off-season, we could wonder how we were going to find the athletes after a very long and high-stakes 2024 season. But the show was there with this small evolution of the women’s events which were modeled on the men’s lengths. The kilometer and the 4 km pursuit are things that we discovered in Loudéac! », recalls the Roubaisian.
“We have to try to rebuild something”
For three days, the field was full, with the sole exception of Mathilde Gros, who was withdrawn. “On endurance, the festival was provided by Marion Borras, Benjamin Thomas and Bryan Coquard”. The first mentioned will be highly anticipated at the European Championships from February 12 to 16 in Heusden-Zolder in Belgium.
The challenge will be to trigger a new dynamic there after the disaster of the Paris Olympic Games. Only Benjamin Thomas won a medal. “Even if there were signs that made us think that we would not be the best nation, our hopes were quickly dashed,” breathes Arnaud Tournant. Mathilde Gros “hit rock bottom”, in her own words. And the men stumbled on the podium in the team sprint, beaten for bronze by Australia. “We were far from the mark but I am one of those who want to turn the page,” continues the professional sports coach. I don’t know if the federal dynamic will be sufficient but we must try to rebuild something. What we are lacking today is grassroots work. I have the impression that we collect young people when they are good and that we are not interested in them before. »
“Marion Borras is the Lady of France”
The hopes for tomorrow, fortunately, already have names. “On the American on Saturday, behind Marion Borras who showed that she was the lady of these championships, I was delighted to see Clémence Chéreau, Aurore Pernollet, Flavie Boulais and Marie Le Net, impressive in the omnium. On speed, Marie-Louisa Druode came to beat Marie-Divine Kouamé, it was a very nice surprise that she confirmed on the keirin. For men, Étienne Oliviero became French kilometer champion at the age of 18! »
For all of these, “the objective must be Los Angeles 2028. The page was opened in Loudéac. It seems far away to us, but the Games are a four-year program.” Bretons will be there. Marie Le Net, most certainly. “During my career, I rubbed shoulders with quite a few champions who came from the region, such as Vincent Le Quellec or Virginie Cueff. I grew up with a generation embodied by Frédéric Lancien and Nathalie Even. I know that Brittany is a rich land of cycling, it lacked an indoor velodrome to give young people the opportunity to practice the discipline all year round. » To the Olympic dreams of progressing, from now on.
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letelegramme Fr Trans
