In good position in the final, the SCO Dijon-Team Material-velo.com could hope to triumph over the Grand Prix of Is-sur-Tille with two cards. first, that of Antoine Berger, escaped for more than 30 kilometers and alone to open the road in the last moments. Or with Marius Macé and his speed of speed. But finally, the trap closed on the N1 Côte-d’Orienne. “At the kilometer, when we are perhaps 20 meters from Antoine, we were waiting, we were waiting. And then I said that we had to go there, he was going to be taken up at the terminal. When we have no one in front, we are going to take really from afar and secure ourselves on one side. There, we did the job anyway to take well to a terminal but we go a little at the last minute.says Marius Macé.
Antoine Berger “Disgusted”
The SCOD sprinter did not want to condemn the chances of his teammate. “It was a bit trashy to launch the train because inevitably, you have someone in front. So we were waiting a little bit as an extra time, but suddenly, you get lost etc, you are in the ball. So it was a bit technical”. In front, Antoine Berger felt the breath of the peloton. But at the time, the winner of the Grand Prix of the Pays d’Aix is logically surprised to see the Dijon train exceed him. “It was a bit frustrating with the massif, because the guys behind it had to be organized to take the sprint necessarily, otherwise they were trapped. So when I get caught, I see the Dijon pass, I do, I do “Ah”, laughs the unfortunate of the day. But it’s the game “.
Obviously, Antoine Berger knows that the final scenario forced his teammates to organize himself, but on arrival, the 10th of the Directvelo challenge was especially disappointed to have lacked victory. “There I am disgusted, I thought it was going to pass, but there was a little too much dish behind. It was too long, it was even descent. All alone, it was complicated with the sprinters trains that were organized behind”. However, he was first accompanied by Nicolas Aulas (VC Villefranche Beaujolais) in his business, but he could not keep the pace. “He helped me well, but he was a little limited to the dish. I made a fairly violent effort to get rid of it, in quotes, in the bumps. Because he was burnt, he did not take a relay, but he still held the wheel. So I was afraid that he came to fight me if we arrived at two”.
“Links a little”
The former UC Cholet 49 runner is lacking in the final. “It was missing a little more juice or a little more autonomy for my colleague. Or when we go to three. After there were too many sprinters, so it was necessary to organize and it is immediately more random”. Marius Macé was one of these. “In the sprint I hold a little. I find myself in the wheel of Gari (Lagnet) and I do not have the kick to pass it. Julien (sailor) arrives in survival”. Despite a consolation podium (see classification), the Dijonnais tried everything to win “their” race. “We applied the briefing, we did not make mistakes during the race, it was nickel”estimates Antoine Berger, imitated by Marius Macé. “We were good anyway on the whole race, we have never lost the thread. Antoine makes the right decisions. Afterwards, we are a bit dependent on what the other teams set up”.
Both are now waiting to find the way for success. For Antoine Berger, stages races that point their noses should suit him. “Physically, I am regular. This is not the last opportunity. It was the end of a beautiful block. We will start shopping in stages with the Saône-et-Loire in two weeks”. Marius Macé had already laid his wheels in Loir-et-Cher, of which he will not keep an unforgettable memory. “It was complicated. I went through. In the end, it is a complicated start to the season. I have a kind of tendinopathy. I can’t train as I want. But it comes back gradually. Next week, there is still a big weekend with Sologne. I may go around the dear in individual too”. On the charge of revenge.
