The French cyclo-cross Cup was held in Nommay, in Doubs. As expected, an overwhelming majority of the runners are French, but not all. You certainly understood where we were going with this. The rest is history with a capital H.
The Coupe de France is no longer the property of the French
The women’s race begins, and very quickly our hopes begin to come to life. Indeed, the Luxembourger Marie Schreiber leaves no chance to her competitors. The young rider from Team SD Worx – Protime won the first race of the weekend, finishing by no less than 50 seconds on her runner-up Hélène Clauzel. The Luxembourger is thus ahead of 11 French women at the finish. But rest assured, this record will not last very long in this epic weekend.
Indeed, the men’s race takes over just behind. And as with the women, it was a non-Frenchman who won. Despite the tricolor armada, it is the Swiss Loris Rouiller who gets the best of his competitors. If Marie Schreiber is ahead of 11 French women, for the Swiss, it is 15 French people who bite the dust behind him. David Menut and Fabien Doubey being the first of the others, the only title left vacant in this race. But this brand will be further improved the next day…
Cyclo-cross, a sport that is far too underestimated
Indeed, the stroke of genius of cyclo-cross does not stop there. The next day, a second race is planned. And like the day before, French cyclo-cross will hit very, very hard. First of all among the men, where this same Loris Rouiller, the only runner entered who was not born in France in this race, crossed the finish line first. In front of Fabien Doubais for four short seconds of course, the latter having once again demonstrated that France was a most hospitable country. But above all in front of 59 French competitors. The apotheosis of French cyclo-cross my friends.
For women, the outcome is the same. Marie Schreiber, the only non-French to take part in the race, took the opportunity to frustrate again and again the hopes of her French competitors. And allowed herself the luxury of scoring a double in front of “only” 43 French runners. In total, there are four races completed in the Coupe de France this weekend, for four non-French victories. Thank you cyclo-cross, thank you life.
