AS Bike Racing has a new jersey in its collection. Last Sunday, Célia Gery won the title of European Champion in U23 cyclo-cross as soon as she arrived in the category. To the great happiness of Guillaume Annoye who had eight of his nine runners last week in Spain. Before the Coupe de France in Pierric (Loire-Atlantique), DirectVelo took stock with the manager of the Alsatian team which is growing year after year.
DirectVelo: The season started very well with Célia Gery's victory at the European Championship!
Guillaume Annoye: This is the culmination of the things put in place. For Célia, I was thinking of a podium before the race. She finally manages to win after having suffered falls in recent months and after a complicated World Cup on the road. She shows that she has character. She knew how to be patient during the first cyclo-cross races of the season, she simply started doing intensity again the previous week. It's a talent but you can't go too fast. Congratulations to her for this title but we are in for long-term work. She flourishes with us. She still has a lot to learn.
But it will be even more anticipated…
For Célia and Amandine (Muller), it’s discovery. You don't have to set a goal and see in the long term. Célia wants to continue to evolve in cyclo-cross. FDJ-Suez accepted this project. In the future, she wants titles and World Cup victories. There, she made a huge impact but we must not put pressure on her or on the others.
“NO LEADER”
What did you think of the performances of your other riders at the European Championship?
David (Menut) finished 6th in Elites, Nathan (Bommenel) 5th in Espoirs… He broke his collarbone this year, he was operated on three times. So he went almost three months without riding a bike and he missed it on this route. The Junior Girls expected better (Jeanne Duterne finished 7th, Lise Revol 12th, Editor’s note) because they had beaten three times in a row the Swiss who won (Anja Grossmann, editor's note). There were small errors in the approach but it's learning, the result is not bad. Amandine Muller (8th) and Jules Simon (13th) also arrive from Junior en Espoir, and Romain Debord (18th) was not on a course made for him. The season has only just begun. Everything is going well for our runners. We made decisions during the offseason, to take or stop with certain people. We see that it took off immediately. We don't have a leader. They all get the same attention from the staff. Everything is fine for now.
What do you expect from this season?
Last season, we had several titles at the French Championship, in Men's Espoirs, Juniors and Women's Elites, and I think we are capable of doing the same thing. This year, there are five titles to go for. We have a much stronger group. For the boys, we went from three to four runners in the Espoirs. I want to continue to structure the team which requires a lot of human and financial resources. There is a real partnership with FDJ-Suez. The motorhome during races is very simple but it brings comfort to the runners. We support our athletes as much as possible outside of races and we see that it works. The gap is narrowing with Belgian and Dutch competitors.
“THE GROUP IS DENSE”
How was the season divided?
Athletes have made the bet to run a lot from the first weeks of the season. And for those who managed their start to the season poorly, it won't be easy in the coming months. For our part, we postponed the altitude course by almost three weeks compared to 2023. The results were not the best in the first races due to fatigue. The first peak of form was planned for the European Championship and Pierric. We are not going to race the following weekend then from Troyes, the group will be represented. We have two riders, Célia Gery and Nathan Bommenel, who will do all the rounds of the World Cup.
Why this choice for them?
For Célia, when you have her level, you have to go and fight with the best. Nathan is in his final Hope year, and he still has things to learn. The fact that he is instead in the World Cup will also give our other Espoirs the opportunity to play in the Coupe de France. Our Juniors will not race two weekends in a row. We played the joker of the Coupe de France this weekend to work well because from the Troyes round, it will come together. The Juniors' schedule is managed with coach François Trarieux, we have total trust in him. For David Menut, we wanted to change his program. We have nine runners, the group is dense. We will try to win the overall of the Coupe de France. We want everyone to flourish, to win races, to have fun. I don't want people to say that at home, it's all for a runner…
