emergency route change due to thaw

During the first of the two days of the French Cyclo-cross Cup, which is taking place this weekend in Troyes, the organizers had to react to a… technical problem, which disrupted a good number of riders this Saturday morning. The double footbridge, new this year, was removed from the course after the passage of the U19s. “ Too slippery, too steep, too dangerous », summarized Clément Philippon, the director of the Aube event.

Impossible to let a platoon climb the footbridge without problem

The day got off to a good start at the Henri-Terré complex. The first rounds of the Coupe de France began at 9 a.m. this Saturday morning, under a very gray sky, in a low temperature. With a lot of slush underfoot. The Masters launched hostilities, the U19 and Masters women took over. Before seeing more than 160 furious U19s launch into battle. Problem, arriving at the footbridge, which leads to the side of the big slope, a traffic jam blocked a good part of the peloton. “ After the 20^e place, a runner slipped, rolled down the footbridge to the bottomconfides Jérôme Delbove, former professional at Cofidis, father of Gabriel, who ran with the U19s. Behind, everyone found themselves at a standstill, had to walk up. » So much so.

As a result, after the first round, huge gaps had already been created. “We chose to install a more imposing double footbridge this year,” emphasizes Clément Philippon. We left it to our service provider to create this new structure for us. But we were wrong. We don't blame him. We realized, with the weather and the thaw, that this footbridge was dangerous. Too short, too stiff. »

Clément Philippon: “We reacted as quickly as possible”

Hastily, the organizers redesigned the route and created a relief route. “ We thought we were doing well with this footbridge, we were wrong, continues Clément Philippon. But we reacted as quickly as possible. We will have to think about this subject for the next few years. »

The thaw caused some small problems. “ It's hell », summarized some runners in the morning. “ You see where it's dangerous on the course, you pay attentionspecifies former pro Mathieu Drujon, at the start of the Masters event. But the most annoying thing is when your wheel flies past you, without you really expecting it.. » The ground, muddy, very heavy, sticky, annoyed many participants. “ It's real cyclo-cross weather », summarized Jimmy Delbove, mechanic for his son Joris, present with the Elites.