Oscar Nilsson-Julien ends his season with the Champions League tour. After Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines and Apeldoorn, he will compete in the last two rounds at the London velodrome. “It’s my home, I like it, it’s a beautiful velodrome”said the Franco-British to DirectVelo.
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The member of AVC Aix-en-Provence was selected for his offensive qualities. “They contacted me after my podium in the Nations Cup in Hong Kong (2nd in the Omnium, Editor’s note). I have a spectacular way of running that they like and that they are looking for“. The replacement for the Olympic Games therefore puts on a show. The first evening, he placed 2nd in the elimination. Last Saturday in Apeldoorn, he finished 2nd in the scratch before being the first out of the elimination. He is 5th of the general classification.
The scratch and the elimination of this Champions League have a distant relationship with the usual format of these endurance events. 5 terminals for scratch and 18 riders for elimination (compared to 24 for a 250 meter track). “And even more than 16 nowadds Oscar Nilsson-Julien. For me it's more difficult to show my wear capabilities. With 16 riders, that's 16 laps less for elimination. There is less fatigue and runners like Dylan Bibic and Tobias Hansen benefit from it“But on Saturday, it was from the first sprint that he had to go down.”Before the race, I had decided that if I found myself in the box, I would take off even if it meant doing a lap outside but an opponent maneuvered very well“.
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For the scratch too, the 22-year-old rider must adapt. “On the one hand it is interesting for the public. But for me, it's a game to do a race of attrition from the start of the 5 kilometers. You have to be very focused from the start. When you attack, you have to put everything in without looking back.”. It is therefore a different way of racing from the one he encountered at the World Championship in Ballerup. In Denmark last October, he represented France in the Open and the American. “I was surely one of the strongest in the points race and the tempo but I am disappointed with my 4th place, he analyzes with hindsight. The objective was to show that I could win, especially since there is quality in France. I would have liked to have competed in more races to free myself up a little before the scratch of the Omnium but Clément (Petit) also had to race and he succeeded with his medal“.
Racing in London is therefore a return to basics for the French Champion in the points race. “The track I grew up on is Herne Hill“, the velodrome south of London which hosted the events of the 48 Olympic Games, where Charles Coste and his comrades became Olympic team pursuit champions. To defend, and even improve, his 5th place overall in the League of Champions, Oscar Nilsson-Julien plans to be consistent the last two evenings.I'm going to try to do four good races. I want to apply myself. Bibic and Tobias, the first two, are far away but when I manage to make the race hard, it puts them at a disadvantage“. After this Champions League, we will see less on the track the winner of the Tour de la Mirabelle who signed for the Conti of Groupama-FDJ (read here). “I agree with the team. I want to take a step forward, I hope to reach the high level“. And he is also not sure of being able to compete in the French Championship in Loudéac next January.
