On the occasion of the men's and women's FDJ French Cup ceremony, which is being held this Thursday in Boulogne-Billancourt (Hauts-de-Seine), DirectVelo took stock of this regularity challenge with several speakers. Among them, Paul Lapeira. Crowned Champion of France on his Normandy lands in June, he will also have been one of the main players in the Coupe de France FDJ in 2024 with no less than three victories, during the Classic Loire-Atlantique, of Cholet Agglo Tour – he thus achieved the double in 24 hours – then at the Polynormande, with the tricolor jersey on his back, in front of his family. 2nd in the regularity ranking, the Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale puncher looks back on this great season in the FDJ Coupe de France. Narrative.
“I won't soon forget this weekend at the Classic Loire-Atlantique and at Cholet. I was going there with enthusiasm because it was a weekend on which I had already performed well in the past. I had not gone far in the past, notably having been caught 500 meters from the finish in Cholet. I had a really good start to the season so I knew it was possible to win there. On Saturday, I won in a way I had never done before, after 30 miles alone. On Sunday, I was euphoric. I would never have raced like that if I hadn't already won the day before. I was freed. That weekend was a trigger for the rest of my season.
Among young people, I never skipped any stages. The idea was to do the same thing among the pros, so it started by shining in the FDJ Coupe de France rounds, before hoping to perform in the WorldTour races. I felt it was definitely more accessible. This is why at the start of the 2024 season, I asked the team to have a calendar focused on these rounds of the Coupe de France, with the idea of opening my account among the pros. In the Coupe de France, you have to have the desire, the grit, to attack. We see it with profiles like Benoît (Cosnefroy) or Alexandre Delettre. You shouldn't hesitate to create movements, to race, and that suits me.
After my national title at home, and there is nothing more beautiful, I found myself at the start of the Polynormande, once again at home, with the blue-white-red jersey on my shoulders. I expected to be very marked. I remember telling my teammates at the briefing that they had to take advantage of it. But finally, I found myself in the right one after 40 terminals. This racing scenario was unexpected. Finally, it did. I won with the jersey, it was exceptional.
-I plan to return to the Coupe de France next year. The Poly is an obligatory part of my season! I stipulated in my contract that I must be there every year… I'm laughing but it's close to my heart. I missed the Breton races in May this year, I would like to go there in 2025. These are race formats that I like.
When we have checked certain boxes, we want to go further and higher. But with my profile, it is important to keep this culture of winning and to find myself in a position to win when possible. It’s something that needs to be worked on. When you know how to win in the Coupe de France, you also learn it for a WorldTour race. It is therefore important for me to continue racing in the Coupe de France FDJ, for this culture of winning.
I'm not far from winning the general classification of the Coupe de France but there is no disappointment. I'm really happy to finish 2nd, just three points behind Benoît. We know his qualities. I didn't expect to do so well anyway. »
