After two seasons with the Cofidis team, Morgane Coston, native of Bellevue-la-Montagne, gave a new direction to her career. At 34, she chose to join the Swiss Roland Cycling Team. Training where she will discover the World Tour level. After three seasons in France at Arkéa then at Cofidis, Morgane Coston took a new turn in her sporting career. The cyclist from Bellevue-la-Montagne joined Roland Cycling Team during the off-season, a Swiss team competing in the World Tour, the first division of the discipline.
“I needed something else, new challenges”
A discovery for the athlete who has so far only evolved within teams at continental level, the second division of cycling. But the late arrival in the world elite does not frighten him. “I'm 34 years old, but I'm young in cycling. I want to learn more. I am so far from having exploited all my potential,” confides Morgane Coston who decided to leave Cofidis after two seasons within the northern team, including a complicated final year. “The season was difficult. Emotionally and physically. I needed something else, new challenges to get me going again. » And this challenge, the original Bellimontaine found it in Switzerland, at Roland Cycling Team, a stone's throw from her home, since Morgane Coston now lives in Ain.
“Obviously, it made sense for me to ride in a “local” team, close to where I live. We spoke to each other during the year, at the races. I appreciated these very warm first contacts,” explains the 19th in the last French championship who will try to obtain good results in a peloton at an ever higher level. “It is undeniable that the level of women's cycling has increased. He is more and more professional. But that’s also what makes it beautiful to look at. And the higher the level, the more it makes you want to work hard,” adds Morgane Coston.
A first race far from France
First contacts which therefore turned into a contract. And an opportunity that the thirty-year-old intends to seize. First to thank his team for trusting him and then “without setting a limit”, with a race in the back of his mind: the Tour de France. After a first participation in 2023 which resulted in a 74th place in a teammate role, she hopes to return there within her new formation. “The route passing through Auvergne, where I grew up, and Ain, where I currently live, moves me a lot. The rest will be decided during the season,” says the cyclist. A route in Auvergne which would allow Morgane Coston to pass a few kilometers from Bellevue-la-Montagne where part of her entourage still resides. A place where she returns very rarely, however. “I come back twice a year to see my family,” says the Aindinoise who will start the season far from her bases. Indeed, his first race will be the Tour of UAE, on February 6, 2025 in the United Arab Emirates. A great opportunity to shine in its new colors.
