Cyclo-cross | World Cup – Besançon: Why the French cannot compete

18 years, almost an eternity. It's been 18 years since a Frenchman stood on a cyclo-cross World Championship podium. Francis Mourey is the last to have achieved what now seems like a pipe dream, a legend, as the French are far from the mark in the undergrowth, while the World Cup stops in Besançon on Sunday. This is true at least among adults. Because among young people, French hopefuls and juniors are piling up good results, like the European Championships which took place in October, in Spain. Among the women, Célia Géry, for example, won the junior title. But then why don't they confirm at the highest level?

“In France, cyclo-cross is considered a winter discipline to prepare for the road season, it’s cultural”explains Steve Chainel, a rider who combined his career as a professional road racer and crossman. This status as a second-rate discipline serves riders who would like to invest 100%, because the bike remains “above all” the road in France. “For a rider like Soren Bruyère Joumard (Junior 1) who wins a World Cup round, not sure that on his side or that of the French managers we care if he can become World Champion among the elites. We will rather hope that he performs a top 5 on Paris-Roubaix or the Flandrian classics”analyzes our consultant.

The predominance of the road over the undergrowth finds its source at the root. There aren't really any teams exclusively dedicated to cyclo-cross in France, with the exception of AS Bike Racing, which notably includes the Frenchman David Menut in its ranks. To date, he is the best Elite rider, ranked 22nd in the UCI rankings, with his best result being a Top 10 at the Hulst World Cup round.

One of the only people to have believed in cyclo-cross in France was the manager of the FDJ, Marc Madiot. “We were very well equipped to train, but when our opponents were working on technique, we were on the Tour du Limousin”relates Steve Chainel, who played under the orders of Mayennais from 2011 to 2012.

Because in the undergrowth, what matters most is technique, as coach François Trarieux explains. “When Aubin (Sparfel) was preparing for the World Cup in Zurich, he was already doing cyclo-cross at home.” Except that this essential work is only possible because the 18-year-old rider has not yet fallen through the cracks of the professional teams who make the calendars for their riders and generally abandon cyclo-cross. But that could change, according to the 41-year-old. “Léo Bisiaux and Aubin Sparfel are excellent crossmen and excellent drivers, who understood that it was possible to combine the two.”

“We can't hide behind the fact that we don't have talents, we have them. Except that since they were little, they have wanted to win a Tour de France, a Paris-Roubaix… whereas a Belgian, he wants to be world champion or win the Superprestige (cyclo-cross championship)”he adds. To understand the situation, Steve Chainel compares the CX situation to that of French basketball. “French basketball is doing very well, but less well than the Americans because it is an American sport. Cyclo-cross is exactly the same, it is a Belgian and Dutch sport.” You just need to see the popular jubilation at each race organized across Quiévrain to realize this.

However, cyclo-cross still generates interest. In the Coupes de France, there are a lot of participants, as Steve Chainel tells us. “It’s crazy, the number of elite riders who want to do cyclo-cross to have fun during the winter period. But the interest in the very high level and to seek an elite world champion title, he's not there.”points to the Vosges.

If the French crossmen do not bring home medals at the world championships and do not compete with the best internationals, it pays off later. “Anthony Turgis, who won the Troyes stage of the Tour de France, is in the heyday of French cycling even though he comes from cyclo-cross”welcomes the great ambassador of CX in France. No medals, but provider of good runners on the road, French cyclo-cross is not ready to change.