So what would have happened without this puncture? Soan Ruesche, long in the running for a medal and even for the title during the French Junior Cyclo-cross Championship, was finally delayed by a mechanical incident in the last part of the race. An unfortunate event which forced him to settle for a frustrating 4th place. Interview for DirectVelo.
DirectVelo: What happened on the last lap?
Soan Ruesche: With Théophile (Vassal), we were five seconds behind the group in front (the duo Soren Bruyère Joumard and Florian Fery, Editor’s note), I took the descent which brings us back to the bottom of the circuit and I felt that I was on the rim. I passed the stairs and then I had to do a half-turn of the circuit on the rim… So I lost contact in the race for the podium… I changed bikes going back to the post.
Did you still believe it?
Yes, I told myself that anything could happen. I saw Soren (Bruyère Joumard) fall but I was still too far away to play for third place. I have no regrets, I did the whole race as hard as I could. Strategically, I wasn't too bad but I was unlucky and it was me who finished 4th, “the idiot's place”.
“IF I CAN HELP, I WILL”
-Do you still have the feeling of having simply been beaten by three stronger runners?
I knew that the title was going to be played between Florian (Fery), Soren, Théophile, Soen (Le Pann) and me. Soen found himself out of the game after falling on the descent so there were four of us. For the rest, there were no surprises. On a difficult circuit like this, it was the best who found themselves in front. I think that for the spectators, we had a great race and the best one won. Congratulations to everyone for this great battle (see ranking). Unlucky, on the last lap, I was sidelined due to this mechanical incident…
The season is not over! There are still great things to do over the next three weeks…
The next meeting will be the World Cup round in Benidorm. Soren (Bruyère Joumard) is leader of the general classification so we will do everything to keep the jersey until the end. It will still be an individual race but if I can help him, I will. I would like to make a new Top 10 (he finished 10th in Besançon, Editor’s note) and why not play for the Top 5 or even a podium.
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