La Rochelle Triathlon launches this Saturday, May 4 in Fréjus (Var) in the Triathlon Series in D1 women, new name of the French club championship (750 meters of swimming in the sea, 20 km of cycling, and 5.2 km on foot to finish). French D2 champions last year with two in particular…
La Rochelle Triathlon launches this Saturday, May 4 in Fréjus (Var) in the Triathlon Series in D1 women, new name of the French club championship (750 meters of swimming in the sea, 20 km of cycling, and 5.2 km on foot to finish). French D2 champions last year with two notably two victories, the Bleues return to D1 while the men, penultimate in D1 last year and relegated, will dive into Metz in the Moselle, on June 9, for the opening of D2 of the Triathlon Series.
In recent years, the La Rochelle club has continued to move up between D1 and D2, both for men and women. A sign that it is difficult to stabilize in the elite by relying solely on training and a few recruits in what is considered the best triathlon championship in the world. The competition is in fact more and more international, with more and more nationalities represented in the different rounds.
La Rochelle counts in its ranks in Fréjus the young Manon Pommé, Juliette Houart, Juliette Delagarde, the experience of Audrey Angibaud and the Belgian Catherine Maes, a regular on the European circuit. “Hoping for a top 20 from Catherine Maes, a great performance from Manon Pommé which was unlocked in running, we can aim for between 10th and 12th place,” comments Lionel Roye, the sports director of La Rochelle Triathlon. This would be a great introduction. Three teams will go down at the end of the season, those ranked 14th to 16th place. We can get a little breath of fresh air by finishing as high as possible in Fréjus. »
Engineering students
While the Rochelais junior Léa Houart will be present in Caorle (Italy) in the European Cup, on May 11, with the Rochelais Achille Besson, her big sister Juliette but also Juliette Delagarde represent this 100% local training which asserts itself among the sure values of the club, intended to feed the first teams without going to recruit too much elsewhere in France or abroad. Among the 15 best in a French junior championship in recent years, the Rochelaises are at an always delicate moment in their sporting career, that of leaving the youth categories having to reconcile engineering studies (INSA Rennes) with training. very time and energy consuming triathlete.
Lionel Roye is well aware of the important role played by these two triathletes for the team ranking, behind the Belgian Maes and undoubtedly Manon Pommé. “The two Juliettes are in good shape, they achieved a national top 20 in the first round of D1 duathlon. Their objective is to approach the top 40.” This is undoubtedly what it will take for a final top 10 in Fréjus. Not all clubs have this desire to play the training card, it is that of the La Rochelle leaders who grant the plane to their triathletes, in order to spare them, who join Fréjus via Nice.
