Like last year (read here), Fabien Doubey won the Burgundy-Franche-Comté Cyclo-cross Championship this Sunday (see ranking). “These are the first jerseys that we can have among young people, it always does a little something. It’s something that we respect and which gives motivation to young people. It's always nice to see people's smiles, to give them a smile with a professional jersey on their shoulders. It’s good to get back to basics, to give volunteers back what they need to keep them organizing. If having a pro status, in quotes, at the start can encourage them to perpetuate the races, that is also my desire. I'm not coming to play the role at the regional level. I have a lot of respect for the runners who also work alongside. The goal is to share around cyclo-cross and uplift everyone.”confided to the microphone of DirectVelo the resident of TotalEnergies.
The 31-year-old Franc-Comtois had a hard time when he left. “The young people are pressing hard, it’s good, we have to pull out and that’s also the goal. I may have a little more experience, so I'm not panicking. It allows me to manage my race afterwards.”. Then, he quickly took command of operations and only Valentin Remondet was able to follow him during the first two of the seven laps. Unlike the Dijon cyclo-cross two weeks ago (read here), he was able to get rid of it before the end. “I set a pace that I had to maintain for an hour. When I saw that Valentin had dropped two or three meters, I added a little bit, but I didn't accelerate any more than that in the sense that it's not forgiving if you put yourself in the red, you don’t recover from a quagmire like that.”
“I WILL MAKE MY DECISION THAT EVENING”
At the end of December, Fabien Doubey participated in the World Cup in Besançon where he finished 23rd. “I wasn't necessarily having a good day, I was a little disappointed. Putting things into perspective, I tell myself that I didn't finish far from the Top 20 by starting far. But I wasn't necessarily looking at the result, I'm in the preparation phase, I'm not here to compare myself to others. I focused more on my sensations and my riding. Technically, I was bad and physically, I wasn't there. It's the game of wanting to prepare everything quickly. I am not a pure talent like Van der Poel or van Aert who can afford to do less intensity and specificity in cross country.. Hesitating two weeks ago between going to Auxerre or the World Cup in Dendermonde this Sunday, he finally decided to go to the Icaunais locality. “We are constantly traveling during the road season. If I start adding more in the winter, it's complicated. Traveling is tiring“.
The triple medalist at the French Elite Championship is nevertheless optimistic before the national meeting, in a few days, in Pontchâteau. “It’s winter, there are always ups and downs. The goal is to try to have good feelings on the day of the French Championship. It's starting to come back nicely so that's nice. I had another good week of work. We must not forget that it is really to prepare for the start of the road season. The rest is a bonus.”. His result there will determine whether he continues his winter in the plowed fields. “I will make my decision that same evening.”.