Among these, on the women’s side, in Belgium, there is Marion Norbert Riberolle who, in Dendermonde, by crossing the finish line in eighth position three minutes after the winner Lucinda Brand, showed a dissatisfied face. Victim of several punctures, she was unable to achieve the race she hoped for! Which did not prevent her from finishing first Belgian – as has often happened since the start of the season! – by four seconds ahead of Sanne Cant, wearing the Belgian champion jersey.
Without Queen Sanne Cant, the path to the title is… royal
A tunic that Marion Norbert-Riberolle has aspired to wear since her naturalization was made official in February 2021. French by origin, the 26-year-old Mouscronnoise will be in her fourth Belgian national championship which she will approach with a particular status, that of favorite. At least, that’s the sign the competition sticks to his back!
A somewhat special competition this year because it has been cut from what we thought would be eternal, as its national domination has more than lasted! At 34, Sanne Cant signed her farewell tour, but gave up a sixteenth consecutive title, not wanting to take the risk of being a winner again, which would make the tricolor jersey invisible for almost a year. Are the coronation doors wide open for her teammate? Everyone likes to say it among observers who rely on the consistency of Marion Norbert-Riberolle who is in tenth place in the general ranking of the World Cup, the second Belgian being only 17th. A Verdonschot which also points behind the Hurlue in the general Superprestige.
The current form gives preference to Marion Norbert-Riberolle who, in her track record, has two second places and a third in the national championship! The worst result, she obtained last year, in Meulebeke where she was beaten by Sanne Cant and Laura Verdonschot, then in better shape than this season marked by a health problem which forced her to have surgery in the coming weeks. The young Fleur Moors could have constituted a real threat for the Mouscronnoise but the former European junior road champion announced that, following a virus caught during a training course in Italy, she will not be there.
“I’m going to go into my bubble and stay away.”
Beyond Verdonschot, it is Julie Brouwers and Alicia Franck that Marion Norbert Riberolle will have to watch out for on the Heusden-Zolder circuit this Saturday afternoon. A duo who would like to put the pawn behind the favorite of the day who, after being crowned champion of France in 2020, aspires to win a second national title, Belgian this one!
Victorious twice this season, in Essen then in Loenhout, she has sometimes revised her departure schedule in order to arrive in the best possible conditions this weekend. On the evening of her Top 10 in Dendermonde, she was focused on her big goal: “Heading for the Belgian championships! I will enter my bubble and stay away from social networks and requests for the days to come. Thank you for understanding me…” If the final result is there, we will happily forgive him for this silence…
