Théophile Vassal is not unhappy. In the middle of a tough five-way battle for the title of French Junior Cyclo-cross Champion, he finally won the silver medal, only beaten by Florian Fery, while Soren Bruyère Joumard fell at the very end of the race. DirectVelo collected the reaction of the first of the beaten at a press conference.
DirectVelo: Are you satisfied with this silver medal?
Théophile Vassal: It's a podium at the French Championship, it's my second since I started cycling so it's always satisfying. I had great fun with all my friends from the French team, we found ourselves fighting together in the rounds of the Coupe de France and in the Championship, so it's great. Now, the “federal period” is over, we are all focused on the next rounds of the World Cup and on the World Cup where we will be, I hope, hand in hand, because it could be nice to find ourselves in front for play the title.
The level is very dense among the Juniors this year. Were you afraid of missing out on the podium despite your consistency in the Coupe de France?
We always have in the back of our minds that we might not have a great day and that we might miss out. It's a passion, a sport and a leisure activity that we practice, so we're not there to always be first and always better than the others, but as long as we have fun and feel good on the bike. , that's the main thing. There were five of us who could win, it was very strategic today, with a fairly physical, technical and fast circuit so we had to be very strong physically and technically. Today I was a little notch below my best form. It was still a very good race with everyone (see ranking).
“I TRIED TO REACT BUT IT WAS TOO LATE”
What was your strategy for this fierce fight?
Everything was possible, everyone has their qualities and faults. I had a small race strategy at the start which I didn't manage to put in place so that means that everyone was at a very high level. We all pulled ourselves up and it's the strongest who wins today… He (Florian Fery) was stronger, cleaner technically and that's what made the difference at the end of the race.
Once in the background behind the Florian Fery-Soren Bruyère Joumard pair, did you always continue to believe in a comeback?
We took a small break, I was a little in the gas at that moment and I couldn't react straight away, with Soan (Ruesche). The fall of Soen (Le Pan) widened the gap a little. I tried to react but it was too late, ahead they were pushing themselves too hard to get the title. Behind us we were a little lonely for third place. On the last lap, Soan had a puncture at the bottom of the circuit so I found myself a little alone. I knew the last part was going to my advantage quite a bit so I tried to go back. I didn't miss much at the end of the race.
France
