Berteau, for the honor
Last year in Cassel, Victoire Berteau almost invited herself by surprise. Far from ticking all the boxes to hope to stand out on a rather difficult course, the Northerner from the Cofidis team had intelligently bided her time to finally surprise Marie Le Net and Jade Wiel on the edge and thus offer herself the first jersey tricolor of his young career. This year, even if the idea of doing it again is tempting, Berteau (23) is above all focused on the Olympic Games where she is selected for endurance on the track and for the road race.
Cordon-Ragot, to get everyone to agree
Audrey Cordon-Ragot (Human Powered Health) arrived in Normandy with a very specific idea: to win on all fronts and silence the critics. Since Thursday, the Breton has gone part of the way by becoming French chrono champion for the seventh time and by focusing on a controversy about her selection for the Paris Games which had no reason to be . In the process, and despite her 34 springs, the Morbihannaise seems determined to push the cursor further to grant herself a third national road title after those obtained in 2020 and 2022.
Muzic, to give regrets
Clearly, Évita Muzic experienced the recent announcement of the French women’s road selection as a betrayal. Because the member of the FDJ-Suez team openly dreamed of these Paris Games in order to give a little more depth to an already busy career. “The coach decided otherwise and I can only accept this decision with bitterness and regret”, she had said. Suffice it to say that on the Normandy route, the 25-year-old from Jura will be keen to prove that some were wrong not to have believed in her.
Labous, to gauge yourself
Without really fixating on it, Juliette Labous (25 years old) could nevertheless see herself on one of the steps of the podium of the French Championship. For this, the Franche-Comté resident is banking on her current form and on the fact that she put no pressure on herself when she arrived in Normandy, thinking above all of the Paris Olympic Games. Third in the Tour of the Basque Country, fourth in the Vuelta or even recent fifth in the Tour de Suisse, the rider from the dsm-firmenich team now has a serious pedigree to play on all terrains.
