Sovereign in his kingdom. Norman Paul Lapeira became French cycling champion on Sunday June 23, by winning the road race held in Saint-Martin-de-Landelles, in Manche. At 24 years old, the rider from the Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale team showed himself to be the strongest on the 240-kilometer route, and is ahead of Julien Bernard, who moved up one place on the podium after his bronze medal in 2023, and Thomas Gachignard.
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Vincent Lavenu’s team completes perfect French championships – since Paul Lapeira’s coronation comes two days after Bruno Armirail’s title during the time trial –, like a successful first half of the season with now at twenty-six victories.
Sunday, Paul Lapeira laid the first stone of his success by leaving the peloton three laps from the end and entering the leading group in the company of Julien Bernard and Thomas Gachignard. Faster than his breakaway companions, he managed the end of the race perfectly to win with ease in the sprint.
“The race was perfect”
“I dreamed of it, I’m 5 kilometers from home, these are the roads I’ve been training on since I was little, the race was perfect”, declared the young Normand, very moved after his victory. The native of Fougères (Ille-et-Vilaine) continues the momentum of his excellent start to the season, which saw him explode at the highest level, with a first World Tour victory during the second stage of the Tour of the Basque Country , in April.
He also showed himself at ease in the spring in the Ardennes, taking fifth place in the Amstel Gold Race and taking part in the final battle during Liège-Bastogne-Liège (11e).
In front of his fan club and under the eyes of the national coach, Thomas Voeckler, Paul Lapeira took advantage of the demanding circuit covered thirteen times to position himself, a little over a month before the Olympic Games, and while the composition of the French team will be announced on July 8. Behind him, the double world champion, Julian Alaphilippe (2020, 2021), increased his attacks to come back, but his offensives were all annihilated by the impressive armada of the AG2R team.
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