She would certainly not have bet on her own victory in the heart of the penultimate lap of the circuit and yet, Amalia Debarges did indeed raise her arms at the finish line of the Classique Val de Morteau, in the Coupe de France N1 (see ranking). “I wasn’t feeling too good at the start of the race, I even completely blew up in the third GPM. It wasn’t easy in the head at that moment. I told myself that it was over for me, tells the winner to DirectVeloat the foot of the protocol podium. But I just got a heat stroke, which eventually passed by opening the jersey and taking the time to drink and spray myself.”she jokes afterwards. “The circuit has changed, it suited me even more than the old one”.
Once abandoned, the J2 was able to count on the support of a teammate to bring it back to the back of the peloton. “I also paid for my first efforts, that happens to me often. But obviously, I recovered well after that”smiles the one who made the connection to the bell. “Initially, we had a strategy in mind but we couldn’t put it into practice because there were stronger teams than us. Plus, there were only five of us, one of whom was really not doing well. Fortunately, some teammates controlled the race well to come back to the breakaway at the end.”.
PHYSICALLY REDUCED
And so it was in a sprint, as in the N2 event a few hours earlier, that the fate of the race was decided. “I’m not too confident in the sprints because of my various falls, so I placed myself in front, even if it meant being too far in front. There was a fall at 700 meters. I went right in front at the last turn. As soon as I saw a girl throwing, I went for it. There was no need to hesitate”. On the line, the member of Team Buffaz narrowly held off Justine Gegu. “It was close until the end, the line should not have been any further away.” Despite this second bout of heat, Amalia Debarges can savor her first success of the year.
“Often close to winning” since the start of the season, she has finally been rewarded for her consistency. “I came 3rd in Ghent-Wevelgem, 4th in Binda… I’m really happy to finally get this victory. Plus, it brings the team some nice points.”rejoices the bronze medalist of the last French Junior Road Championship. “It wasn’t a win because I’ve been suffering from a rib since a fall. I was already in pain at the French Championship… But I’m trying to get past it”. With success.
