Cycling. Marion Bunel had an exceptional first year in the professional peloton

Marion Bunel, born October 7, 2004 in Bernay (Eure), began her Cycling career at Bernayen bike club before joining the VC Lisieux.

French university time trial champion and French cyclo-cross champion, she was asked by the Saint-Michel-Mavic-Auber 93 team and signed his first professional contract with this team on 1^is January 2024, while she continued her studies in Sciences and techniques of physical and sporting activities (Staps) at the University of Caen.

In Australia and the United Arab Emirates

This is how from on January 8, 2024, she reached Australia where she competed with the best cyclists in the international peloton in the Tour Under; she did rather well, since Marion was going to finish 13^e in the general classification.

Marion Bunel then participated in Abu Dhabi (Capital of the United Arab Emirates) at the UAE Tour Emirates, a race won by world champion Lotte Kopecky. Marion Bunel ranked 5^e in this event, thus obtaining his first UCI (International Cycling Union) points.

Going from strength to strength, the young champion whose family base is located in Saint-Léger-de-Rôtes, near Bernay, would then continue her performances in the summer of 2024.

She finishes 17^e of the Tour de France, a competition she was competing in for the first time.

And in the process, Marion won the Tour de l’Avenir after winning two mountain stages.

In September, she finished second in the general classification of the Tour de l’Ardèchebehind Thalita de Jong.

Finally to crown this season, also in September (the 28th) Marion Bunel was selected for the French team and participated in the Elite World Championships held in Zurich.

Overall Marion Bunel is “very happy” with the past season. She expresses it in these terms:

I obtained results above my expectations from my first races. It was a very good thing for me to have started with Saint-Michel Mavic Auber 93. This allowed me to compete in big events like the Tour de France then the Tour de l’Avenir. I learned a lot during this season.

All of Marion’s results impressed the cycling world, the young champion not yet being 20 years old. So much so that to crown this first professional season, Marion Bunel signed a three-year contract with the Visma Lease team has bike, in which she will be able to rub shoulders with Marianne Vos (multiple world champion) and Pauline Ferrand Prévost, Olympic mountain bike champion this summer in Paris.

“I signed on October 10 with Visma Lease a bike. My contract starts on 1^is January 2025,” explained Marion Bunel to us at the end of December, passing through Saint-Léger-de-Rôtes after a ten-day internship in Spain.

This internship in Spain allowed us to ride in better weather. We were 14 girls plus staff members. I thus got to know the leaders. We get to know each other.

The latter is aware of reaching a new milestone this year. “My new team has more resources. There are several coaches just for women,” she says.

The racing calendar should be communicated to him in January. Marion is expected to compete in her first race in February. What her role will be within the team, she doesn’t know.

“My first ambition is to continue to progress”she concludes wisely.

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