It’s not possible, French BMX is cursed at the Olympic Games



From our special correspondent in Tokyo,

Always faster, higher, stronger… in frustration. The Olympics pass and French BMX comes out of it more and more damaged. Three finalists this morning for the men after half-stages where we saw only them in the lead, one for the women, and not a medal at the end. With the climax of this disillusion the fall of Joris Daudet in the last corner, while he was quietly holding third place.

The best French rider in history seems cursed at the Olympics. Multiple champion of France, twice European and world champion, three-time winner of the only professional circuit on the planet, played in the United States, he again failed to win a medal. Out on crashes in the semifinals in London and in the quarterfinals in Rio, this time he slipped alone like a grown-up, where no one else had slipped yet, in the very last corner of the layout. The bronze stretched out its arms to him 50 meters away.

“I knew I was third, we always look ahead to try to catch up with the others, but I didn’t necessarily take any risks. I can’t say exactly what happened, I would have to see the race again, ”he debriefed a few minutes later with a calm enough bluffing for someone who had probably just experienced one of the moments. the hardest of his career. “It’s obviously a big disappointment, but it’s BMX, it’s racing, he continues, fatalistic. Of course a medal would have been nice, but that’s how it is. That’s not what made my record, I’m happy with what I’ve done in my career. “

Sure, but still. Doesn’t he feel like he’s being chased by someone or something that doesn’t want him to stand on a podium at the Games at all? In his place, we would have already circled the earth three times in search of a voodoo doll or something like that. “Cursed, yes and no,” he replies. It’s complicated, it’s a one-day race, and we see that the podium is never what we think it is. There are always boys who manage to make days out of nowhere. You have to know how to do with it. “

A little later, the national technical director, Christophe Manin, comes to us. After the big slap of the women’s mountain bike, he has trouble recovering from this new zero point.

I don’t believe in the curse, but … (he searches for his words). Joris, it’s a difficult story with the Olympics, I am very sad for him. We are the only nation to put three riders in the final, it really represents the performance of French BMX, which is there all the time, we have very good results in the World Cup and in major championships, but it still does not want smile at the Games. “

Of course, BMX is a discipline with a part of randomness, where a world champion can go out at any time because of a small error, a collision or a rider taking him on board. fall. It is the law of the environment. In this final, no excuses. The three Frenchmen simply did not manage to get the race they needed.

“The little spark is missing”

Untouchable during the three runs in the semi-finals, Romain Mahieu (6th) was never able to recover from a chaotic first straight. “It’s BMX, we don’t each have a lane, like in athletics, where everyone does their thing,” he recalls. There were three of us, which makes for a great chance for a medal, but it’s still super random, there are things that we cannot control. “

“It’s part of our sport, that’s what makes it exciting,” adds Sylvain André, finally fourth after also falling behind on the first two bumps. It will still be necessary to go into a little more detail to try to understand where it goes wrong each time. “We arrive well prepared, however. The little surplus, the little spark, is missing, ”notes the DTN.

All-in on the track to recover

The debriefing with the athletes and coaches will undoubtedly provide some explanations. It’s not just bad luck that explains why things never turn out for the Blues. “We are not going to judge with the punch, on the sadness and the disappointment”, indicates Christophe Manin, that one feels a little defeated.

“Yes, yes, he admits. I am the guarantor of the performance of the France team. I am proud of the work accomplished, but I am not satisfied with my work in terms of the results obtained. We missed a good chance, but it is important to keep the faith to reverse the trend. After the road, mountain biking and BMX, all the hopes of French cycling now rest on the track.





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