France became European champion in the mixed relay time trial on Thursday in the Dutch province of Drenthe. This is the first title for the Blues in this recent event, which appeared in 2019 at the World and European Championships, which brings together three men, then relayed by three women in each team.
Audrey Cordon-Ragot, Cédrine Kerbaol, Juliette Labous, Bruno Armirail, Rémi Cavagna and Benjamin Thomas beat Italy by 4 seconds and Germany by 22 seconds to win gold in the rain, after having already won a medal silver at the Worlds in Glasgow in August.
“Want for revenge”
“We rode really well, it was tough but the guys had prepared the ground well for us, we had no right to miss out,” Audrey Cordon-Ragot told La channele L’Equipe. Rémi Cavagna returned the compliment: “It’s thanks to them that we are here. At the world championships we finished second by 7 seconds, we really wanted revenge. It’s great for the France team. »
Switzerland, the two-time reigning world champion, finished only sixth. She was without Stefan Kung who fell violently the day before during the individual time trial. The Groupama-FDJ rider suffers from an uncomplicated concussion as well as a fractured cheekbone and hand, his team said.