“On pace”
Last year World Cup overall winner, Julie Bresset was 5th of this first round. In Men race, Maxime Marotte was 13th. This opening week-end also enabled the BH Suntour Peisey-Vallandry team to go up 3rd at world ranking. More details below :
Elite Women
Julie said it before : “South African world cup round comes to soon for me”. Being the first French rider to lift the cristal globe in 2011, she now focus on Olympics. The goal of this first race was to check her initial training phase, but she did much better, finishing 5th. She battled throughout the race among the best pilots : “I suffered, really. It started very fast, and I hung on. I was targetting a place between 8 and 10, so I’m pleased ! “
Laura Metzler was in a bad day : suffering from the heat, she couldn’t show her good current fitness level. She’s 35th, though. Lucie Chainel made her come-back in Mountain Bike, after a five year break, and a brillant winter in cyclo-cross (French National Champion). She proves that she learns quickly : taking 58th rank. She will certainly move up fast in next results and rankings.
Elite Men
Maxime Marotte is a demanding guy. 5th overall in last year’s World Cup, he didn’t appear very happy on the finish line of this first international round…but his 13th rank suggests some bike demonstrations in the next few days… : “I fell I couldn’t seem to recover this days. I managed two good laps, but then it was more difficult. I’m a bit disappointed” he commented at finish. Michel Hutsebaut explained : “He’s got the right pace, it’s a good beginning for us, season will be long”.
Women and Men U23
Two team riders took part in U23 Men and Women races. Ruben Scheire takes a good 7th place, while his objectives are scheduled a bit later : “I didn’t not expect to be as good as that! I planned to get into shape for Houffalize (14-15th of April), it’s a good surprise to find me already battling with the best.” In a stormy conditions women race, Lorraine Truong has been unlucky. Riding in the top 10, the Swiss U23 national champion had to leave the race after a bad crash. Her ankle was injured, but she will be back to races this next days.
Team ranking
Finishing 5th at the end of 2011 season, BH Suntour Peisey-Vallandry keeps moving up among the best international teams. We are currently 3rd, with 4607 points, not so far from Merida team (4716 pts), while we are widening the gap with Rabobank (4264 pts). But that’s just the beginning of the season, and the world team podium places will be hotly contested!
Julie Bresset, crédits Universal Bike Racing
Mots-clefs : BH, Mountain Bike, Pietermaritzburg, Suntour