Before Paris-Roubaix, the French women grabbed places of honor in the Flanders classics, with a sixth place for Juliette Labous (Team DSM) during the Tour of Flanders, and an eighth place for Clara Copponi (FDJ-Suez) in Ghent. -Wevelgem.
During the first two editions of Paris-Roubaix women, the best place obtained by a Frenchwoman is eighth position, for Audrey Cordon-Ragot, in 2021. On Saturday April 8, the French runners will try to do better, even if until then, all the classics of the season have been dominated by the Dutch, the Italians and the Belgians. The French, who are not very present in the World Tour teams, the first level in the world, or who often have a role of teammates, must for the moment be content with a presence in the top 15.
On the first two women’s editions of the Hell of the North, no Frenchwoman was part of the first five on arrival at the Roubaix velodrome. And on the Flandrian classics, this season, the French representatives did not manage to join the fight for victory, until in the last kilometers. “I wouldn’t say the French lag behind, but the Dutch, Belgians and Italians are above the rest.” advances Marion Hérault-Garnier, cycling consultant for France Télévisions.
“The Dutch and the Belgians run on cobblestones as soon as they are small. We, outside the North, we don’t have cobblestones, and we have mountainous massifs, so we favor light buildsadds Stephen Delcourt, manager of the French team FDJ-Suez. The Italians have a much higher density of young girls, with structured clubs from the lower categories, and help for parents. At home, the federation is trying things, but I think it will take another ten years to catch up.” In the nations ranking this season, France is in sixth place.
A generation not yet mature
With the recent recruitment of Audrey Cordon-Ragot by the Human Powered Health team, only thirteen French women are now playing in the ranks of the World Tour teams, the elite of world cycling, including eight within the FDJ-Suez, the only formation blue-white-red at this level. But apart from Juliette Labous, who is one of the leaders of Team DSM, and potentially Audrey Cordon-Ragot, whose role remains to be defined with her new team, the vast majority of French women have a role of teammate, which does not does not allow you to fight for victory in the final races. In addition, none evolves in the SD Worx nor in the Trek-Segafredo, the two dominant teams on the circuit.
“It’s no longer Paris-Roubaix women with Zwift, it’s Paris-Roubaix with Trek-Segafredo, jokes Marion Hérault-Garnier. They put two girls on the podium each time during the first editions. And this season, SD Worx has achieved doubles, like on the Strade Bianche and on the Tour of Flanders”. The winners of these prestigious races, Demi Vollering and Lotte Kopecky, are 26 and 27 years old respectively, a higher age of maturity in women’s cycling than for their male counterparts. And in French women’s cycling, which developed later, the new generation still lacks experience. “For the moment, there is not the generation to win, but I am convinced that a Clara Copponi (24 years old), if she continues to progress, will be able to play for victory in a few years”comments Stephen Delcourt.
Unequal means
If the French are not necessarily the leaders of their teams at the World Tour level, others have the opportunity to have this role in the formations in Continental, the lower level, which will be represented by nine teams on Paris-Roubaix women . At 22, the northerner Victoire Berteau, 14th recently in Through Flanders, is one of these leaders, within the Cofidis team. “VSa puts a little pressure, because the result rests on me. On the Tour of Flanders, I had the whole team behind me, and it’s not something that I necessarily tolerated well. You have to go through it to learn, and it can take a little time.” she assures.
And if the Cofidis is one of the few teams at Continental level whose riders can make a living from cycling, this is not the case in all the teams. “In ‘Conti’, they receive at least expenses, sometimes salaries, but living from there is complicated. Compared to the possibility of training, when you have to work part-time on the side, or rely on mom and dad, you can’t compete, you’re not on equal terms,” explains Marion Hérault-Garnier. The French riders, more numerous at this level of cycling, therefore do not benefit from the same training conditions as some of their rivals in the peloton.
“For example, the Jumbo-Visma puts the same means for women as for men: they will do training camps together, wind tunnel tests to improve aerodynamics… What ‘Conti’ teams cannot allow yourself, since some do not even have the means to do several reconnaissances, whereas races on the cobblestones are precisely those for which you have to know where to put your wheel”, continues the consultant France Télévisions. With or without recognition in the wheels, 26 French women will take the start of the 3rd women’s edition of the Hell of the North on Saturday.