He’s there joker card of the France team of cycling. Benoît Cosnefroy is taking part in the road race for the world championships tonight in Wollongong, Australia. A surprise selection since the Manchois was only called up in mid-September, after his victory at the Grand Prix de Québec.
A victory at the Grand Prix de Québec that changed the game
The rider from Rauville-la-Bigot announced in June that he did not want to be at the start of the worlds. At that time, he still had no victory in his bag for the season and wanted to focus on this objective with his team AG2R Citroën Team. It was done on September 9, whenhe won the Grand Prix de Québec aloneahead of the best in the world (including the Belgian Wout Van Aert).
“The victory of Quebec, it’s true that it freed a lot of things”, explains Benoît Cosnefroy. After this feat, quite logically, the coach of the Blues, Thomas Voeckler came back to him. “He told me that I had a nice pedal stroke and that he was going to buy me a beer on Sunday evening, so he managed to change my mind”jokes the Manchois.
“Thomas knew that I was not closed to coming here. It’s really a pride to wear this shirt.” A tricolor jersey that Benoît Cosnefroy wears for the sixth time in his professional careerafter the 2020 and 2021 European Championships, the 2019 and 2021 World Championships and the Tokyo Olympics.
Cosnefroy, one of the contenders for the rainbow jersey
Tonight, he will be defending another jersey: the world champion’s rainbow jersey, for the moment still on the shoulders of Julian Alaphilippe (double winner in 2020 and 2021). “I really want to give it my all. Last year, I had a lot of fun in this rather rhythmic collective race”assures the Rauvillais.
Benoît Cosnefroy, currently 13th in the world and first in France in the UCI ranking, perfectly completes the French team, already composed of Romain Bardet, Christophe Laporte, Valentin Madouas, Quentin Pacher, Florian Sénéchal, Pavel Sivakov, Bruno Armirail and Julian Alaphilippe. With the uncertain form of the latter – who has not raced since his fall on the Tour of Spain – the Manchois could well be the trump card of this team.
Especially that the course is made for punchers : 266.9 km of race, 4,000 meters of elevation, with the ascent of Mount Pleasant which could dynamite the race with its 1.1 km at 7.7% average gradient. With his great form at the moment, Benoît Cosnefroy could even claim final victory. A pleasure he already tasted in 2017, when he became world champion hopes.
To watch the race, you will have to get up early this Sunday morning. The start is given at 02:15 French time for a expected arrival around 8:50 am.