It wasn’t the rain or the cold that stopped them. 4000 spectators were present to attend the 8th round of the Cyclo-cross World Cup at La Malcombe in Besançon. The Bisontine Cyclist Association which organized the event counted on 4,000 spectators and said “very happy“. 200 volunteers were present to supervise the competition. It was the first time that the Amicale organized an event of international scope.
Many spectators
“The spectators were not cooled by the weather”, welcomed Pascal Orlandi, president of the Amicale cycliste bisontine. “A _great atmosphere_, even the Belgians told us “, he laughs.
The spectators would not have missed the event for the world, like Laurent. “They are the world’s elite, the best of the best!“ Mathis, 16, and his friends arrived at 9 a.m. so as not to miss a beat. “We are cyclo-cross fans. And then to see an event like that in the land of cycling, it’s nice.”
Spectacular races
The ground, soaked and muddy, gave a hard time to the 200 cyclists present. 3km route, very slippery, saw some falls like that of Belgian Toon Aerts.
Conditions which did not really create any surprises. The Dutch Lucinda Brand wins logically among the women ahead of the Canadian Maghalie Rochette and her compatriot Denise Betsema.Brand signs her 8th success of the season, her 3rd in the World Cup, where she consolidates her first place overall.
Among men, it was the Belgians who won. Eli Iserbyt beats Toon Aerts, the Dutchman Lars Van Der Haar climbed to the third step of the podium.