Forget the image of Don Camillo in a cassock on his bicycle. Apart from the cross around the neck, nothing could betray the profile of the participants under their suits and helmets. And yet this Monday, May 2, the time trial between Rochemaure and Cruas was indeed carried out by men and women of the Church. It’s the return of the French clergy cycling championship and it’s in Ardèche this year.
After two years of absence for health reasons, the priests, nuns or deacons – from the four corners of France – meet for two days on the Ardèche roads. They started with the 12.7 kilometer time trial along the Rhône. A stage on the flat which was not easy as testified by Mgr Rivière, Bishop of Autun: “It was splendid but there was a headwind all along”.
Enough to make his counterpart from the Ardèche, Mgr Balsa, smile kindly, embarked on a motorcycle for the event. “The small hill at the end was difficult, we had to pass the second”, he carries. The atmosphere is good-natured even if some are aiming for the ranking. This is the case of Matthieu, a deacon near Angers: “I have prepared well. I do 22 kilometers a day: eleven in the morning to take the train and eleven in the evening on the way back”.
On arrival, in front of the town hall of Cruas, locals, like Carmen, discover this race with great amusement: “It almost felt like a joke. We never imagined that priests could ride bikes and a championship, but in fact, they can!”
At the end of the time trial, the priest Mario Naccarato finished 1st among the men and Sister Valentine Delafon, 1st among the women. The second and last stage this Tuesday is a 54 km road race from Saint-Remèze. Participants will make a loop through Gras.