Mud, cold, rain, gray skies, these are the ideal conditions for a cross-country. Nothing to do, except the weather, with track or road races. As the European Cross Championships approached in Dublin (Ireland) this Sunday, all the athletes of the France team did not prepare in the same way. When Jimmy Gressier checked the competition on his calendar to “stay motivated” after the Tokyo Olympics, Hugo Hay “made the choice” to favor the indoor season with the World Indoor Athletics Championships in Belgrade (Serbia, from March 11 to 13) in the sights.
All these cross-country skiers know it, the cross stage is almost compulsory every winter. “I’m not a big fan of cross country but it serves me a lot for the rest of the season,” reveals Aurore Fleury, 1,500m specialist and lined up for the mixed relay this Sunday. “It’s very compatible with my preparation because we do a lot of land. It is the necessary passage of winter to motivate us and make us wait before the indoor season. “
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It allows me to tap into my resources
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For Gressier, triple European champion hopes, it is the discipline which allowed him to make his fame. “It’s a big part of my preparation, it’s where I feel the strongest, where I really run on instinct. It was my title in 2017 in Samorin (Slovakia) that allowed me to launch my career, ”explains the Boulonnais.
All the athletes agree that cross country is beneficial, especially for working the mental part, as the conditions are often difficult. “Cross country allows you to always learn, to fight and to make the right decision at the right time”, assures Hugo Hay, vice-champion of Europe hopefuls in 2017. A statement that resonates with Lorraine Aurore Fleury: ” the cross helps to work what is less spontaneous and my mind by my resistance to pain. It allows me to draw on my resources ”. An aspect that also speaks to Alexis Miellet. “With the surpassing of oneself, it forges the mind” assures the Dijonnais.
The course is decisive to perform
As for the terrain, it is very different. While the athletes devour the kilometers in summer around a flat 400m track or on the road, the course is decisive in cross country. In Tillburg (Netherlands), the riders competed on a rolling ground, leaving room for more strategy, while in Lisbon, for the last edition of the cross-country Europe before the arrival of the Covid-19, the climbers had a card to play. “We’re going to start on six 1,500m loops, explains Jimmy Gressier, that’s what I particularly like because we can control the distance and have benchmarks”.
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Jimmy Gressier finds Jakob Ingebrigtsen in the Seniors
On Sunday, Jimmy Gressier, triple European cross-country hopeful champion, will line up for the first time in the senior race. He will meet the young Norwegian prodigy Jakob Ingebrigtsen, 21, who also made the choice to run in the Seniors.
“He’s one of the greatest runners in the world. I have a lot of desire and a huge opportunity to race against him in my current form. I firmly believe in it. If I beat Jakob it’s the apotheosis, but he’s not the only one to beat, ”said the athlete from Boulogne-sur-mer about his rival.
Jimmy Gressier and his teammates will also be expected to try to win the team title after having distinguished themselves in the youth categories.
Sunday December 12 at 1:13 p.m., Senior men
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It is thanks to these indications that the athletes can indeed establish their race plan. “On the track, we have benchmarks every 100m if we want. There, the marking of the course is very important to know where the 500m and the 1000m are located and to be able to accelerate at the right time ”, explains Alexis Miellet, semi-finalist in the 1500m at the 2019 Worlds in Doha.
This is confirmed by Aurore Fleury, at her side on the mixed relay. “You have to take all the elements into account. It’s a constant adaptability that’s why we will have to recognize the course to anticipate as much as possible, analyzes the one who became the 6th French performer over 1,500 m this summer, these are always different sensations. I have trouble finding my support and my pace while on the track I know where I am ”.
One thing is certain, cross country is a “man to man fight” as Jimmy Gressier declares, and Sunday the fight promises to be lively.
Sunday December 12 from 10 a.m., to follow on the website of the European athletics
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