The Blues won their first medal, the team speed silver. The pursuers now challenge Italy in the final.
The French pursuers, condemned to live the Olympic game in Tokyo in front of their TV because of non-qualification, challenge Italy this evening for the rainbow jersey of the specialty. The last podium of the Blues dates back to the 2003 World Cup in Stuttgart, but Benjamin Thomas and his partners have already done better. Fabien Merciris, Jérôme Neuville, Fabien Sanchez and Frank Perque were content with gold in Germany, their heirs dream of gold and, at worst, they will get silver. With the Tarnais, Valentin Tabellion, Thomas Denis and Thomas Boudat, already credited with the second fastest time in qualifying behind Italy, completed the 4 kilometers from a standing start in 3’47”816, at an average of 63.209 km / h.
Italians love the North
Dismissing the Danes, finalists of the last Olympic tournament, they improved by nearly two seconds their record dating from the 2020 Worlds in Berlin on a track yet deemed faster (3’49 ” 558).
Tonight, the march is even higher since it is a question of beating the gold medalists of Japan led by a Filippo Ganna in great shape (3’46”760, 1”05 less than the Tricolores) .
Olympic champion in 1996 with Capelle, Ermenault (father), Monin and Moreau, the French have never obtained the world title. Italy landed in the North as motivated as Colbrelli and Moscon a few days ago on the cobblestones. In the scratch, Martina Fidanza (21) the daughter of Giovanni, winner of a stage of the Tour de France at L’Isle d’Abeau in 1989, attacked six laps from the finish of the scratch to cross the line far ahead of the Dutch Maike van der Duin. The team speed allowed the French to open their counter.
Valentine on track
Beaten by the only Dutch (Roy van den Berg, Harrie Lavreysen and Jeffrey Hoogland) for 57 hundredths, Florian Grengbo, Sébastien Vigier and Rayan Helal are satisfied with the silver at the end of the three laps, the bronze going to Germany who has dominated Russia for third place.
Benjamin Thomas will not be the only Occitan on the track for the second day, the Toulousaine Valentine Fortin, 22, European champion of the elimination a few days ago in Switzerland will try the double in Roubaix.
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