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France heads to the World Championships in Zurich with four strong riders; Alaphilippe selected as main contender
CyclingFriday, 20 September 2024 at 13:42
Most of the teams for the World Cycling Championships, which start on Saturday in Zurich, had already been announced, but one was still missing: the selection from L'Équipe de France. On Friday, via a statement on their website, it was revealed that the French team will bring four strong contenders to Switzerland.
“Tadej Pogacar is unbeatable on an individual level,” the statement read. Therefore, the French team acknowledges that they will rely on a collective effort. “We will need to count on the cohesion between the riders, who know each other well, and the strategic brilliance of our coach.” That coach, Thomas Voeckler, echoed a similar sentiment: “Beating Pogacar will be very difficult, but on this circuit, it's less challenging than in a grand tour. It's still possible—it's a bike race, after all,” he said confidently.
To attempt to beat the Slovenian, the French team says they have four key riders. The first of these is Julian Alaphilippe. The Soudal-Quick Step rider recently showed strong form with a third-place finish at the GP Montréal and was the world champion just three years ago (for the second time in a row). “I’m not questioning whether Julian is better or worse than he was in 2021. What’s certain is that the competition has evolved,” Voeckler said, acknowledging the tough opposition.
Read more below the tweet!
Madouas and Gaudu as backup, rest of the team also looking strong
The second key rider is Romain Bardet. The climber from dsm-firmenich PostNL has already had an impressive season, with a stage win (and wearing the yellow jersey!) in the Tour de France, as well as a second-place finish in Liège-Bastogne-Liège. Bardet is set to retire from cycling in 2025, but according to the national coach, that wasn’t a factor in his selection. “I didn’t pick him because it’s his last year, but because I know I can count on him.”
Additionally, the French team boasts two more leaders in this lineup—Groupama-FDJ stars Valentin Madouas and David Gaudu. Madouas was chosen for his “unmatched resilience and strength in circuit racing,” while Gaudu is valued for his “perfect skillset for this course.” Gaudu showed strong form in this year’s Vuelta, where he narrowly missed the top five on the final day, finishing sixth overall.
Voeckler rounds out the French squad with Pavel Sivakov (UAE Team Emirates), Julien Bernard (Lidl-Trek), and two more Groupama-FDJ riders, Romain Grégoire and Rudy Molard. Sivakov, the Franco-Russian, has also proven himself to be a solid contender in stage races this year, finishing ninth overall in the Vuelta as the highest-placed rider from UAE Team Emirates.
Selection France 2024 Cycling World Championships
Julian Alaphilippe
Romain Bardet
Julie Bernard
David Gaudu
Romain Grégoire
Valentin Madouas
Rudy Molard
Pavel Sivakov
Il Lombardia 2024
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Latest Comments
- Van Aert is really handsome. He can influence me all day! Ditto for Philipsen. Why do you think many of us love cycling?: to see heroic attempts at climbing mountains at high altitudes or to watch speedsters sprint for the finish line or to watch a human being ride at break neck speed down a tricky descent? No, it's all about their lean physiques and muscular legs. (apologies for objectifying these dedicated and amazing athletes).BarwonHeadsUp25-10-2024
- It is unfortunate that the author can't feel the joy that Pogacar brings to the sport and his fans who are legion and I for one feel lucky to have watched such a memorable performance and historic season From the Strada until yesterday with multiple wins in stages in both tours and beyond dominance in the World's. He is proud to wear the Rainbow stripes, shows his leadership to protect his fellows and is as courteous and sportsman-like as the sport allows. He goes early to not have to respond to each attack as all the rest would make him do it. Any racer who could would do the same. Don't "grow tired" of greatness as it is always fleeting.ccrider13-10-2024
- What load of rubbish. Pog is likely a once in a generation cyclist, the like of which hasn't been seen since 'the Cannibal '. How many people were complaining that Merckx was making racing predictable? I remember this year's World RR as one of the most exciting I've watched. Mainly BECAUSE Pog was the favourite and launched what everyone thought (Pog included) was a suicidal attack with 80km to go. For the next 2 hours, I was on the edge of my seat thinking "this is too much, even for Pog". Maybe Zonnefeld prefers the snooze-fest that is a bunch sprint? Like most people I know, I can't watch two hours of the bunch riding very fast... I wait for the final 5km and watch just the sprint. In any event, most races are won from a sprint or lone break. What difference does it make who makes the lone break? Ultimately, the other contenders will have to figure out a way to beat Pog. Even if that means collaboration between teams. It's going to be an exciting few seasons, until the next Pog arrives on the scene. If this is boring, heaven knows what exciting looks like!Michael513-10-2024
- This is not a gravel race. UCI fail, from the surface they are on to team tactics. In what country was the first "gravel race" in what country is the most popular gravel race? Go with the race model that created the discipline.
Barnes127411-10-2024 - And don't forget he has now won 4 of the big 10 races (Grand tours, Monuments and WC/OG) in one year with a chance to make that 5. (5 has only been done once before)Joostmehrtens05-10-2024