Objective of this trip: take first marks on UCI races, in training conditions and get first results at this level. And the least we can say is that the trip was successful: very good work, then 5 top 10 in two days.
On Saturday, for the GP Velo Alanya, the last 25 kilometers offered a very demanding climb in three stages and borrowing severe ramps on an often gravelly surface. On this first day, the instructions being to approach the foot of the climb in the best conditions, our runners did a very good job. The selection taking place naturally during the long ascent, Simone Boilard and Coralie Demay come to seek the 5th and 7th place in the first group. Barbara Fonseca follows in 10th place to collect this first triple 10 on this back-to-school race.
The next day, a completely different profile with very little elevation and a finish favorable to a sprint. In these conditions the team did everything possible to allow a grouped finish: to slip into the few breakaways, and set a high pace in the final to keep a grouped peloton. The team once again made a strong impression, with the 7 riders lined up for this sprint finish. If the victory eludes Elodie Le Bail – who ranks in 4th place – this final will have made it possible to take some benchmarks and test the automatisms worked on in training. The top 10 is completed by the 10th place of Barbara Fonseca and the positive day with these two new places of honor.
Photos Yucel Cakiroglu