Stars in their eyes and on their chests, the French pursuers, in their brand new European champions' jerseys, illustrated the radiant day of the blue track racers on Friday in the Munich velodrome, leaving with four medals in the bag and all metals.
Thomas Boudat, Quentin Lafargue, Valentin Tabellion and Benjamin Thomas bent the Danes in the last 1,000 meters, pushed back more than a second.
But this continental title, the first in the discipline for the French team since Berlin in 2017, proves, in addition to the tricolor success in Germany, that his new role as first torchbearer suits sprinter Quentin Lafargue.
"
It's only happiness, relishes the 2019 world champion in the kilometer.
My job is to be the first part of the rocket.
Behind, I know they have the engine so as not to jam.
»
This title two months before the Worlds in France, in Saint-Quentin en Yvelines (October 12-16), validates his conversion to endurance.
Even if the Danes only had one of their Olympic vice-champions in Tokyo last year.
Like the Italians, who, without their star Filippo Ganna, did not even reach the final for bronze.
The first of a long list
Clara Copponi
Les Bleues, they missed the final for gold by nothing (47 thousandths of a second) before winning the match for the bronze medal.
Euphoric, Clara Copponi's band played the choristers to accompany the Marseillaise at the foot of the boys' podium.
“
It's a team under construction, we are all young
”, delivered the Provençale.
“
There will be the Worlds in Paris then the Olympics which are our biggest goals.
This medal is the first of a long list, I hope
,” added Clara Copponi.
Their joy of bronze contrasted with the disappointment of the sprinters, who brought home silver in team sprint.
Now launched by the young Timmy Gillion (20 years old), the Blues were able to measure the gap which still separated them from the Netherlands of Harrie Lavreysen: 877/1000th.
"
We are disappointed because we wanted to go faster
", regrets Sébastien Vigier.
“
We are not getting close enough to the Dutch at all.
The gap has grown compared to the last races.
But we had room to do much better
,” he said.
“
There were technical errors, relativizes Rayan Helal.
You have to take a little time with tweezers.
The starter stuck to the box.
»
Golden double for Benjamin Thomas
To conclude the evening, Benjamin Thomas, less than three weeks after the end of the Tour de France and after two pursuit stints during the day, offered himself a golden double with a continental title in the points race.
A discipline of which he is world champion but which is not an Olympic event as such.
“
The title that has the most flavor is the team pursuit title.
This is the thing we wanted
, ”insists the Cofidis rider.
“
It validates things, we take the experience, the group grows
, he appreciates
.
In Paris, we will be there to get on the podium, that would already be good.
The title, we think about it.
Nothing is yet qualifying for the Olympics so there may be room.
»
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