French cycling is doing well. Sunday September 24, the Blues shone on all fronts. While Christophe Laporte won the title of European road racing champion in Assen (Netherlands), mountain bikers Victor Koretzky and Loana Lecomte raised their arms on the future Olympic mountain bike course, in Elancourt (Yvelines). ).
After sailing in Marseille and the triathlon in the Seine, mountain biking in turn organized a test event in the Yvelines, a sort of big dress rehearsal before Paris 2024. If the latter sometimes took on the appearance of a crash test due to missed turns, punctures or faltering strategy, the Blues did not tremble. Ten months before the Olympic hostilities, scheduled for July 28 and 29, 2024, the French achieved a prestigious double in the men’s and women’s events. The opportunity to experience a course with a unique profile.
“The circuit is very physical and it becomes more technical with speed, we are in demand all the time. It’s real mountain biking! », confided Loana Lecomte after her victory, above the chants of the 3,000 supporters present at the test event. To understand the enthusiasm of the Olympic vice-champion, we still have to look at the characteristics of the course.
Notebook and excavator
At first glance, nothing particularly distinguishes Elancourt from another mountain bike site: the wooded areas alternate with open spaces and the technical descents give way to imposing wooden modules. However, less than a week ago, the 52-hectare mound was still the playground for backhoe loaders and backhoes.
“The hill is a former public dump, which became a car scrapyard, then left abandoned. A year ago, it was 90% covered in dense brush”remembers Yohann Vachette, deputy director of Bike Solutions, the company responsible for designing the track.
Member of the French mountain bike team between 1996 and 2005, the latter witnessed the developments of his discipline before embarking on the design: “In my time, there was very little development, barely one or two digs on a path. Today, we have a track built from scratch where we made riprap, jumps, banked turns, to make it spectacular, with an Olympic level of technicality! »
As a result of work, the highest point of Ile-de-France (231 m) has changed its face: several areas have been decontaminated, natural spaces have been protected and a 4.35 km mountain bike trail has been created. traced. Cost of the operation: 12 million euros.
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