According to many athletes – all disciplines combined – competing in one’s own country always has a special flavor. The sensation is even increased tenfold when it takes place on the site which will host, a little less than two years later, the biggest sporting event in the world: the Olympic Games (OG). From October 12 to 16, the national velodrome of Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, about thirty kilometers south-west of Paris, hosts the world championships of track cycling, and the French will try to confirm the beautiful form shown, this summer, during the “Europe” in Munich, Germany.
In August, the Blues returned from Bavaria with fifteen medals, including six gold. Benjamin Thomas (points race), Sébastien Vigier (individual speed and keirin), Melvin Landerneau (kilometer), Donavan Grondin (omnium), as well as the team pursuit quartet, are aiming for the double world championship-championship of Europe. Among the women, Clara Copponi, Marion Borras or Mathilde Gros, who were content with continental silver, will try to climb one more step on the podium and wear the rainbow jersey. which rewards the winners of the Worlds.
Beyond the strictly sporting results, these five days of competition will be scrutinized by the Paris 2024 Organizing Committee. Observers from the Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games will be present all week in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines to observe the event from every angle: security, transport, reception of runners (420, from 50 different nations), spectators (5,000 per day) and the media (approximately 200 accredited), volunteer work (500) and sporting relevance of the site.
“We know the level of requirement of Paris 2024 and we have now sought to bring ourselves up to standard”explains Nicolas André, director of sports activities for the French Cycling Federation, Tuesday, October 11 in The Team. ” Track [du Vélodrome national] is very beautiful, very fast, it is one meter higher than most other tracks and its design is very specific with very long turns which allow you to have good times »estimated, in April, the French Florian Grengbo, during the tour of the sites of Paris 2024. Injured in the knee, the bronze medalist in Tokyo in team speed will be the only absentee of weight of a tricolor delegation represented in the twenty – two events of these world championships.
“It’s a very good test”
the international gratin of cyclists will also be there in the Parisian suburbs. Harrie Lavreysen, reigning Olympic champion in individual and team sprint, will be one of the spearheads of a highly anticipated Dutch delegation. German Emma Hinze, European champion and reigning double world champion in individual sprint, will have the opportunity to take revenge on Canadian Kelsey Mitchell, who deprived her of the Olympic crown in Japan. in the summer of 2021.
Another figure to follow, the Belgian Lotte Kopecky, often compared to her compatriot Wout van Aert for her versatility. Barely five days after his 2e place in the road race of the world cycling championships, in Wollongong, Australia, the Antwerp native went to Aigle (Switzerland), to the headquarters of the International Cycling Union, to resume her marks on the track. “The Games are already in my head”she summarized at a press conference on October 5. “Therefore, I cannot ignore the track. I will play the American with Shari Bossuyt. We are building the future. It is a very good test. »
If these 2022 Worlds will certainly look like a dress rehearsal for the next Olympic Games, their outcome will however have no impact on the qualifications for the deadline. The last two respective continental championships – Grenchen (Switzerland) in 2023and Apeldoorn (Netherlands) in 2024for Europe – the two best Nations Cup results in each of the 2023 and 2024 seasons – there are three per year –, as well as the 2023 world championship, in Glasgow (Scotland), will be taken into account.
A total of 190 cyclists – 95 men and 95 women, with the team speed increasing from two to three runners – will take part in the events of the Olympic Games from August 5 to 11, 2024. And, unlike road racing, no place is available. is ensured for the host country… Everything will be done with the pedal.