Didier Rous: "our riders need to share the same desire to succeed"

NewsJun 18, 2024

Women TeamChampionnat de France

The 3 structures of the ARKEA-B&B HOTELS team (World Tour, Continental Development and Women) will be entered this Thursday in the French Road Championships which take place in the English Channel.

Thibault Guernalec

“I went to reconnoiter the time trial course last Thursday. It's not necessarily very technical. The profile is flat in its first part, then hilly at the end. We will have good, very “Norman” stretches on which pure riders will be at their advantage. This will above all be a psychological war, we can never really relax the effort. This year, we will have our young people from the Development team with us. It's a plus. Pierre Thierry and Baptiste Gillet are good time trial specialists and it is useful to have this density within the ARKEA-B&B HOTELS team. The fact that there are several of us allows us to have relevant intermediate times between us to situate ourselves throughout the effort.”

Anthony Delaplace

“These will be my first French championships in Normandy, and moreover in my department, Manche. I am happy to experience this in my career, on a circuit that I love, that of the Polynormande, and on which I have shone in the past. For these championships, the organizers added a hill. This will be very tiring, you will have to constantly be placed and not be late. It’s a race that’s always open and we will have several cards in the team to hope to conquer the tricolor jersey.”

Kévin Vauquelin

“I am approaching these French championships with ambition, starting with the time trial on Thursday. This is one of my goals for the season. It's an exercise that I've been working on for several years, I feel like I was able to turn a corner this season with some great performances. This allowed me to rediscover myself in this field. In the online race, we will have the advantage of having a large collective at the start, also with the support of our Development team. Be careful though, we won't be the only ones in this situation. and we will not be the favorites. Like any race, we will have to run intelligently, with our strength. It’s a special challenge where sometimes we can lack guidance because less information reaches us. It’s a format that I appreciate, and there will be this additional motivation by playing on my Normandy lands.”

Océane Mahé

“It was a desire on my part, after my title among the Espoirs, to line up at the start of this Elites time trial. It is relevant to gain experience with this exercise. We don't have many during the season, especially ones this long. For the online race, I did the reconnaissance a month ago. The route remains very tiring. We will be a homogeneous ARKEA-B&B HOTELS team at the start, we can do great things.”

Amandine Fouquenet

“The course of the road race of the French Championships suits me well. The route is a little different from the one on which I won in 2022 for the Espoirs. It’s definitely a race that I’ve been ticking off since the start of the season. We have a good ARKEA-B&B HOTELS collective, hoping that everything goes in the right direction: our goal is to win this tricolor jersey, even if the task will not be easy.”

Didier Rous

Sports Manager

Men's Events “We will have 2 main cards for the time trial with Thibault Guernalec and Kévin Vauquelin. The results in the past and in previous times have shown that they can be in the match. Our goal is of course to aim for the title. Even if the task will not be easy in the face of great competition. The fact remains that if it comes down to an individual effort, a good result in the time trial can set in motion a positive dynamic for the rest of the weekend. In the online race, I'm waiting to see the ARKEA-B&B HOTELS collective in the spotlight. If in the end it is an individual who is crowned, a result in a championship is the fruit of collective work. All runners will need to have this common desire to succeed. The main thing is that everyone can make their contribution, that the group goes in the same direction to win the tricolor jersey. This year for the first time we will have the support of many riders from the Development team, we will be one of the largest contingents at the start and this word "collective" takes on even more importance. We have the advantage of numbers compared to other formations. If we have the desire, the right behavior, and the physical qualities, then we will be able to achieve great things.”

Gael Le Bellec

Directeur sportif

Women's Events “For the individual time trial, Océane Mahé and Maeva Squiban will represent the ARKEA-B&B HOTELS team. Océane was crowned French Espoirs champion in the discipline this year, Maeva is returning from injury and will have a little more freshness. This will be a discovery for them on such a long journey but it is a good exercise. Faced with world-level adversity, we hope to get closer to the top 5 to put the ARKEA-B&B HOTELS training into great momentum. We are here to prepare for the future. As for the online event, we expect a tactical race. I am confident because we have a group in good shape. Our girls will not be favorites at the start, of course, but we will have to be smart to do well in the game. We have a great team, everyone is capable of achieving a good result on Saturday.”

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