20 year-old Mélodie Lesueur won the women's French national road race title with a solo attack that left surprised her rivals and stopped Jeannie Longo-Ciprelli taking another time trial and road race double.
Lesueur attacked mid-race with Nadia Triquet-Claude of the strong Vienne-Futuroscope team, blocking the chase behind. But Lesueur then dropped Triquet-Claude on the rolling hills and soloed to victory.
Amélie Rivat (Rhône-Alpes), also just 20, finished 1:55 behind Lesueur, with Longo-Ciprelli taking the bunch sprint for third. At 51, Longo-Ciprelli is older than the two young riders put together.
"At first I thought about waiting for Nadia but I decided to focus on my race. On the last two laps I had cramp everywhere," Lesueur told l'Equipe.fr.
"The opportunists won today," Longo-Ciprelli said, admitting that the bunch an big names of French cycling failed to organise their chase soon enough.
| 1 | Mélodie Lesueur (Esgl93-Gsdgestion) | 3:07:08 |
| 2 | Amélie Rivat (Rhonealpes) | 0:01:56 |
| 3 | Jeannie Longo-Ciprelli (Rhonealpes) | 0:03:59 |
| 4 | Christel Ferrier-Bruneau (Viennefuturoscope) | Row 3 - Cell 2 |
| 5 | Edwige Pitel (S.Cmichelafaninirecordrox) | Row 4 - Cell 2 |
| 6 | Audrey Cordon (Viennefuturoscope) | Row 5 - Cell 2 |
| 7 | Sophie Creux (Esgl93-Gsdgestion) | Row 6 - Cell 2 |
| 8 | Eugénie Mermillod (Esgl93-Gsdgestion) | Row 7 - Cell 2 |
| 9 | Béatrice Thomas (Esgl93-Gsdgestion) | Row 8 - Cell 2 |
| 10 | Mélanie Bravard (Esgl93-Gsdgestion) | Row 9 - Cell 2 |
| 11 | Emilie Blanquefort (Aquitaine) | Row 10 - Cell 2 |
| 12 | Marion Azam (Midipyrenees) | Row 11 - Cell 2 |
| 13 | Julie Krasniak ((Lorraine) | Row 12 - Cell 2 |
| 14 | Aude Biannic (Bretagne) | 0:06:13 |
| 15 | Mélanie Ferrand (Rhonealpes) | 0:06:29 |
| 16 | Vicky Fournial (Lorraine) | 0:06:33 |
| 17 | Pascale Jeuland (Viennefuturoscope) | Row 16 - Cell 2 |
| 18 | Nadia Triquetclaude (Viennefuturoscope) | Row 17 - Cell 2 |
| 19 | Elodie Hegoburu (Esgl93-Gsdgestion) | Row 18 - Cell 2 |
| 20 | Marielaure Cloarec (Iledefrance) | Row 19 - Cell 2 |
-
An improvised parking lot podium for Vuelta a España with drink coolers as steps and podium pooches
Chaos around the Madrid finale may have halted the official ceremony but another plan quickly evolved -
2025 gravel national champions index
A guide to who is wearing the jersey of a gravel national champion and when the title battles take place -
Virginia's Blue Ridge CO Cross: Rochette and Strohmeyer go back-to-back with C2 victories in Roanoke
Bakker and Mani earn podiums on Sunday for elite women while Brunner repeats in second ahead of Werner for elite men -
Eyewitness: Destroyed barricades, flares and police lines – the unfolding turmoil that stopped the Vuelta a España reaching the final finish line in Madrid
As riders celebrated on the road in the early kilometres of stage 21 ominous signs mounted around the pro-Palestine protest lined barriers of the final circuit
