Pitel claims French road title in Vesoul

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Edwige Pitel of Italian team SC Michela Fanini Rox claimed her second French road title almost ten years after the first one in Aurillac in 2007. The former world champion for duathlon in 2000 is a time trial specialist. Aged 49, she showed her good form against the clock on Thursday as she took the silver medal at the time trial championships behind Wiggle High5’s Audrey Cordon-Ragot, while Elise Delzenne of Lotto-Soudal was third.

Delzenne was alone again in the road race with an obvious chance of winning like in 2013 as she smartly rode away before the final two laps with 34km to go. The rain and the ascent of the difficult côte des 4 sapins (the four pine trees hill) had taken their toll. But Delzenne had a mechanical up the hill after she crossed the line with an advantage of 38 seconds over lone chaser Marjolaine Bazin of the Poitou-Charentes region, while the main chasing peloton led by Pitel ahead of race favourites Pauline Ferrand-Prévot of Rabo Liv and Cordon-Ragot was at 1:50.

It took almost a minute for Delzenne to get a back wheel change from the neutral service. Bazin had passed her when she sustained a second mechanical and needed a new front wheel. A new race started with Bazin still at the front with one lap to go (13km), followed by Aude Biannic (Poitou-Charentes Futuroscope 86) at 22 seconds, Pitel at 39 seconds.

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The Ferrand-Prévot group was less than a minute behind but mouths rather than legs were doing the talking. The lack of cooperation played in favour of Pitel, who overtook Biannic and then Bazin with 7km to go to carry on and claim a solo win, while Bazin was delighted to finish second and Cordon-Ragot had to be content with third.

Fourth-placed Ferrand-Prévot expressed her mixed feelings after the finish. “It was a very tactical race," said the 2014 road race world champion who hadn’t taken part in a road race since the Dwars door Westhoek two months ago (21st) due to a sciatica.

“I’m happy to have made the main group. I didn’t have the legs at all. I’ve done the best I could. I really lack the intensity of racing. I also need to lose 2kg before the Olympics.”

French women cycling remains accessible to older athletes at the highest level. Jeannie Longo, who still races at the age of 57 and finished 13th at the French championship for time trial on Thursday had taken her last road title in 2008 at 49, the same age as Pitel now.

“I came here to train before the race and I knew I’d hold out well up the hill.” Pitel is reserved in the French national team for the Rio Games.

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