French nationals: Charlotte Bravard wins women's road race

After a wide-open race in Saint-Omer, 25 year-old Charlotte Bravard (FDJ-Nouvelle Aquitaine-Futuroscope) captured the French title on Saturday, winning the sprint from a small group ahead of Amélie Rivat-Mas (Lares-Waowdeals) and Marjolaine Bazin (SAS-MACOGEP).

"I'm not realizing yet what's happening, what I pulled off. We really wanted to get the jersey with the team. There was a lot of pressure because I was the only rider from the team in front. I didn't want to mess it up for the team. It's my first title and maybe it'll be the only one in my career, who knows. In the final I wasn't pulling because Victorie Guilman was coming up," Bravard said, reacting emotional after taking her first pro win.

A disappointed Rivat-Mas again fell just short of the win, capturing her third silver medal at the French national championships. Bazin finished as runner-up last year and now captured the bronze medal. Fanny Zambon didn't take part in the sprint and finished fourth at short distance, it was more than enough for the 20 year-old to take the Women U23 title. Victorie Guilman (FDJ-Nouvelle Aquitaine-Futuroscope) finished fifth and captured the silver medal in the Women U23 category.

The women raced 108 kilometres at Saint-Omer, in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region. Seven laps of 15.5 kilometres were to be covered. The main features were two endless straight sections, two small climbs up to 120 metres and a few corners in the centre of Saint-Omer.

Halfway through the race, a group of 14 riders was a minute ahead of the peloton. Zambon and Bravard distanced this group and collected a maximal bonus of three minutes. Bazin and Rivat-Mas were also present in the large group and launched a counter-attack.

At 30 kilometres from the finish Bazin and Rivat-Mas bridged up with Zambon and Bravard. Behind, pre-race favourite and TT champion Audrey Cordon-Ragot (Wiggle-High5) and 2013 champion Elise Delzenne (Lotto-Soudal) were marked by the FDJ-team when attempting to get back to the front. It meant the four riders in front were battling for the victory, with Bravard proving to be the fastest.

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