Wiel wins French women's road race

At the age of 19 and mentored by Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ), cyclo-cross specialist Jade Wiel became the road race French champion in scorching conditions in La Haye-Fouassière near Nantes.

Wiel had the help of the FDJ-Nouvelle Aquitaine-Futuroscope team that had a grip on the race from start to finish to score a one-two with Victorie Guilman, while defending champion Aude Biannic of Movistar Women Team rounded out the podium.

"It’s crazy," Wiel said. "During the race, I just thought it was impossible for me to become the French champion. When I came across I burned some energy, but Marie’s enormous work was gold for me. It’s been very tactical at the end. We all know that it’s not always the strongest who wins in cycling. We had to play it smart and that’s what we did."

Another 19-year-old from FDJ-Nouvelle Aquitaine-Futuroscope, Marie Le Net, the silver medallist at last year’s junior world championship while Wiel was fifth, took the initiative as far as 100km before the end, showing no fear under the heat. Lena Gérault, a mountain bike specialist of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes who got bronze at the 2017 world championships in Cairns, Australia, for mixed relay, accompanied her in a long breakaway that forced Aubervilliers 93-St-Michel and Charente-Maritime teams to chase.

Halfway into the race their advantage was only 1:30, but the peloton was under control. As veteran Edwige Pitel of Cogeas-Mettler-Look attacked with 52km to go, their teammate Coralie Demay reacted. Former world champion of all disciplines Pauline Ferrand-Prévot from Canyon-SRAM showed up at the head of the peloton, although she hadn’t competed on the road since since La Course by Le Tour de France, almost one year ago, as she underwent an iliac artery surgery.

On her own, Wiel surprised the favourites from the foreign WorldTour teams to come across to the two leaders in the climb of Château-Thébaud with 43km remaining. Gérault couldn’t hold the pace anymore. Wiel and Le Net formed a FDJ duo with 34km to go. Biannic rode away from the peloton 25km from the finish, as did Trek-Segafredo’s Audrey Cordon-Ragot with 15km left.

Victorie Guilman, also from FDJ-Nouvelle Aquitaine-Futuroscope, had caught Biannic’s wheel, making it three versus one when junction was operated at the 4km to go mark, while Cordon-Ragot came close but remained alone behind for a second disappointment in three days after losing her time trial title to Séverine Eraud of Dolticini.

Wiel and Guilman were attentive enough to Biannic in the last kilometre and passed her to finish in that order. Hailing from Besançon in the Franche-Comté region, Wiel is mentored by Pinot since they took part together in the “Étoiles du Sport” gathering in the French Alps last winter. She probably learned that attacking is an FDJ trademark at the French national championships.

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