Berteau nets breakthrough first pro victory in French Road Nationals

Victoire Berteau took a breakthrough first pro win in the French Road Nationals on Saturday as the 22-year-old Cofidis racer perfectly timed a late acceleration on the ascent of Mont Cassel to go clear at the head of the field.

Neither of the two FDJ-SUEZ riders, Marie Le Net or Jade Wiel, in the four-up break which ultimately decided the race, were able to stop Berteau when she forged away just before the final corner of the brutally steep, cobbled climb.

At the end of a hard-fought race through the hills of northern France, Le Net had to settle for silver and Wiel bronze, while Coralie Demay (St. Michel-Mavic-Auber93) took fourth.

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Berteau, meanwhile, was able to celebrate her first pro win in the home region of Hauts-de-France, at the end of a 99.8-kilometre course peppered with numerous segments of pavé and a final climb with gradients of over 15%.

“We had a clearly established plan in Cofidis and we stuck to it from start to finish,” Berteau aid afterwards.

“I’ve never won and now I’ve won for the first time in the French National Championships. It’s marvellous, I was dreaming about this.”

Nine riders quickly blew the race apart early on, but with 42 kilometres to go Berteau managed to bridge across and quickly charged away nine kilometres later on a descent. Wiel and Demay went with her, and then just as it looked like the race was coming down to a three way battle, Le Net joined the trio ahead.

Wiel launched a searing attack on the final ascent of Mont Cassel, which all but blew the quartet apart. Instead, Berteau timed her final attack just as the leaders reached the last part of the ascent, and once she was first into the final right-hand corner some 150 metres from the finish, the race was all over bar the cheering.

Briefly the Best Young Rider in the recently completed Tour de Suisse, Berteau said she will not be heading to the upcoming Tour de France Femmes wearing her new national champion’s colours. Instead, she told reporters after the race she’ll be at a long training camp with the French National track squad come July, building up for the next indoor season this winter.

"I heard people yelling my name all along the route, it was amazing," Berteau said, "I'll have a nice glass of champagne, a nice bottle of Chouffe" - a famous local beer - "and then it'll be home to my parents. I can't thank them enough, I know all the sacrifices they've made for me, my brothers and sisters."

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