Rayan Helal retained his title of French track cycling champion in individual speed on Friday at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines velodrome, in the absence of his two friends from the French team who were ill.
This is the fourth national coronation for Helal, 24, already winner in 2019, 2022 and 2023 in this premier event. In the final, he won in two tight rounds against Tom Derache, while his two teammates in the French team sprint team, Sébastien Vigier and Florian Grengbo, with whom he won bronze at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 , withdrew at the last moment, sick.
Already the day before, Mathilde Gros, 2022 world champion in individual speed, had to give up the entire French Championships because of gastric problems.
She left the way open to Marie-Divine Kouamé who, after winning the individual speed, also won the keirin, another Olympic discipline, on Friday.
In the omnium, an event also on the program for the 2024 Paris Olympics which will take place in the same velodrome, Clara Copponi won the women’s race and Valentin Tabellion won the men’s race.
Most of the new French champions will participate in the European Championships next week in Apeldoorn in the Netherlands where the Blues will want to consolidate their Olympic quotas, particularly in women’s team sprint, hoping that the sick will be completely recovered.
Men’s individual speed:
1. Ryan Helal (Salon Cyclosport)
2. Tom Derache (VC Roubaix Lille Métropole)
3. Luca Priore (Créteil)
Keirin women:
1. Marie-Divine Kouamé (Créteil)
2. Marie-Louisa Drouode (Créteil)
3. Lilou Ledeme (Créteil)
Of all women:
1. Clara Copponi (Lidl-Trek)
2. Valentine Fortin (Cofidis)
3. Victoire Berteau (Cofidis)
All men:
1. Valentin Tabellion (VC Roubaix Lille Métropole)
2. Oscar Nilsson Julien (AVC Aix-en-Provence)
3. Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis)