After a first day of qualifying on Thursday August 11, it’s time for the first finals of the European Track Cycling Championships in Munich. Between the absence of favorites, a busy schedule and a new generation of women, the French team could create surprises according to François Pervis, seven-time French track cycling champion and consultant for France Télévisions. A successful competition would give some color to the French track two years before the Paris Games.
Franceinfo: sport: What do you expect from these European Championships?
Francois Pervis: They fall relatively poorly and aren’t really a target for each nation’s big favorites. One of the most glaring examples is the absence of Dutchman Harrie Lavreysen [champion olympique de vitesse individuelle et par équipes lors des Jeux de Tokyo et nonuple champion du monde]which skips the individual and only participates in the team speed test.
Several reasons for this: the track and the busy schedule. The Munich velodrome is a mobile structure, built especially for the occasion. The track is shorter than usual, it is only 200 meters against 250 meters for other competitions. Runners go faster and faster, and falls are potentially more dangerous. Some do not want to take risks, while the Worlds are held in two months [du 12 au 16 octobre à Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, là où se dérouleront les épreuves de Paris 2024]. The leaders who participate in Munich take the Championship as it comes. But it’s difficult to have a peak in form in mid-August and then two months later. They are currently in a full phase of intensive work for the Worlds, which causes a lot of fatigue.
Who said absente de cadors says opportunity for others to shine…
Absolutely. Some “top-elite” riders skip the line and are replaced by young people who give 100% because they know they won’t make the Worlds. The “Europes” are therefore their big deadline of the year. This smooths out the opposing forces and this is how outsiders can create surprises.
Among the French, you can count on [Sébastien] Vigier and [Rayan] Helal, and then Mathilde Gros to make the Marseillaise resonate individually. It’s also interesting to see that Mathilde is no longer alone among the women, as she was for a long time. The female selection is rejuvenated, some girls have just come out of the European hopes in which they shone [Julie Michaux, argent en vitesse individuelle, et Marie-Divine Kouamé, triplement médaillée à Anadia dont un l’or sur le 500 m contre-la-montre]. It promises for them.
France has long been a dominating nation on the track, with a golden age in the late 1990s and early 2000s…
At that time, we were ahead of the infrastructure. We had two France poles at Insep and Hyères, while the other countries had gatherings here and there. The coaches [le tandem Daniel Morelon et Gérard Quintyn] had decided to incorporate strength training into their training. In sprinting, you need strength and explosiveness. It worked, we started to have good results [première nation aux classements des médailles des championnats du monde entre 1994 et 1999, douze médailles dont huit titres aux Jeux olympiques de 1996 et de 2000]. We were also ahead in terms of equipment with the Look company and the first carbon bikes. All of this made us collect medals. We were everyone’s pet peeve. In individual sprint at the 2001 World Championships, the French are 1, 2, 3. It’s something unimaginable today.
“French federal policy is quite catastrophic in terms of detection”
Francois Pervis
franceinfo:sport
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Precisely, since 2012, the French track has returned to the ranks. How do you explain this shortness of breath?
France has rested on its laurels and is no longer frightening. No attempt was made to optimize performance. We were content to stay at our level, but over time, the others caught up with us, and even overtook us. Levels tightened everywhere. Even small nations are doing great – India in particular has made great strides. Some nations have turned entirely to technological improvement. Look at the British, who work with engineers from Lotus or Mclaren, they have incredible budgets. It’s hard to compete with them.
We fight with our weapons: three or four years ago, our sprint budget was around 130,000 euros when the British released 17 million pounds. With this money, they focus on research and development and the quality of the staff. French federal policy is quite catastrophic in terms of detection. We don’t know how to do it anymore. Two years ago, someone from the federation told me that he couldn’t do anything in terms of detection, because he didn’t have the means.
However, the World Championships take place two years in a row in France (Roubaix in 2021, Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines this year). We cannot say that we lack infrastructure.
No it’s true. Especially since there are plenty of beautiful covered velodrome projects in France in Loudéac, around Besançon, Essarts, Angers. Recently there is a velodrome that came out in Laval. The World Championships in 2027 have not yet been awarded, but the Rhône-Alpes region has positioned itself – in any case the local elected officials have expressed their agreement to build a velodrome. All of this means that we will succeed in getting people back on track, finding nuggets and becoming a competitive nation again.
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