Petanque national team in Brest (final this Sunday at 4.30pm)
Of the 320 hat-tricks competing at the Brest National this weekend, Michel Loy, Fabrice Riehl and Michel Van Campenhout are one of those to have made the longest journey to the tip of Brittany, second only to a team from Switzerland . “Me, again, fine, I’m from the Paris region but Fabrice (Riehl) comes from Metz and Michel (Van Campenhout) from Brussels,” retorts three-time world champion Michel Loy. How did these three come together? “Thanks to friendship, simply. It has always been my way of seeing things: we play bowls above all to have fun, and to give it to those who come to visit us», continues Michel Loy.
“We will play our luck to the end”
If they were associated for three years, the three men had never had the opportunity to perform together in Brest. Injured in 2019, Van Campenhout had given up his place in the team to junior world runner-up Jérémy Gélin, due to a defeat in the quarter-finals. And their ambitions this year? “We’ll play our luck to the max, even if there are many great teams and the young players behind them are pushing hard. At the end of the day, he often ends up on paracetamol,” jokes Fabrice Riehl.
Team spirit
Solid on Saturday, the hat-trick easily qualified for the round of 16, which starts this Sunday, and will be able to count on Michel Loy’s good form at the moment to aim further. Crowned French champion in direct clashes in September, after having already been in the past in the hat-trick, double and mixed double, the Parisian joined a very small circle, and until then composed only of Philippe Quintais and Dylan Rock so far. However, in these World Cup times, there are discussions that are best avoided. “I’m not saying anything about it,” Loy dodges. “We are intelligent people”, grins the philosopher Van Campenhout, specifying that he is not “very footballing”. “He still knows all the players,” laughs Rielh immediately, hilariously. He demonstrates good team cohesion.
